La Bible Hébreu
La Bible Hébreu

Midrash sur La Genèse 24:29

וּלְרִבְקָ֥ה אָ֖ח וּשְׁמ֣וֹ לָבָ֑ן וַיָּ֨רָץ לָבָ֧ן אֶל־הָאִ֛ישׁ הַח֖וּצָה אֶל־הָעָֽיִן׃

Or, Rébecca avait un frère nommé Laban. Laban accourut auprès de l’homme qui se tenait dehors, près de la fontaine.

Ruth Rabbah

“Naomi had an acquaintance of her husband’s, a mighty man of valor, from the family of Elimelekh, and his name was Boaz” (Ruth 2:1).
“Naomi had an acquaintance [moda] of her husband’s, a mighty man of valor” – moda means relative. Rabbi Abbahu said: If a giant marries a giantess, what do they produce? Mighty men of valor. Boaz married Ruth; what did they produce? David, “who knows how to play, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, understanding in matters, a comely man, and the Lord is with him” (I Samuel 16:18). “Who knows how to play” – [refers to his expertise] in Bible; “a mighty man of valor” – in Mishna; “a man of war” – he knows to negotiate the battle of Torah; “understanding in matters” – in good deeds; “a comely man” – in Talmud. Alternatively: “Understanding in matters” – he infers one matter from another matter; “a comely man” – who displays understanding in halakha; “and the Lord is with him” – the halakha is in accordance with his opinion.
“From the family of Elimelekh, and his name was Boaz” – the wicked precede their name: “Goliath was his name” (I Samuel 17:4); “Naval is his name” (I Samuel 25:25); “Sheva son of Bikhri was his name” (II Samuel 20:21). However, the righteous, their names precede them: “And his name was Kish” (I Samuel 9:1); “and his name was Saul” (I Samuel 9:2); “and his name was Yishai” (I Samuel 17:12); “and his name was Mordekhai” (Esther 2:5); “and his name was Elkana” (I Samuel 1:1). It is because they are similar to their Creator, as it is written: “But with My name, the Lord, I was not known to them” (Exodus 6:3).
They objected to him: “And his name was Laban” (Genesis 24:29). Rabbi Yitzḥak said: This is an obvious characteristic.149He was extremely white [lavan] or was a senior judge who sought to clarify matters. Laban was not his real name. Rabbi Berekhya said: He was blatant [meluban] in his wickedness. But is it not written: The sons of Samuel, “the name of the firstborn was Yoel and the name of his second, Aviya” (I Samuel 8:2), [and] the Rabbis say: Just as this one was wicked, so too, that one was wicked? Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said: Because they changed their actions and merited the Divine Spirit, as it is stated: “The word of the Lord that was to Joel [Yoel] son of Petuel” (Joel 1:1).150The midrash interprets Petuel as a reference to Samuel; see Bemidbar Rabba 10:5.
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