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Dear friends,
This week we will discuss the Torah portion of the week – the portion named for Phinehas, whose story appears at the beginning of it. Phinehas, a priest, was the grandson of Aaron, Moses' brother. When the Israelites were camped near the Moabites during their journey in the desert, the Israelite men were tempted by the Moabite and Midianite women and were lured by them to idolatry. Phinehas, furious when one of the Israelites chose to display his relationship with a Midianite woman in front of the entire people of Israel and Moses, killed the Israelite and his Midianite companion and managed to stop the plague brought upon Israel because of this behavior.
An act of religious zealousness like the one performed by Phinehas is highly controversial, however, because it was a spontaneous act that was a result of a true offence committed towards God, God approved of it and gave Phinehas his covenant of peace
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And God said to Moses: Phinehas the son of Elazar the son of Aaron the priest has retrieved my wrath from the people of Israel, in that he was zealous for my sake among them, and I did not destroy the people of Israel in my jealousy: Therefore, say: "I hereby give him my covenant of peace" (Numbers 25:10-12)
Another important story in our weekly portion is the story of the daughters of Zelophehad, which appears in Numbers 27:1-11. They approached Moses asking him to grant them an inheritance:
"Then approached the daughters of Zelophehad . . . from the families of Menasseh the son of Joseph, and these are the names of his daughters: Mahla, Noah, Hogla, Milcah and Tirzah; And they stood before Moses . . . and before the leaders and all the congregation at the entrance to the tent of meeting, saying; Our father died in the desert . . . he died for his own sin, and he had no sons; Why should the name of our father be absent from his family . . . give us an estate among our father's brothers"
Moses brought their petition before God, and their wish was granted. In addition, it was set as a rule that if a man should have no sons, his daughters shall be next in line to inherit him.
In modern eyes the result of the petition may seem obvious, but it is very important to realize that this was quite a progressive law indeed. In the ancient near east, women usually could not inherit property, and were themselves usually regarded as the property of their father or husband. The right of a daughter to inherit property is found in some ancient near eastern documents, but this evidence is scarce, and such documents may only represent very short periods of time when this was acceptable. In the case of biblical law, this was set as an eternal rule:
"And it shall be for the people of Israel a statute and ordinance as commanded by God to Moses" (Numbers 27:11).
The daughters of Zelophehad coming before Moses
Have a great week,
The Biblical Hebrew Online Team.
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As part of the Biblical Hebrew newsletters, we try to bring you a variety of biblical subjects. Occasionally, we will discuss the Jewish weekly portion of the week, which is read during prayer services on the Sabbath, and is traditionally discussed during the week.
More about the weekly portion
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| Weekly Biblical Hebrew Words |
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Transcription: b(e)rit
Literal translation: covenant
The covenant between God and his people is a fundamental part of the relationship between them. As part of this covenant, the people of Israel receive God's protection and they in return are commanded to obey him.
There are many forms of this covenant presented in the Bible: there can be a personal covenant with God, like that of Phinehas, and there can be a national covenant with God, like the covenant of Sinai. The circumcision of Israelite sons is a reminder of the covenant, a physical sign of its existence.
A covenant can also be with all of mankind, and can even simply be a promise made by God with no return required by the people. Such is the rainbow which appears after the flood as the sign God gives humanity that he will never again flood the earth, and is described as the sign of God's covenant.
Transcription: naxala
Literal translation: Inheritance
Naxala in biblical Hebrew represents an inheritance of land: All the tribes of Israel are given their inheritance in the land of Israel, and each tribe's territory is divided among the different families comprising the tribe. As the generations progress, each person's naxala gets smaller and smaller, because it is divided among the descendants. If there are sons who can inherit the father, the naxala is given to them; the first born receives a naxala double in size to that of the rest. From the daughters of Zelophehad we learn that if a man has no sons, the naxala is divided among his daughters, and if he has no children at all, it is given to his closest relative.
A map of the distribution of the inheritance of the
land among the tribes of Israel
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Transcription: Noah
While the meaning of the name is undetermined, it is interesting to know that of all the names of the daughters of Zelophehad, it is the most popular in Israel today. Not only that, according to the central bureau of statistics' study in 2007, it had been the most popular girl's name given in Israel for eight years straight!
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