כִּ֣י ׀ הִנֵּ֣ה הָאֶ֗בֶן אֲשֶׁ֤ר נָתַ֙תִּי֙ לִפְנֵ֣י יְהוֹשֻׁ֔עַ עַל־אֶ֥בֶן אַחַ֖ת שִׁבְעָ֣ה עֵינָ֑יִם הִנְנִ֧י מְפַתֵּ֣חַ פִּתֻּחָ֗הּ נְאֻם֙ יְהוָ֣ה צְבָא֔וֹת וּמַשְׁתִּ֛י אֶת־עֲוֺ֥ן הָאָֽרֶץ־הַהִ֖יא בְּי֥וֹם אֶחָֽד׃
만군의 여호와가 말하노라 내가 너 여호수아 앞에 세운 돌을 보라 한 돌에 일곱 눈이 있느니라 내가 새길 것을 새기며 이 땅의 죄악을 하루에 제하리라
Rabbeinu Bahya
We find a similar concept expressed in writings explaining aggadic material. We are told there that when the Shechinah will once again take up residence in the Holy of Holies, the inner Sanctum of the third Temple, people will acknowledge this event by reciting ברוך כבוד י-ה-ו-ה ממקומו. In the Sefer Habahir (item 131) this is explained in the following way: “what precisely is this כבוד ה'? We may understand all this in the form of a parable. A king had a beautiful lady in his chamber, a lady that all his soldiers amused themselves with. The king and that lady’s children would pay daily visits to the palace blessing their father the king profusely and asking: “where is our mother?” The king replied: ‘you cannot see her just now.” The children then said: “may she be blessed wherever she is.” Thus far the Sefer Habahir.
This “כבוד” is known generally as שכינה, and you know already that it is perceived as extending to all “extremities, endings,” i.e. all six directions [in terms of our terrestrial world, i.e. the six directions in which we shake the Lulav, Ed.] This emanation כבוד itself ranks seventh [from the bottom up in the ten emanations, Ed.] so that it “presides,” i.e. provides spiritual input for the six “lower” emanations. Basically, this is what occurred at Mount Sinai when the Israelites heard the Ten Commandments as if emanating out of the fire. This is also what the sages (Shemot Rabbah 28,4) had in mind when they said “the Torah was given with seven קולות, “voices.” The word קול or קולות occurs seven times in our paragraph. [The word קול or קולות occurs six times, the seventh time being the words וידבר אלו-הים “G’d spoke,” something obviously involving קול, “voice.” — compare 19,15, 19,16, 19,19,(twice) 20,16. (twice)]. When you look at the second version of the Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy 5,19 you will again find that the word קול or קולות occurs seven times. I will refer to this in detail when we discuss those verses.
On this occasion Moses attained an understanding of seven different קולות, which in kabbalistic terms are called seven emanations, and to which our sages referred as שבעה קולות, “seven voices,” whereas in the language of our prophets these are called שבעה עינים, “seven facets.” This is the mystical dimension of Zecharyah 3,9 על אבן אחת שבעה עינים. The word עינים is related in meaning to גוונים, “varieties.” Only Moses understood the name and the full meaning of it. The people at large only heard the voice of G’d as a single קול. This is what Moses referred to when he wrote Deut 5,19: את הדברים האלה דבר ה' אל כל קהלכם ...קול גדול ולא יסף, “these words the Lord spoke to your entire congregation.. .a great voice without addition,” The verse makes it plain that the congregation only heard a single voice, nothing additional. This was because their limited powers of perception did not allow them to distinguish nuances within that voice. You also find that David mentions seven קולות Psalms 29,3 (1); 29,4(2+3); 29,5 (4); 29,6 (5); 29,7 (6); 29,8 (7). The sequence there is understood in a descending order, i.e. from חסד-גבורה-תפארת-נצה-הוד-יסוד-מלכות.
After Moses had attained understanding of these seven emanations, he turned to G’d asking to be granted understanding of the emanations which were still higher, i.e. the emanations בינה-חכמה-כתר in ascending order. This is the meaning of Exodus 33,18 הראני נא את כבודך, “please show me Your כבוד. I will deal with this in detail when we discuss that verse.
