From: Harold Holmyard <hholmyard3 AT earthlink.net>
To: "b-hebrew-lists.ibiblio.org" <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] yorenu (again) in Sanhedrin 105
Date: Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:47:04 -0500
Gabe,
I think Isaac makes a good point because
the speaker can be summarizing the whole
dynamic between the prophet and the
Israelites. They could ironically take
Isaiah's statement that God teaches the
farmer and defiantly gives it back to
Isaiah about their unwillingness to repent.
Of course Isaiah himself was using the
whole farming illustration to discuss
divine discipline in the first place. So
there is no doubt that God would teach
the Israelites to repent, but they would
not like the way he taught them. That is
part of Isaiah's point, although he
moderates it by adding that the divine
discipline would not go on forever.
Rabbah b. bar Hana can be reflecting the
unrepentant attitude of Israel by
creatively inventing a dialogue that
borrows from Isaiah. It does not
necessarily mean that he translated the
verse that way.
Yours,
Harold Holmyard
________________________________
For he doth chastise him to discretion,
and his God doth teach him.16
Rabbah b. Bar Hana said: The prophet
urged Israel, 'Return and repent.'
They replied, 'We cannot: the Tempter17
rules over us. He said to them,
'Curb your [evil] desires.' They
replied, 'Let His God teach us.'18
16 Isa. XXVIII, 26. (E.V. For his God
doth instruct him to discretion and
doth teach him.)