UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLE
Nash Papyrus vs Mesoretic
text: Shema
The Nash papyrus fragment obtained
by W. L. Nash in 1898 was, until the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the
earliest known Biblical Hebrew text. It is usually ascribed to the mid-2nd
century C.E. but some have dated it to first century C.E. and others back even
further to the second century B.C.E. 1
The small sheet of 24 lines contains
a distinct version of the 10 Commandments and ends abruptly after the opening
of the Shema. Its use has variously been
suggested as: part of a set of Tephilin, a teaching tool or as part of the
daily morning prayers following the old custom of saying these two texts together
as noted in the Mishnah Tamid 5:1 (32b in Talmud Bavli Tamid).2
Most discussion of the Nash
papyrus has focused on its variant 10 Commandment version, which somewhat resembles
the Septuagint.
In this blog the focus is on
the Shema section which differs from the traditional, Mesoretic text.
Issues
and my position
Wikipedia and others not
only suggest that the Nash Papyrus and the Greek Septuagint (which it closely
resembles) are based on a common Hebrew Torah scroll, but they also imply that the
underlying, long lost Torah scroll, which has textual differences, is much
older than the Jewish Mesoretic version used by World Jewry today.
In the sections
below I will argue that the Nash and Septuagint changes are post-Mesoretic,
and the traditional Mesoretic Torah text is, in fact, more accurate.
Preamble
to the Shema
The Shema appears in the Chumash/Pentateuch only once
and as part of Moses’ sermons that are the book of Deuteronomy and where he is
speaking to the new generation some 40 years after the Exodus.
In the Septuagint Greek translation and Hebrew Nash
fragment, there is an addition to verse 3 before the Shema.3
The Septuagint text is below with the additional
section highlighted in yellow and labelled by me as (3a):
“3 Hear, therefore, O Israel, and observe to do
them, that it may be well with thee, and that ye may be greatly multiplied, as
the Lord God of thy fathers said that he would give thee a land flowing with
milk and honey: (3a) and these [are] the ordinances, and the judgments, which
the Lord [LXX; but Nash has Moses] commanded the children of Israel in the
wilderness, when they had gone forth from the land of Egypt.” .
In Deuteronomy chapter 6, Moses is speaking to the
new generation 40 years after
the Exodus, as they are about to invade and conquer the Promised Land.
He advises and forewarns them as follows:
Verse 1 General
introduction and command to follow the laws and ordinances of God.
Verse 2 reward #1 =You will have long life
Verse 3 reward #2 = You will enjoy the benefits of a
land flowing with milk and honey
Verse 4 – 9
Shema Yisrael paragraph: including the mitzvoth of tephilin and
Mezzuzots to be affixed to the entrances of one’s home and city gates (in the
Promised Land).
Verse 10- 11 – Returns to and elaborates on the
benefits of the Promised Land: great cities already built and the bounty of the
land and its crops.
Verse 12- 16 Warning against Canaanite idol worship
and God’s punishments if it happens.
Verse 17-19 – Repeats the opening introduction (Verses
1-3): follow God’s commandments and then
God will ensure an easy victory and the bounty of the land.
Verse 20 – 23 - Suddenly switches to discuss future
generations and what to tell them at the Passover Seder (though not so named in
ch 6.) regarding the Exodus from Egypt, which text is included in the Passover
Haggadah.
Verse 24-25 These
nicely complete Moses’ circle of thought by returning to the
chapter’s opening words re: obeying the laws and ordinances given by God and His promise of live long and prosper.
Analysis
re: Nash and Septuagint
Nothing in the first 3 verses before Shema and the
subsequent verses 10-19 anticipate the Septuagint and Nash preamble insertion; an
addition which crudely tries to redirect the Shema’s context of entering
the Promised Land some 40 years after the Exodus. I.e., It clearly asserts the
Shema was given to the Jewish people soon after the Exodus.
Only the much later verses 20-23, which discuss future
generations and what to tell them at the Passover Seder have even the
slightest logical link to the Nash and Septuagint additional verse (3a):
Put simply, the Nash and Septuagint preamble to
Shema is totally out of place before verse 4.
