여호수아 15:14의 인용 해설

וגם אחרי כן אשר יבואו בני האלוהים אל בנות האדם, and also after the elite had made a point of mating with the physically attractive בנות האדם there were even more numerous such giants who reflected the genes of their fathers in size and the allure of their mothers in beauty. והמה הגבורים אשר מעולם, these were the ones always remembered in later times as the heroic people of their time אשר מעולם אנשי שם, people whose reputation survived their disappearance from the earth. After the deluge survivors realised that it had been displeasing in the eyes of G’d for those people to have devoted themselves to all the physical pleasures of the world and to aim at enlarging the size of their bodies as well as aiming to increase the number of years they lived on earth. [After all they had perished, and normal sized individuals, such as Noach’s family had survived. Ed.] The physical desires of the survivors of the deluge were far less powerful than that of their forebears so that gradually also their lifespan diminished, i.e. their entire hold on matters physical became a less dominant concern. People in the generations after the deluge, in spite of their other failings, gradually resumed a lifestyle that had been normal before the excesses that the בני אלוהים had indulged in. When the Israelites came to the land of Canaan there were only a very few of the former giants still surviving, mostly concentrated around Hebron (Joshua 15,14) Our sages have a tradition that there were only four such giants still alive at that time. (Joshua 14,15) In the time of David there appear to have been a few such men in Gat (Samuel II 21,15) Concerning Og, the King of Bashan, the Bible testifies that he had been a remnant of this race of these antediluvian giants (Joshua 13,12). It is possible that those survivors still practiced a lifestyle reminiscent of their antediluvian forebears.

AND HEBRON ‘NIVNETHAH’ (WAS BUILT) SEVEN YEARS BEFORE ZOAN IN EGYPT. “Is it possible that Ham [Noah’s son, the father of both Canaan and Mitzraim], built Hebron for Canaan, his younger son, before he built Zoan for Mitzraim, his elder son? Rather, you must say that [the meaning of the word nivnethah] is m’vunah (“built up” — i.e., furnished, supplied) with all excellent qualities, seven times more than Zoan [in Egypt]. The verse thus comes to tell you of the wonderful quality of the Land of Israel.” This is Rashi’s language.
It appears to me according to the plain meaning [of Scripture] that Hebron is Kiryath-arba, the greatest man of the Anakim having the name Arba, and it was he who built it [Hebron], therefore it was called by his name; just as it is said, Now the name of Hebron beforetime was Kiryath-arba, which Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim.⁴⁵Joshua 14:15. This man begot a son whom he named Anak, and it was after him that they [the inhabitants of Hebron] were called Anakim. Therefore Scripture states [here in our verse] that there in Hebron were Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, and Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt, meaning to say that Arba built it for his son Anak seven years before the building of Zoan in Egypt, which was an ancient city. [Scripture thereby] tells of the longevity of these people, for just as they were exceptional in their height so also they lived longer than other peoples; since Hebron was built [by Arba] for their father [i.e., Anak, the father of these giants Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai] before Zoan in Egypt, and many generations had elapsed since then [the founding of Zoan] until now.
It is possible that [in saying that Hebron was built seven years before Zoan Scripture] is alluding to that which it said, whether it is fat or lean,²⁴Further, Verse 20. [implying] that Hebron was very ancient and nonetheless still produced fat and large fruits, as Scripture tells about the bunch of grapes,⁴⁶Verse 24. and how much more so the newer [parts of the] Land, which was more fertile.
It may be that Arba [and not, as explained above, a son of his, called Anak], was the father of Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, and he was called Arba [literally “four”] because there were [altogether] four Anakim [“giants” — the three sons, Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, and their father. According to this we would not have to postulate, as explained above, the existence of a son of Arba whom he named Anak, and who was the ancestor of the people called Anakim]. And the verse which states even Kiryath-arba, which Arba was the father of ‘Anak’ — the same is Hebron⁴⁷Joshua 15:13. [from which you might deduce that Arba indeed had a son, called Anak, uses the singular as a generic term and] means “the father of Anakim.” Therefore Scripture speaks of [Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai as the sons of] Anak and as the children ‘ha’anak’ (of Anak),⁴⁸In Verse 33 here, Scripture speaks of [the sons of] Anak, and in Verse 22 here [also in Joshua 15:14] of the children of ‘ha’anak.’ that is, the children of the greatest [giant] of them all [Arba], just as it says, which Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim;⁴⁵Joshua 14:15. and therefore [since it refers to the greatest giant, called Arba, and not to an individual called Anak] Scripture mentions the name with the definite article.⁴⁹The definite article [indicated in Hebrew by prefixing the word with the letter hei] cannot be prefixed to a proper name of a person. Thus, e.g., you cannot say ‘ha’Reuben’ (the Reuben). But if it is not a proper name the hei can be used. Thus we find “ha’Reubeini” (the Reubenites) — further 26:7, etc. Here too, if “Anak” were the proper name of a person, Scripture could not have said the children of ‘ha’anak,’ but since it means here “the [greatest] giant,” it may properly be so used. They [giants] are called Anakim [literally “necklaces”] because of their beautiful stature, for they are like necklaces on the necks of the people [i.e., they were the pride of the people], just as [certain people] were called bnei ha’elohim⁵⁰Genesis 6:2. See Vol. I, pp. 102-3. in the section of Bereshith, as I have explained there.⁵⁰Genesis 6:2. See Vol. I, pp. 102-3. This is the meaning of the verse, And Hebron ‘nivnethah’ (was built) by this ‘anak’ [mentioned in the beginning of the verse], seven years before Zoan in Egypt, for since the builder of Hebron [Arba] was well-known and famous, because the name of the city was Kiryath-arba (“the city of Arba”), Scripture says “it was built,” [and does not say that Arba built it]. Or its meaning might be [to emphasize] that it was built for these [very people whom the spies now found in it], their father Arba having built it for them, and thus very many years had passed since the day it was founded even until now.⁵¹Exodus 9:18.