This “כבוד” is known generally as שכינה, and you know already that it is perceived as extending to all “extremities, endings,” i.e. all six directions [in terms of our terrestrial world, i.e. the six directions in which we shake the Lulav, Ed.] This emanation כבוד itself ranks seventh [from the bottom up in the ten emanations, Ed.] so that it “presides,” i.e. provides spiritual input for the six “lower” emanations. Basically, this is what occurred at Mount Sinai when the Israelites heard the Ten Commandments as if emanating out of the fire. This is also what the sages (Shemot Rabbah 28,4) had in mind when they said “the Torah was given with seven קולות, “voices.” The word קול or קולות occurs seven times in our paragraph. [The word קול or קולות occurs six times, the seventh time being the words וידבר אלו-הים “G’d spoke,” something obviously involving קול, “voice.” — compare 19,15, 19,16, 19,19,(twice) 20,16. (twice)]. When you look at the second version of the Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy 5,19 you will again find that the word קול or קולות occurs seven times. I will refer to this in detail when we discuss those verses.
On this occasion Moses attained an understanding of seven different קולות, which in kabbalistic terms are called seven emanations, and to which our sages referred as שבעה קולות, “seven voices,” whereas in the language of our prophets these are called שבעה עינים, “seven facets.” This is the mystical dimension of Zecharyah 3,9 על אבן אחת שבעה עינים. The word עינים is related in meaning to גוונים, “varieties.” Only Moses understood the name and the full meaning of it. The people at large only heard the voice of G’d as a single קול. This is what Moses referred to when he wrote Deut 5,19: את הדברים האלה דבר ה' אל כל קהלכם ...קול גדול ולא יסף, “these words the Lord spoke to your entire congregation.. .a great voice without addition,” The verse makes it plain that the congregation only heard a single voice, nothing additional. This was because their limited powers of perception did not allow them to distinguish nuances within that voice. You also find that David mentions seven קולות Psalms 29,3 (1); 29,4(2+3); 29,5 (4); 29,6 (5); 29,7 (6); 29,8 (7). The sequence there is understood in a descending order, i.e. from חסד-גבורה-תפארת-נצה-הוד-יסוד-מלכות.
After Moses had attained understanding of these seven emanations, he turned to G’d asking to be granted understanding of the emanations which were still higher, i.e. the emanations בינה-חכמה-כתר in ascending order. This is the meaning of Exodus 33,18 הראני נא את כבודך, “please show me Your כבוד. I will deal with this in detail when we discuss that verse.
Ramban
He states My doctrine shall drop as the rain,3Verse 2. for that which he took from the heavens [i.e., the Written Torah]4Abusaula. and His commandment upon the earth [i.e., the Oral Torah]4Abusaula. shall drop upon Israel and distill upon them like dew. When I shall call the name of the Eternal in the heavens ascribe ye greatness to our G-d5Verse 3. on earth — and he is speaking to all Israel [for it is they who are on earth]. Similarly, the “stone” of Joshua2Joshua 24:27. See Vol. I, p. 390. alludes to this earth, for from thence is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel.6Genesis 49:24. See Ramban ibid., in my Hebrew edition pp. 273-274. I have already explained it.6Genesis 49:24. See Ramban ibid., in my Hebrew edition pp. 273-274. So also, The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief corner-stone. This is the Eternal’s doing etc.7Psalms 118:22-23. Therefore, Joshua said, Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us.2Joshua 24:27. See Vol. I, p. 390. And so also, For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone are seven facets etc.8Zechariah 3:9. Reference here is to Joshua the High Priest, who ministered in the early period of the Second Temple. The student learned in the mysteries of the Cabala will understand.
Rabbeinu Bahya
ויתעצב אל לבו, “and His heart felt sadness.” In terms of the plain meaning of the words the term “heart” when applied to G-d is, of course, only a figure of speech. The same is true whenever the Torah speaks of other organs and appears to attribute them to G-d Who is totally abstract, devoid of any such organs. The reason that the Torah nonetheless employs such terms is to convey to us that our actions may or may not please G-d, may even elicit reactions that if they had been observed in humans would be described as “joy, anger, frustration, happiness and the like.” Such reactions when expressed by human beings usually involve human organs also. When the psalmist (Psalms 104,31) speaks about ישמח ה' במעשיו, “G-d rejoices in His works,” on the one hand, and in this instance we read ויתעצב ה' אל לבו, ”G-d was saddened in His heart,” both descriptions are of necessity anthropomorphisms, i.e. approximations of G-d’s reactions in terms which we humans can understand. They do not reflect the objective reactions of Someone Whose Essence we have not been privileged to understand
It follows that when the Torah wishes to give us an inkling of G-d’s reaction to man’s behavior it uses the word “heart” in order to help us understand. Seeing that the human heart is a major vessel in his thinking process, the Torah chose to attribute G-d’s feelings in reaction to human aberrations as reactions by “His heart.”