It totally distorts and alters the timeline context
and only tangentially relates to the latter part of ch.6 used in the Haggadah.
It also violates the pattern of Moses’ speech: squeezing
in a 4th general introductory verse which alters the stylistic
balance of Moses’ sermon and its repeated emphasis on long life and prosperity
in the Promised Land in its ‘introductions’.
Consequently, I suggest the preamble to Shema was a
later addition.
It is a crude effort to deflect and unlink the
Shema from the Promised Land – something that makes good sense for those living
in the galut of Egypt.
It also tries to alter when
the Shema prayer was first given to the Jewish people by Moses. The preamble tradition
disagrees with the Mesoretic ‘plain meaning’ or peshat which places
the introduction of the Shema at the end of Moses’ life.
Finally, it might make sense as a standalone and devote
preface to any reading of the Shema in a prayer book – as
in the Nash papyrus -- where the entire context of Deut. ch 6 would not be
needed for saying the Shema.
After all, the Nash correctly attributes the prayer
to Moses – unlike the Septugint which attributes it to God.
Added הוא
Secondly, and more importantly, the opening verse of the
Shema in the Nash Papyrus has an extra word added: הוא -- which matches the Greek Septuagint.
The Nash text is:
[ישראל]
במדבר בצאתם מארץ מצרים שמ[ע]
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[ישרא]ל יהוה אלהינו יהוה אחד הוא וא[הבת] |
The Septuagint is: [from: http://www.ellopos.net/elpenor/greek- texts/septuagint/chapter.asp?book=5&page=6]
4 ῎Ακουε, ᾿Ισραήλ· Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν Κύριος εἷς ἐστι·
Literally: Listen Israel
Lord the
God our Lord
one
He is
Smoothed out:
Listen, Israel, the Lord [is] our God, Lord he
is one.
The inclusion of ἐστι· (= He is) equals the Hebrew הוא as the verb ‘is’ is implied
in Hebrew.
Analysis
That the extra word in the Nash Papyrus and Septuagint is again later than the Mesoretic Torah
tradition is supported by stylistic considerations and
Chumash usage.
STYLE
The Shema, like much in the
Chumash/Pentateuch is poetic and designed to be heard.
The text consequently uses a
poetic word count cadence as well as a rhythm or
beat based on audible vowels.
WORD COUNT
The Mesoretic traditional
text has the following word count pattern:
שְׁמַע, יִשְׂרָאֵל: יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ,
יְהוָה אֶחָד.
2
- 2
- 2
The Nash is: הוא שְׁמַע, יִשְׂרָאֵל: יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ,
יְהוָה אֶחָד
3
- 2 -
2
VOWEL COUNT AND BEAT
Also supporting the
Mesoretic text is the vowel pattern and beat.
Jews do not pronounce the
Eternal Tetragrammaton name of God and use ADONI , i.e., Master, as a
substitute when reading silently or aloud. The exact vocalization and number of
audible vowels has been lost.
Jehovah Witnesses assume
there are 3 audible vowel sounds, but there may be only two.
As the Divine name recurs,
the vowel pattern is still visible even if the exact pronunciation of the
Hebrew Eternal is unknown.
The Mesoretic vowel rhythm
pattern is:
שְׁמַע, יִשְׂרָאֵל: יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ,
יְהוָה אֶחָד.
If Eternal has 3 vowels: 2
(3) 4 (3) 3
2
If Eternal has 2 vowels: 2
(2) 4 (2) 3 2
The Nash is: הוא שְׁמַע, יִשְׂרָאֵל: יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ,
יְהוָה אֶחָד
If Eternal has 3 vowels: 1 2
(3) 4 (3) 3
2
If Eternal has 2 vowels: 1 2 (2) 4 (2) 3 2
SUMMARY
As can be seen from the word
count and vocalized vowel count, the Mesoretic text’s poetic qualities of symmetry
and balance become ‘diluted’ in both word count and vowel sounds
with the addition of the extra הוא.