V. 22. ויעלו וגו׳ ויבא וגו׳. Der Singular ויבא ist auffallend. Nach Sota 34b bezieht man es auf Kaleb, der allein dorthin gegangen wäre, um auf dem Grabe der Väter sich Widerstandskraft gegen das Vorhaben seiner Gefährten zu erflehen, und findet eine Bestätigung darin, daß von ihm Dewarim 1, 36 gesagt ist: ולו אתן את הארץ אשר דרך בה, und in der Tat ihm Chebron zuteil geworden. Richter 1, 20: ויתנו לכלב את חברון כאשר דבר משה. Allein V. 28 berichten die zurückgekehrten Botschafter: וגם ילידי הענק ראינו שם. Demnach wäre Kaleb nicht allein in die Heimat der Anakiden gekommen. Es sind ja ganz eigentlich seine Gefährten, die dort, und so auch noch ausführlicher V. 33, von den Anakiden und dem Eindruck berichten, den ihr Anblick auf sie gemacht. Ja, Dewarim 1, 28 ist es ganz eigentlich der Bericht über diese Söhne Anaks, der die Verzagtheit des Volkes bis zur vollendeten Mutlosigkeit gesteigert. Ohnehin bietet das unserm Verse Vorangehende keinen Anhaltspunkt, das Subjekt von ויבא in Kaleb, oder überhaupt in einem einzelnen zu finden, und ist auch nach den Akzenten ויבא so eng mit ויעלו verbunden, daß beide nur von einem und demselben Subjekte ausgesagt erscheinen. Wir möchten daher in der Tat glauben, ויבא beziehe sich ebenso wie ויעלו auf alle Botschafter zusammen. Es ist aber ויבא im Singular ausgedrückt, um die Einmütigkeit und das Einheitliche der Gesinnung und Absicht anzudeuten, in welcher die Kundschafter bis Chebron zusammengewandert. "Sie gingen im Süden hinauf und kamen einheitlich bis Chebron". Dort aber sehen sie die Nachkommen des Riesengeschlechtes, und mit dem Eindruck, den deren Anblick, und wahrscheinlich auch, wie wir sehen werden, das ganze Fremdartige, in riesigen Dimensionen Erscheinende der Bauart der Stadt auf sie machte, begann die wankelmütige Sinnesänderung. Es ist nicht unmöglich, diese Auffassung mit der aus Sota zitierten zu vereinigen. Bis Chebron machte sich der hervorragende Einfluss Kalebs auf seine Gefährten geltend und hielt sie in einmütiger Gesinnung zusammen. In Chebron begann der Gegensatz und veranlasste Kaleb, sich auf dem Grabe der Väter Mut zum ausharrenden Widerstand zu erflehen. Und eben, weil dort sich Kalebs Treue im Gegensatz zu dem Abfall seiner Gefährten entschied, ward ihm später bei Verteilung des Landes Chebron zuteil, und eben Kaleb besiegte die Anakiden, deren bloßer Anblick seinen Gefährten den Mut gebrochen hatte (Josua 15, 14).