Ibn Ezra: Arami Oved Avi (Ki Tavo)
“Arami oved avi”, a curious and somewhat confusing phrase. Who is the Aramean? Who is the father? And what does oved really mean?
Tag: dvarim
Ibn Ezra: Incremental Free Will (Vaetchanan)
God hopes that the people of Israel will be reverent – does this mean they have free will? Or does God still control a great deal through laws of nature?
Rashbam: The Meaning of Mussar (Eikev)
The word “mussar” appears only once in that form in the Torah. What does it mean in context? How does that connect to the later meaning of mussar?
Rashbam: Keeping the Covenant (Vaetchanan)
Keeping is key in Deuteronomy 7:9. God “keeps the covenant” when the Israelites “keep the mitzvot.” Rashbam’s has a twist on what God’s keeping means.
Rashbam and Andrew of St. Victor (D’varim)
Rashbam. Andrew of St. Victor. Two medieval French scholars, devoted to the plain-sense contextual interpretation of the Bible. One Jewish, one Christian.