Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Yigal Levin <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il>]

Actually, Shoshanna, Saadiah Gaon, Rashi, Ibn Ezra and Radak all interpret 
it as meaning slaves, either before or after metioning that they could also 
be people who they had "converted".

Yigal Levin

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Shoshanna Walker" <rosewalk AT concentric.net>
To: <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Sunday, November 18, 2007 1:03 AM
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Genesis 12: 5: Are "Souls" Slaves?


> It is the consensus (unanimous as far as I know) among Chazal, that
> these refer to the people who he "converted" to the knowledge of G-d.
> It is beyond belief that this could be construed as slaves.
>
> Shoshanna
>
>
> > Genesis 12: 5 tells us that certain people came with  Abraham and Lot from
> > Harran to Canaan, who almost certainly were not members of  the
> > immediate family
> > of Abraham or Lot:  "the souls that they had gotten in Haran".  Are these
> > people "slaves", who had been  "bought" by Abraham and Lot in Harran?  Or,
> > rather, are these people distant relatives of Abraham's father,
> > whose  families were
> > the social equals of Abraham's father's family, and who were on a  long
> > caravan trip out to Mesopotamia with Abraham's father's family as
> > security  guards?
> > Here is the JPS1917 translation of Genesis 12:  5:
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