NOT CHUMASH/PENTATEUCH usage
Finally,
the Hebrew word הוּא - singular 3rd person, male – is rarely used
in the Chumash/Pentateuch for people and almost NEVER USED in reference to God.
Yes, in
praise passages in the Book of Psalms God is referred to using the 3rd
person pronoun, e.g. Psalm 100, and so too once in the Book of Nehemiah, but
these well post-date the Chumash/Pentateuch.
Psalms Chapter 100
תְּהִלִּים
דְּעוּ--
כִּי יְהוָה, הוּא
אֱלֹהִים:
הוּא-עָשָׂנוּ, ולא (וְלוֹ) אֲנַחְנוּ-- עַמּוֹ, וְצֹאן מַרְעִיתוֹ. |
3 Know ye
that the LORD He is God; {N}
it is He that hath made us, and we are His, His people, and the flock of His pasture. |
Nehemiah
Chapter 9 נְחֶמְיָה
ו אַתָּה-הוּא יְהוָה,
לְבַדֶּךָ--את (אַתָּה) עָשִׂיתָ אֶת-הַשָּׁמַיִם שְׁמֵי הַשָּׁמַיִם
וְכָל-צְבָאָם הָאָרֶץ וְכָל-אֲשֶׁר עָלֶיהָ הַיַּמִּים וְכָל-אֲשֶׁר בָּהֶם,
וְאַתָּה מְחַיֶּה אֶת-כֻּלָּם; וּצְבָא הַשָּׁמַיִם, לְךָ מִשְׁתַּחֲוִים.
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6 Thou art
the LORD, even Thou alone; Thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with
all their host, the earth and all things that are thereon, the seas and all
that is in them, and Thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven
worshippeth Thee.
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ז אַתָּה-הוּא,
יְהוָה הָאֱלֹהִים, אֲשֶׁר בָּחַרְתָּ בְּאַבְרָם, וְהוֹצֵאתוֹ
מֵאוּר כַּשְׂדִּים; וְשַׂמְתָּ שְּׁמוֹ, אַבְרָהָם.
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7 Thou art
the LORD the God, who didst choose Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur
of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Abraham
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However,
In the Chumash/Pentateuch, הוּא, and the
female היא,are normally ‘impersonal’ in
usage and at time added in derogatory situations.
Examples:
Genesis
37: 27
When Jacob’s10 sons decide to sell Joseph into
slavery – הוּא is added though it is
superfluous grammatically; but its use does emphasize that Joseph, while their
brother and flesh, is an ‘outsider’ =
הוּא.
Genesis Chapter
37 בְּרֵאשִׁית
כז לְכוּ --וְנִמְכְּרֶנּוּ
לַיִּשְׁמְעֵאלִים-- וְיָדֵנוּ אַל-תְּהִי-בוֹ --
כִּי אָחִינוּ בְשָׂרֵנוּ
הוּא-- וַיִּשְׁמְעוּ אֶחָיו.
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Word count pattern: 1 -- 2 -- 4 -- 4 (with the הוּא) -- 2
Audible vowel pattern: 2 - 5 - 5 -
4 - 1+2+1 (=4)
– 1 - 3 - 4 - 1 (with the הוּא)
- 4 - 2
Genesis 38:25
At the climax of the story of Judah and Tamar, after she is accused of
being a harlot and is about to be burned to death, the Chumash/Pentateuch uses the impersonal הִיא /הִוא twice, almost back to back, as Tamar,
referred here only as “she” makes her embarrassing revelation of Judah’s
pledges as proof.
כד וַיְהִי
כְּמִשְׁלֹשׁ חֳדָשִׁים, וַיֻּגַּד לִיהוּדָה לֵאמֹר זָנְתָה תָּמָר כַּלָּתֶךָ,
וְגַם הִנֵּה הָרָה, לִזְנוּנִים; וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוּדָה, הוֹצִיאוּהָ וְתִשָּׂרֵף.
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24 And it
came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying: 'Tamar
thy daughter-in-law hath played the harlot; and moreover, behold, she is with
child by harlotry.' And Judah said: 'Bring her forth, and let her be burnt.'
