Commentaire de citation sur Les Psaumes 105:15

Because the Lord hath anointed me. The prophets are called anointed; comp. Touch not mine anointed (Ps. 105:15).¹The second part of this verse, And do my prophets no harm, shows that the expressions anointed (משיחי) and prophets (נביאי) signify here the same persons. R. Moses Hakkohen says that the protasis beginning Because the Lord is continued till ver. 9, and the apodosis commences I will greatly rejoice (ver. 10); but it is not at all necessary to make this explanation; because יען means²The Hebrew text has the words כי יען טעמו השם משחני, lit., for יען has the meaning ‘ God has anointed me,’ etc., but יען has not this meaning; after טעמו the word טעם the reason why has been omitted, which has been restored in the translation. the reason of, and the whole phrase can be rendered thus: The reason why God has anointed me is, that I shall bring good tidings, etc.

THE LAND OF THE HEBREWS. This means the land of Hebron, wherein dwelt Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Abraham, the head of the lineage, was called “Abraham the Hebrew”²⁷⁵Above, 14:13. since he came from across the River Euphrates, and he was honored among the nations for in him was fulfilled the blessing, And I will make thy name great.²⁷⁶Ibid., 12:2. It is for this reason that all of his seed are called Ivrim (Hebrews). They hold on to this name in order not to intermingle with the various peoples in the Canaanite lands, and this name has been established as the name for all Israel’s seed forever. This is the meaning of the verse, He hath brought in a Hebrew unto us,²⁷⁷Ibid., 39:14. since Joseph told them “I am a Hebrew,” and he did not want them to take him as a Canaanite. And the land where they resided was called “the land of the Hebrews,” that is to say, the land in which the Hebrews are.²⁷⁸But not that it is theirs. It may be that it was so called because they were its leaders and nobles, even as it says, Thou art a prince of G-d in the midst of us,²⁷⁹Above, 23:6. and it is further written, Touch not My anointed ones.²⁸⁰Psalms 105:15.

ויצק שמן על ראשה, so that he would recognise this stone on his return from Charan. Oil stains on a stone remain for many years and do not disappear. He planned to erect an altar at this site when he would return from Charan. It is also possible that the pouring of oil on that stone was equivalent to pouring a libation of wine on the altar. In fact, when he did return to this site he is reported as doing exactly this (Genesis 35,14) All of this was to be a visible reminder that the Jewish people would take possession, inherit the land promised to them by G’d. Just as Avraham and Yitzchok during their time had treated the land as if it already belonged to them, Yaakov now did the same, albeit it in a miniscule, symbolical way. Once Yaakov had made a monument out of this stone no one had the right to use this stone for his private needs. The fact that some 34 years later he built an altar there using this stone as its foundation, shows that no one in the interval had disputed what this stone had represented. The Torah would not bother to mention that Yaakov had called this site Bet El unless the local people had been informed of this and had not objected to the name change. Clearly, just as the local population had to go along with the wells dug by Avraham and Yitzchok and the names given to these wells because G’d made them respect these patriarchs, so now G’d inspired the local residents to go along with what Yaakov had done there. The attitude G’d inspired in the local population is best described by David in Psalms 105 15 אל תגעו במשיחי ולנביאי אל תרעו, “do not dare touch My anointed, nor do harm to My prophets.”

Do not touch My anointed ones, and do not harm My prophets Concerning Abraham it says (Gen. 12:17): “And the Lord plagued Pharaoh,” and it is written (ibid. 20:3): “And the Lord came to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him: You shall die, etc.” Concerning Jacob it says: (ibid. 31: 24): “And God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night, and said to him: Beware, etc.” And further, concerning Jacob, when they came to kill him because they killed Shechem and Hamor, it is writ ten: (ibid. 35:5): “Then they journeyed on, and the terror of God was, etc.” The Book of Psalms is more explicit, for the psalm does not terminate here, as it is written there (105:16): “He called a famine upon the land,” in order to exile them to Egypt.

למשחה means to be raised to dignity by means of them. For sometimes the word משח is used in the sense of “dignity”, as in (Numbers 18:8), “to thee I have given them as a dignity (למשחה)”, and (I Chronicles 16:22) “Touch ye not my nobles (משיחי)” (cf. Rashi on Exodus 30:29).