민수기 12:1의 인용 해설

And Devorah and Barak son of Avinoam sang: Because Devorah is the central actor [she is mentioned first]. It is like (Numbers 12:1), "Miriam and Aharon spoke about Moshe."

which he sang unto the Lord concerning Cush, a Benjamite: – Our teachers of blessed memory have said (Targum ad loc. and Babli, Moed Katon 16 b, with some variation) that this Psalm was uttered concerning Saul. And he calls him Cush because he was beautiful, as “the Cushite woman” (Num. 12:1), which is interpreted in the Targum as “the beautiful woman”; and such is the opinion of all the exegetes. And they say that he calls him “Cushite” as a Cushite is one who does not change his skin, so Saul did not change in his hatred towards David. And in this way it is said (Jer. 13:23), “Can the Cushite change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then may ye also be able to do good who are accustomed to do evil.” And the learned R. Abraham ben Ezra, of blessed memory, rejected this interpretation; for he asks, How should anyone say of the Lord's anointed, Behold, he travaileth with iniquity (5:15)? And he says there was one of the children of Benjamin who hated him, and his name was Cush. And his objection to Behold, he travaileth with iniquity as being said of Saul does not hold. Why should he not say so? Behold, did (not) David say to his very face: “Out of the wicked proceedeth wickedness” (1 Sam. 24:14)? And did he (not) say to him: “And the Lord avenge thee of me” (ibid. 24:13)? And in the Haggadic exposition (Shoher Tob, ad loc.) (it says that) he surnames him Cush, because it is written (Koheleth 10:20): “Curse not the king, no, not in thy thought.” x And the Haggadic interpretation is correct. You see that all agree that the Psalm was spoken of Saul, apart from the (one) interpreter mentioned. And as regards the expression concerning (על דברי, lit. “concerning the matters of”), (it is used) because the matters and affairs which he had in connexion with him were numerous. Many times also he had purposed to slay him, as it is written (in Scripture). The first occasion, when he became his son-in-law, he purposed to make him fall into the hand of the Philistines; afterwards he purposed to slay him in his house; and when he stood (ministering) before him he hurled the javelin at him many times; and (even) after he had parted from him (he acted) in a like manner also when he was pursuing him. And the interpretation of דברי על is “concerning the matter of” in accordance with (the use of the expression in such a passage as): “concerning (דבר על) the frogs” (Exod. 8:8), and similar passages.

The heads of the tribes: According to my opinion that this section is after the war with Midian, it is for this reason that [the section about that war] is after it; just as "And Miriam and Aaron spoke about Moses (Numbers 12:1) is after "and they were in Chatserot" (Numbers 11:35) [even though it happened earlier], as I explained.1 And Scripture states that the Children of Gad came to Moses and Elazar and the princes of the congregation and they spoke their words. And afterwards, it is written (Numbers 32:28), "Then Moses gave instructions concerning them to Elazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the family heads of the Israelite tribes" - which are the princes of the congregation [just] mentioned. And since Moses said to the Children of Gad and the Children of Reuben (Numbers 32:24), "you shall do what comes out of your mouth"; it is therefore written (Numbers 30:2), "And Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes," and then (verse 3), "he shall do like everything that comes out of his mouth."

ואל ישעו בדברי שקר AND LET THEM NOT REGARD VAIN WORDS — let them not think and speak always about “words of wind” saying, “Let us go and sacrifice”. Of similar meaning is, (Psalm 119:117) “And I will speak of (ואשעה ב־) thy statutes continually”. The phrase (Deuteronomy 28:37) למשל ולשנינה “[thou shalt become] a proverb and a byword” we translate in the Targum by “a topic of conversation (שועי)”, and the word ויספר (Genesis 24:66) “and he related” by ואשתעי “and he spoke about”. One cannot possibly say that the word ישעו has the same meaning as the verbs in (Genesis 4:4) “And the Lord turned (וישע) to Abel” and in (Genesis 4:4) “but to Cain and his offering he did not turn (שעה)”, and that we must translate אל ישעו by “Let them not turn”, for if this were so Scripture should have written אל דברי שקר or לדברי שקר (instead of בדברי) for so is the construction in all such cases. Examples are: (Isaiah 17:7) “A man shall turn to (ישעה אל) his Maker”; (Isaiah 17:8) “and he shall not turn to (ישעה על) the altars”; (Isaiah 31:1) “they turn not unto (שעו על) the Holy One of Israel”. I do not find the construction of a ב following these verbs in the sense of “turning to”, but after an expression of דבר “speaking” — as when one intently directs his conversation upon a matter — the construction with כ is quite an appropriate one. For instance: (Ezekiel 33:30) “those who intently direct their conversation (הנדברים) upon thee (בך)”; (Numbers 12:1) “And Miriam and Aaron directed their speech (ותדבר) upon Moses (במשה)”; (Zechariah 4:1) “And the angel who directed his conversaion (הדובר) upon me (בי)”; (Deuteronomy 11:9) “To turn your conversation (לדבר) intently upon them (בם)”; (Psalm 119:46) “And I will direct my speech (אדברה) upon thy testimonies (בעדותיך)”. So, too, here: ואל ישעו בדברי שקר means “let them not always be conversing about vain and idle matters”.