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כה הִוא מוּצֵאת, וְהִיא שָׁלְחָה
אֶל-חָמִיהָ לֵאמֹר, לְאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר-אֵלֶּה לּוֹ, אָנֹכִי הָרָה; וַתֹּאמֶר,
הַכֶּר-נָא--לְמִי הַחֹתֶמֶת וְהַפְּתִילִים וְהַמַּטֶּה, הָאֵלֶּה.
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25 When she
was brought forth, she sent to her father-in-law, saying: 'By the man, whose these
are, am I with child'; and she said: 'Discern, I pray thee, whose are these,
the signet, and the cords, and the staff.'
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Genesis 39: 22-23
When Joseph was imprisoned in Egypt and became the warden’s ‘viceroy’,
the Chumash/Pentateuch, in referring to the tasks Joseph had to do to supervise
and run the prison, reverts – twice – to the impersonal הוּא.
כב וַיִּתֵּן
שַׂר בֵּית-הַסֹּהַר, בְּיַד-יוֹסֵף, אֵת כָּל-הָאֲסִירִם, אֲשֶׁר בְּבֵית
הַסֹּהַר; וְאֵת כָּל-אֲשֶׁר עֹשִׂים שָׁם, הוּא הָיָה עֹשֶׂה.
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22 And the
keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were
in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it.
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כג אֵין
שַׂר בֵּית-הַסֹּהַר, רֹאֶה אֶת-כָּל-מְאוּמָה בְּיָדוֹ, בַּאֲשֶׁר יְהוָה, אִתּוֹ;
וַאֲשֶׁר-הוּא
עֹשֶׂה, יְהוָה מַצְלִיחַ. {פ}
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23 The
keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand, because
the LORD was with him; and that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper. {P}
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Similarly, Exodus 34
In verse 9, Moses uses the word הוּא when referring in derogatory terms to the Jewish People, even
switching from the “we” of the surrounding sections of the verse to the
impersonal 3rd person ‘it” when saying: “... for it is a stiff-necked people “.
ט וַיֹּאמֶר
אִם-נָא מָצָאתִי חֵן בְּעֵינֶיךָ, אֲדֹנָי, יֵלֶךְ-נָא אֲדֹנָי,
בְּקִרְבֵּנוּ: כִּי עַם-קְשֵׁה-עֹרֶף הוּא, וְסָלַחְתָּ לַעֲוֹנֵנוּ
וּלְחַטָּאתֵנוּ וּנְחַלְתָּנוּ.
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9 And he
said: 'If now I have found grace in Thy sight, O Lord, let the Lord, I pray
Thee, go in the midst of us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our
iniquity and our sin, and take us for Thine inheritance.'
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הוּא also appears in God’s response
and self-description in verse 14.
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יד כִּי
לֹא תִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה, לְאֵל אַחֵר: כִּי יְהוָה
קַנָּא שְׁמוֹ, אֵל קַנָּא הוּא.
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14 For thou
shalt bow down to no other god; for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a
jealous God;
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Now one might argue it is a precedent
or parallel to the addition of הוּא/ ἐστι to the Nash and Septuagint Shema.
However, while the Shema’s
opening verse is clearly positive in its intent and is followed by an entire
paragraph encouraging the Jewish People to love God with all of one’s heart and
soul, etc., the above verse 14 is negative in nature.
It indicates when God’s
jealousy and wrath are aroused that He will become distant from the Jewish
People, become ‘impersonal’ when issuing His punishments.
Therefore, I suggest any
version of the opening line of Shema that contains the extra הוּא is post- Chumash/Pentateuch.
Only the Mesoretic text that is in keeping with the usage and idiom of the
Chumash/Pentateuch.
OVERALL CONCLUSION
Any suggestion that the Nash Papyrus and Septuagint -- with their extra
preamble and use of הוּא/ ἐστι represent an older and more correct
Hebrew text than the one passed on in Jewish Mesoretic tradition: based on age
of surviving manuscripts and the two-beats-one logic, is inconsistent with the general
style and word usage of the Hebrew Chumash/Pentateuch.
http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0506.htm
Deuteronomy Chapter 6 דְּבָרִים
1 Now this is
the commandment, the statutes, and the ordinances, which the LORD your God
commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over
to possess it--
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2 that thou
mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all His statutes and His
commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all
the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.
