Bibbia Ebraica
Bibbia Ebraica

Midrash su Gioele 1:1

דְּבַר־יְהוָה֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר הָיָ֔ה אֶל־יוֹאֵ֖ל בֶּן־פְּתוּאֵֽל׃

La parola dell'Eterno che venne a Gioele, figlio di Pethuel.

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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