Samaritan Torah, פַּרְשַׁת בְּרֵאשִׁית

See this post for an introduction to what I am blogging here, and why.

( Note on vowels )

So, that said, let's get going. In the Creation account, the Masoretic text reads:

Genesis 2:1–3	בראשית ב א–ג
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. On the seventh day God ended His work which He had done; and He rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because on it He had rested from all His work, which God had created and made.	וַיְכֻלּוּ הַשָּׁמַיִם וְהָאָרֶץ וְכָל־צְבָאָם׃ וַיְכַל אֱלֹהִים בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה וַיִּשְׁבֹּת בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי מִכָּל־מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה׃ וַיְבָרֶךְ אֱלֹהִים אֶת־יוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי וַיְקַדֵּשׁ אֹתוֹ כִּי בוֹ שָׁבַת מִכָּל־מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר־בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים לַעֲשׂוֹת׃

And that is why the Jewish sabbath starts halfway through Saturday, because G-d finished the work of Creation on the seventh day, right? This is one of the places where the Samaritan text reconciles the problems of the Masoretic Text; it reads here:

( Read more... )

A general point here, raised at its first instance (Gen. 2:12). מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ appears to have been dyslexic; or at least every time the word הִיא (hī, "she"/"it") appears, it is spelled הוא, which is very confusing if you're leyning without vowels, as that is the same as the word הוּא (hū, "he"/"it"). The Samaritan Text corrects this throughout.

A famous discrepancy here. The Masoretic Text reads:

Genesis 4:8	בראשית ד ח
Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.	וַיֹּאמֶר קַיִן אֶל־הֶבֶל אָחִיו וַיְהִי בִּהְיוֹתָם בַּשָּׂדֶה וַיָּקָם קַיִן אֶל־הֶבֶל אָחִיו וַיַּהַרְגֵהוּ׃

In the Hebrew, it doesn't say "talked with", it says "said to"... but it doesn't say what he said to him! The rabbis of the midrash had a field day with this, filling in the blank; but it appears the actual missing text, which occurs in the Samaritan Torah, the Septuagint, and the Targum Yerushalmi is ( Read more... )

Genesis 4:25	בראשית ד כה
Adam "knew" his wife again; and she bore a son. She called his name Seth (Shéth), "For God has appointed (shéth) me another seed in the place of of Abel, whom Cain slew."	וַיֵּדַע אָדָם עוֹד אֶת־אִשְׁתּוֹ וַתֵּלֶד בֵּן וַתִּקְרָא אֶת־שְׁמוֹ שֵׁת כִּי שָׁת־לִי אֱלֹהִים זֶרַע אַחֵר תַּחַת הֶבֶל כִּי הֲרָגוֹ קָיִן׃

The Samaritan text, however, attributes the naming to Adam:( Read more... )

The Torah now goes into the genealogy of Adam down to Noah:

Genesis 5:18-20	בראשית ה יח-כ
Yered lived an hundred sixty and two years, and begot Ḥănoch: Yered lived after he had Ḥănoch eight hundred years, and had further sons and daughters: All the days of Yered were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died.	וַיְחִי־יֶרֶד שְׁתַּיִם וְשִׁשִּׁים שָׁנָה וּמְאַת שָׁנָה וַיּוֹלֶד אֶת־חֲנוֹךְ׃ וַיְחִי־יֶרֶד אַחֲרֵי הוֹלִידוֹ אֶת־חֲנוֹךְ שְׁמֹנֶה מֵאוֹת שָׁנָה וַיּוֹלֶד בָּנִים וּבָנוֹת׃ וַיִּהְיוּ כָּל־יְמֵי־יֶרֶד שְׁתַּיִם וְשִׁשִּׁים שָׁנָה וּתְשַׁע מֵאוֹת שָׁנָה וַיָּמֹת׃

However many of the year lengths are different, for no readily apparent reason, in the Samaritan Torah: ( Read more... )

Samaritan Torah notes         Jewish learning notes index

צֶדֶק, צֶדֶק תִּרְדוֹף means in the law courts, not in the court of public opinion

In the news the last few days we've seen plaques to Sir Jimmy Saville taken down, in the wake of allegations he sexually abused girls. Today I read they've taken down his tombstone and are going to remove the inscription and break up the tombstone.

I am appalled by all of this: What ever happened to the principle of innocent until proven guilty?

Good grief

Menachem's the butcher no longer have a illuminated "OPEN" sign shining in the middle of the night, but their current behaviour is not much better:

Yes, that's a scrolling display saying "WE ARE NOW KOSHER FOR PASSOVER" with a succah visible in the background...