Hebrew Bible Study
Hebrew Bible Study

Tosefta for Deuteronomy 4:32

כִּ֣י שְׁאַל־נָא֩ לְיָמִ֨ים רִֽאשֹׁנִ֜ים אֲשֶׁר־הָי֣וּ לְפָנֶ֗יךָ לְמִן־הַיּוֹם֙ אֲשֶׁר֩ בָּרָ֨א אֱלֹהִ֤ים ׀ אָדָם֙ עַל־הָאָ֔רֶץ וּלְמִקְצֵ֥ה הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְעַד־קְצֵ֣ה הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם הֲנִֽהְיָ֗ה כַּדָּבָ֤ר הַגָּדוֹל֙ הַזֶּ֔ה א֖וֹ הֲנִשְׁמַ֥ע כָּמֹֽהוּ׃

For ask now of the days past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and from the one end of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it?

Tosefta Chagigah

Everyone who speculates upon four things, it would have been better that he had not come into this world: What is above, what is below, what came before, and what comes after (Chag. 2:1). One might think [that one may speculate about what occurred] before the Act of Creation, [and thus] the verse states, "[Inquire of the first days,] from the day that God created man on Earth" (Deut. 4:32). [One might think that one may speculate about events] before the order of the seasons (סדרי תקופות) was established (i.e., before the creation of the sun and moon, see Lieberman), [and thus] the verse states (ibid.), "[inquire] from one end of the heavens until [the other] end of the heavens" [but not about what occurred before the creation of heavens]. What is meant by the verse, "from the day that God created man on Earth"? From the day that God created man on the Earth, you may inquire. But you may not inquire about what is above, what is below, what was and what will be.
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