You find that if a person wants to concentrate he isolates himself and bends his head so as to exclude distracting intrusions into his thinking. The reason for this is that the brain, i.e. the head is where his ability to form thoughts originates. This thought process is then relayed to the heart. Granted, that this metaphor sounds somewhat far-fetched, the fact remains that ideas, thoughts travel in a downward direction from the brain to the heart.. When the Bible speaks about a messenger from G-d, such a messenger is usually described as פי ה', the “mouth” or “mouthpiece” of G-d (compare Isaiah 34,16) כי פי הוא צוה, “for My mouth (He) has commanded.” The prophet describes himself as G-d’s messenger (agent, or angel) who acts as G-d’s mouthpiece. The spirit of G-d is described as פי the spirit of the angel known as פי,“my,” resp “His mouth.” Yonathan ben Uziel therefore translates our verse here not as “G-d was saddened to His heart,” but as “His angel was saddened to his heart.” [Our editions of Yonathan ben Uziel do not have this wording; Ed.] According to our author the אורים ותומים, the parchment with the Holy name of G-d inside the breastplate of the High Priest which served as a source of communication from G-d to him, was also known as פי ה’, “the mouth of G-d, i.e. as an angel named “mouth of G-d.” Another example of such a reference to פי ה' is found in Joshua 9,14 where the acceptance of the Gibeonites as allies of the Jewish people is described. The failure of consulting G-d on that issue is described there as ואת פי ה' לא שאלו, “they did not consult ‘the mouth of G-d.” When we read in Numbers 11,1 ויהי העם כמתאוננים, רע באזני ה', “the people were as if looking for something to complain about, it was evil in the ears of G-d;” here to the word “in the ears” may be understood as the “ear” in question being one of G-d’s angels. Whenever the function of G-d’s angel is passive, i.e. he is to be an instrument of receiving G-d’s instructions, such a function of the angel is described as his being the “ears” of G-d. When he is supposed to be active in a supervisory manner, he is called “the eyes of G-d.” A very interesting example of this approach is found in Zechariah 3,9 where the prophet describes G-d’s supervision of the Jewish people in revolutionary terms, saying על אבן אחת שבעה עינים, “a single stone enjoying a variety of no less than seven supervisory “eyes,” i.e. agents of G-d.” When David speaks of אזנים כרית לי , “You assigned an ear [in order to listen to You ] “to me” [rather than the commandment to offer sacrifices, Ed.], he refers to his ear as the organ, or in this case G-d’s instrument, which helps to make him tune in to G-d’s “wavelength.” Whenever the term “ear or ears” is used for celestial beings the meaning is that these ”ears” are listening to Israel’s prayers. When G-d dispatches an angel to fight against Israel’s adversaries such an angel is usually described as יד ה' “the hand of G-d,” i.e. His executive arm. One of the examples of such a meaning of the term יד ה' is found in Samuel I 5,11 כבדה מאד יד האלוקים שם, “for the hand of the Lord had been very heavy there.” There are, of course, numerous similar quotations in Exodus when the Torah describes the plagues G-d inflicted upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians. When G-d’s agents are about to reveal a previously unknown manifestation of the Lord, the angel performing this task is often described as “the feet of G-d.” We find an example of this in Zechariah 14,4 ועמדו רגליו ביום ההוא על הר זיתים, “and on that day His feet will stand on Mount Olives, etc.” The prophet refers to G-d’s “soldiers.” There are numerous other examples of that nature.
It follows that when the Torah wishes to give us an inkling of G-d’s reaction to man’s behavior it uses the word “heart” in order to help us understand. Seeing that the human heart is a major vessel in his thinking process, the Torah chose to attribute G-d’s feelings in reaction to human aberrations as reactions by “His heart.”
