Jonathan Jacobs

Willing Obedience with Doubts: Abraham at the Binding of Isaac

Among biblical commentators and scholars, the accepted view of Abraham in the story of the Binding of Isaac is of a one-dimensional, almost superhuman figure whose entire consciousness, on the way to sacrifice his son, is focused solely on fulfilling the Divine will. According to this view there is no textual evidence of any deliberation or hesitation in Abraham’s mind, and he is to be viewed as praiseworthy for fulfilling God’s will without any doubt or misgiving. In contrast to this prevailing opinion, I attempt to show that the biblical narrator uses various literary devices to hint to the qualms that plague Abraham on his journey. Although he gives no voice to his apprehensiveness, it may be uncovered through a careful and attentive reading of the text, exposing Abraham’s inner world.

The Role of the Secondary Characters in the Story of the Anointing of Saul (I Samuel ix-x)

In this article I address the roles of the secondary characters in the story of the anointing of Saul as king (I Sam. ix-x). This story contains more than the usual number of secondary characters in a biblical narrative, with some of them playing strange or unusual roles. Through literary analysis of the storys structure and its key words, it becomes clear that the secondary characters play a central role in the story. The hidden message of the story, arising from the chiastic structure of this unit, the molding of the main character, and the molding of the secondary characters surrounding him, is that the king of Israel does not come to be chosen by chance; his selection is guided by God. This message is important for the reader, but the development of the story shows that Saul himself learns the same lesson over the course of the events.

“And There Renew the Kingship”: The Double Coronation of Saul (1 Samuel 10-11)

ABSTRACT This article deals with the two accounts of Sauls coronation that appear in I Sam 10-11. As opposed to the traditional critical approach, I propose a literary perspective, positing that both coronation episodes belong to a single story that is developed by means of concentric parallelism. The concentric structure of the accounts (which indicates a reversal in the conception of monarchy), the strange and unique literary formulations, and the other well-known literary devices such as analogies and leitwort all flesh-out the ideal character of the king of Israel. This is done while establishing Sauls character as the perfect king, who is worthy to lead. The purpose of the story is to teach the proper approach to understanding the status of the king of Israel, and to show that at this stage of the story Saul recognizes his limitations as a flesh-and-blood king who is aware of Gods role as the leader and savior of the Nation of Israel.

Rashbam’s Approach to Targum Onqelos in His Commentary to the Torah

The Targum of Onqelos was the principal pentateuchal targum on which medieval Jews in northern France relied. When Rashbam referenced Onqelos, he used a consistent format composed of four elements. His use of the targum is varied: in most instances, his purpose was lexical. In about one-third of cases, his purpose was exegetical. In three cases, Rashbam cited the targum in order to consider its precise intention (while finding fault with the conclusion reached by Rashi in that regard), an indication of the great importance that Rashbam ascribed to the targum. Nevertheless, despite the high esteem in which he held the targum, Rashbam occasionally allowed himself to disagree with it in his quest to uncover the simplest sense of Scripture. Targum Onqelos is the work most often quoted in Rashbam’s commentary to the Torah, and his use of it demonstrates extensive knowledge of this targum to the Torah.

The Death of David’s Son by Bathsheba (II Sam 12:13-25): A Narrative in Context

AbstractThe episode of David’s sin and his punishment (II Sam 11-12) represents a turning point in the description of David’s reign. While this dramatic episode has received extensive attention in biblical exegesis, the final section of the narrative, recording the death of Bathsheba’s son, has been largely neglected, with little attention to its contribution to the story.In this article I propose that the main contribution of the story is its exposure of his inner world following the revelation of his sin by the prophet Nathan. The biblical narrative conveys its ideas in an indirect manner, through various literary devices. By means of analogies, discrepancies between descriptions, and secondary characters, the text hints at David’s process of repentance for his sin. We might say that David undergoes a process in two stages: Initially, immediately after the speech by the prophet Nathan, he demonstrates a repentance that is quick and spontaneous, but only partial. Thereafter he undergoes a process of slow and gradual repentance, in which he repairs all the levels of his sin.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch as a Peshat Commentator: Literary Aspects of His Commentary on the Pentateuch 1

Abstract The heart of Samson Raphael Hirsch’s literary corpus is his great commentary on the Pentateuch. In the commentary’s heyday, the German Jewish communities treated it with the reverence traditionally accorded Rashi on the Torah, and it was always to be found on the desks of both scholars and laypersons. Although the vast literature on Hirsch focuses on his life and his doctrine of Torah im Derech Eretz, much has been written about various aspects of the commentary on the Pentateuch, including Hirsch’s approach to the reasons for the precepts, his etymological method, his attitude toward the modern world, his treatment of the patriarchs’ transgressions, and his method as a translator. In addition to these interests, Hirsch’s commentary on the Pentateuch is marked by a fine and well-developed literary sensitivity that comes to the fore in many places. Not only has this not been studied in detail; it is never even mentioned in the various introductions to and studies of Hirsch. It must be acknowledged that the literary elements of Hirsch’s commentary are heavily outnumbered by what can be defined as derash. Still, the extensive attention to other facets of his personality and exegesis has led to the total neglect of the literary aspects of Hirsch’s commentaries and has overshadowed his aesthetic and literary sensitivity. Thus there is good reason for examining this aspect of his work—and that is the goal of the present article. I focus on four literary phenomena that Hirsch addresses systematically: multiple points of view; the designations applied to biblical characters; the phenomenon of consecutive statements; and word order.