Exegete and grammarian: Radak's approach to the singular-plural discrepancy in Scripture

In his Sefer Hashorashim , David Kimchi (Radak) refers to numerous cases of singular-plural discrepancy in biblical verses and declares that the phenomenon requires a meaningful explanation wherever it appears. Like some of his predecessors, Radak relates in his commentary to problems of singular-pl...

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Bibliographic Details
Subtitles:בין בלשן לפרשן : יחסו של רד״ק לסוגיית ההתאמה המספרית במקרא
Main Author: Seidler, Ayelet (Author)
Format: Print Article
Language:Hebrew
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Published: College [2015]
In: Hebrew Union College annual / Jewish Institute of Religion
Year: 2013, Volume: 84/85, Pages: 137-158
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Ḳimḥi, Daṿid 1160-1235 / Exegete / Grammarian / Singular / Plural / Discrepancy / Bible
IxTheo Classification:HA Bible
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Summary:In his Sefer Hashorashim , David Kimchi (Radak) refers to numerous cases of singular-plural discrepancy in biblical verses and declares that the phenomenon requires a meaningful explanation wherever it appears. Like some of his predecessors, Radak relates in his commentary to problems of singular-plural discrepancy in grammar as well as in context, i.e., problems that arise from the information supplied by the text or from a contradiction to the commonly presented opinions and beliefs in Scripture (especially a plural form associated with the name of God). Radak adds to these two areas (grammar and context) another phenomenon: singular-plural discrepancy between two parts of verse-parallelism. He relates to cases in which the subject appears as plural in one part of the parallelism, but as singular in the other part. In accordance with his methodological statement in Shorashim , even where Radak offers a linguistic solution he tries to make it meaningful. In other cases he seeks a situational solution and points out that the transition from singular to plural and vice versa conveys real changes of circumstances. A close look at Radak's treatment of singular-plural discrepancy reveals his sensitivity to scriptural peculiarities. His approach to this phenomenon as well as to other scriptural characteristics assures his place among the foremost biblical peshat commentators of the Middle Ages.
ISSN:0360-9049
Contains:Enthalten in: Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Hebrew Union College annual / Jewish Institute of Religion