Abstract
In this article, I shall discuss the adjective מחוספס and the word מן in the phrase מן-הוא, which both appear in the manna pericope in Exod 16:1415. I will present the different interpretations suggested by medieval Jewish commentators as well as modern scholars and dictionaries, and I shall attempt to show which one of the medieval interpretations is the most appropriate in the light of modern biblical philology. Medieval Jewish commentators suggested four different interpretations of the word מחוספס, two of which, "rounded" and "uncovered", have also been supported by the findings of modern biblical philology. Two medieval commentators rightly interpreted the word מן in the phrase מן-הוא as an interrogative pronoun. This is also the commonly accepted interpretation in contemporary modern biblical philology. Keywords: Exod 16:14-15; Manna pericope; Jewish medieval commentators; Jewish medieval grammarians; modern biblical Hebrew philology; etymological equivalent; semantic equivalent; interrogative pronoun
Highlights
I shall discuss the adjective מחוספסand the word מןin the phrase הוא-מן, which both appear in the manna pericope in Exod 16:1415
I will present the different interpretations suggested by medieval Jewish commentators as well as modern scholars and dictionaries, and I shall attempt to show which one of the medieval interpretations is the most appropriate in the light of modern biblical philology
When modern scholars of the Bible and biblical philology interpret unique or difficult words or phrases, they often rely exclusively on modern biblical exegesis and lexicology, and do not take into consideration the interpretations offered by medieval exegetes, grammarians and lexicographers.[1]
Summary
When modern scholars of the Bible and biblical philology interpret unique or difficult words or phrases, they often rely exclusively on modern biblical exegesis and lexicology, and do not take into consideration the interpretations offered by medieval exegetes, grammarians and lexicographers.[1]. They had no knowledge about the various Semitic and non-Semitic languages on which many modern scholars rely, such as Akkadian, Ugaritic, Canaanite, Aramaic, Arabic, and Egyptian Despite these "disadvantages", sometimes medieval scholars arrived at the true or most probable explanation of a difficult word, by force of their developed linguistic sense and outstanding ability to understand the biblical text.[2] For these reasons, it is befitting for any modern philological research, alongside the use of modern linguistic tools, to make systematic and critical use of medieval exegetical and grammatical works. The main reason for this difficulty lies in the fact that it appears only once in the entire Bible, as an adjective of the heavenly food called "( מןmanna"), the nature, shape and appearance of which are entirely unknown This claim is reinforced by the fact that the Septuagint does not translate the word. The Septuagint brings the word גד, which is used to describe the manna in Exod 16:31 and Num 11:7.10
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