You find that if a person wants to concentrate he isolates himself and bends his head so as to exclude distracting intrusions into his thinking. The reason for this is that the brain, i.e. the head is where his ability to form thoughts originates. This thought process is then relayed to the heart. Granted, that this metaphor sounds somewhat far-fetched, the fact remains that ideas, thoughts travel in a downward direction from the brain to the heart.. When the Bible speaks about a messenger from G-d, such a messenger is usually described as פי ה', the “mouth” or “mouthpiece” of G-d (compare Isaiah 34,16) כי פי הוא צוה, “for My mouth (He) has commanded.” The prophet describes himself as G-d’s messenger (agent, or angel) who acts as G-d’s mouthpiece. The spirit of G-d is described as פי the spirit of the angel known as פי,“my,” resp “His mouth.” Yonathan ben Uziel therefore translates our verse here not as “G-d was saddened to His heart,” but as “His angel was saddened to his heart.” [Our editions of Yonathan ben Uziel do not have this wording; Ed.] According to our author the אורים ותומים, the parchment with the Holy name of G-d inside the breastplate of the High Priest which served as a source of communication from G-d to him, was also known as פי ה’, “the mouth of G-d, i.e. as an angel named “mouth of G-d.” Another example of such a reference to פי ה' is found in Joshua 9,14 where the acceptance of the Gibeonites as allies of the Jewish people is described. The failure of consulting G-d on that issue is described there as ואת פי ה' לא שאלו, “they did not consult ‘the mouth of G-d.” When we read in Numbers 11,1 ויהי העם כמתאוננים, רע באזני ה', “the people were as if looking for something to complain about, it was evil in the ears of G-d;” here to the word “in the ears” may be understood as the “ear” in question being one of G-d’s angels. Whenever the function of G-d’s angel is passive, i.e. he is to be an instrument of receiving G-d’s instructions, such a function of the angel is described as his being the “ears” of G-d. When he is supposed to be active in a supervisory manner, he is called “the eyes of G-d.” A very interesting example of this approach is found in Zechariah 3,9 where the prophet describes G-d’s supervision of the Jewish people in revolutionary terms, saying על אבן אחת שבעה עינים, “a single stone enjoying a variety of no less than seven supervisory “eyes,” i.e. agents of G-d.” When David speaks of אזנים כרית לי , “You assigned an ear [in order to listen to You ] “to me” [rather than the commandment to offer sacrifices, Ed.], he refers to his ear as the organ, or in this case G-d’s instrument, which helps to make him tune in to G-d’s “wavelength.” Whenever the term “ear or ears” is used for celestial beings the meaning is that these ”ears” are listening to Israel’s prayers. When G-d dispatches an angel to fight against Israel’s adversaries such an angel is usually described as יד ה' “the hand of G-d,” i.e. His executive arm. One of the examples of such a meaning of the term יד ה' is found in Samuel I 5,11 כבדה מאד יד האלוקים שם, “for the hand of the Lord had been very heavy there.” There are, of course, numerous similar quotations in Exodus when the Torah describes the plagues G-d inflicted upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians. When G-d’s agents are about to reveal a previously unknown manifestation of the Lord, the angel performing this task is often described as “the feet of G-d.” We find an example of this in Zechariah 14,4 ועמדו רגליו ביום ההוא על הר זיתים, “and on that day His feet will stand on Mount Olives, etc.” The prophet refers to G-d’s “soldiers.” There are numerous other examples of that nature.
Rashi
משיתיהו The Targum renders this by שחלתיה which in the Aramaic language means drawing out. The word occurs in the Talmud, (Berakhot 8a) “as one draws out (משחל) a hair from milk”, and in the Hebrew language משיתיהו might be taken to mean “I have removed him”, just as, (Joshua 1:8) “it shall not depart (ימוש)”; (Numbers 14:44) “they did not depart (משו)”. Thus indeed did Menachem b. Seruk classify it (i. e. he put משיתיהו under the same root as מש and משו in the verses quoted; according to him a biliteral root מש, our ע"ו root מוש). I, however, say, that it should not be classified together with מש and וימוש but that it is to be derived from משה, and that it means taking out, similar to (II Samuel 22:17) “He draws me out (ימשני) from many waters”. For if it were of the same class as מש, it would not be correct to say משיתיהו (in the Kal), but הֲמישׁוֹתִיהוּ a Hiphil form, (since this root in the Kal means “to depart” or “go away” and not “to make a thing go away”), just as from קם one says הֲקִימוֹתִי and from שב — הֲשִׁיבוֹתִי and from הֲבִיאוֹתִי — בא; or one must say מַשְתִּיהוּ (which is also a form from מוש used in a causative sense), just as, (Zechariah 3:9) “And I will remove (וּמַשְׁתִּי) the iniquity of that land”. But מָשִׁיתִי can only be derived from a word whose verbal form has a ה as a root letter at the end of the word, as e. g., משה and בנה and עשה and צוה and פנה. When it wishes to say in regard to these verbs, “I have done so-and-so” (a Kal), a י takes the place of the ה, as in בָּנִיתִי and עָשִׂיתִי and צִוִּיתִי.