출애굽기 21:22의 유대 사상

The passage from Iyov continues: Despite these thoughts וַתִּשַּׁק יָדִי לְפִי – “I covered my mouth with my hand.” Rav Avraham ibn Ezra explains that covering one’s mouth with one’s hand was “a type of worship to the sun and the moon carried out by the people of early generations.” However, according to our interpretation of the passage, Iyov was saying, “I covered my mouth with my hand,” so as not to make a statement that would express a lack of faith, for this would be an עָוֹן פְּלִילִי – “a punishable sin.” The commentaries⁸Tosfos Yom Tov is referring to Rashi and Rav Avraham ibn Ezra, who lived before Tosfos Yom Tov. Metzudas David and Malbim, who both lived after Tosfos Yom Tov, interpret the term פלילי in a similar manner as Tosfos Yom Tov. do not offer an interpretation of the term פלילי. Apparently, the term means “liable for judgment,” as in the phrase,⁹Shmos 21:22. וְנָתַן בִּפְלִילִים – “He must give as dictated by the judges.” According to our interpretation, the phrase עון פלילי can be understood as also meaning that the sin would be entertaining thoughts regarding the justice of God’s judgments.¹⁰In a similar vein, in his commentary to the verse, Rav Moshe Alshich cites Kiddushin 40a, which states that one is liable for merely entertaining thoughts of worshiping other deities. Thus, the continuation of the verse, כִּי כִחַשְׁתִּי לָאֵל מִמָּעַל should be interpreted as, “I would have questioned the validity of God’s judgments.”