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3 Hear
therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and
that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD, the God of thy fathers, hath
promised unto thee--a land flowing with milk and honey. {P}
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4 Hear, O
Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one.
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5 And thou
shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and
with all thy might.
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6 And these
words, which I command thee this day, shall be upon thy heart;
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7 and thou
shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when
thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou
liest down, and when thou risest up.
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8 And thou
shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be for frontlets
between thine eyes.
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9 And thou
shalt write them upon the door-posts of thy house, and upon thy gates. {S}
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10 And it shall
be, when the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land which He swore unto
thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee--great and
goodly cities, which thou didst not build,
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11 and houses
full of all good things, which thou didst not fill, and cisterns hewn out,
which thou didst not hew, vineyards and olive-trees, which thou didst not
plant, and thou shalt eat and be satisfied--
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12 then beware
lest thou forget the LORD, who brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt,
out of the house of bondage.
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13 Thou shalt
fear the LORD thy God; and Him shalt thou serve, and by His name shalt thou
swear.
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14 Ye shall not
go after other gods, of the gods of the peoples that are round about you;
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15 for a
jealous God, even the LORD thy God, is in the midst of thee; lest the anger
of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and He destroy thee from off the
face of the earth. {S}
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16 Ye shall not
try the LORD your God, as ye tried Him in Massah.
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17 Ye shall
diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and His testimonies,
and His statutes, which He hath commanded thee.
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18 And thou
shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the LORD; that it may
be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which
the LORD swore unto thy fathers,
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19 to thrust
out all thine enemies from before thee, as the LORD hath spoken. {S}
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20 When thy son
asketh thee in time to come, saying: 'What mean the testimonies, and the
statutes, and the ordinances, which the LORD our God hath commanded you?
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21 then thou
shalt say unto thy son: 'We were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt; and the LORD
brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand.
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22 And the LORD
showed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon
all his house, before our eyes.
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23 And He
brought us out from thence, that He might bring us in, to give us the land
which He swore unto our fathers.
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24 And the LORD
commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good
always, that He might preserve us alive, as it is at this day.
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25 And it shall
be righteousness unto us, if we observe to do all this commandment before the
LORD our God, as He hath commanded us.' {S}
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Nash
Papyrus
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Translation and text facsimile from http://opensiddur.org/set-prayers/earth-cycle/daytime/morning/adventures-in-ancient-jewish-liturgy-the-ten-commandments-and-the-
shma-in-the-nash-papyrus/
[ ] – text missing
from fragment
[ואלה החק]ים והמשפטים אשר צוה משה את [בני] |
[(?) And these are the statute]s and the
judgments that Moshe commanded the [children of]
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[ישראל] במדבר בצאתם מארץ מצרים שמ[ע] |
[Yisrael] in the wilderness, when they
went forth from the land of Egypt. Hea[r]
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[ישרא]ל יהוה אלהינו יהוה אחד הוא וא[הבת] |
[Yisra]el: YHVH our God, YHVH is one;
and You shall lo[ve]
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[את יהוה א]ל[היך בכ]ל ל[בבך. . . . ] |
[YHVH your G]o[d with al]l y[our heart …
. ].
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Exodus Chapter 34 שְׁמוֹת
ד וַיִּפְסֹל
שְׁנֵי-לֻחֹת אֲבָנִים כָּרִאשֹׁנִים, וַיַּשְׁכֵּם מֹשֶׁה בַבֹּקֶר וַיַּעַל
אֶל-הַר סִינַי, כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה יְהוָה, אֹתוֹ; וַיִּקַּח בְּיָדוֹ, שְׁנֵי
לֻחֹת אֲבָנִים.
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4 And he
hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the
morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and
took in his hand two tables of stone.
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ה וַיֵּרֶד
יְהוָה בֶּעָנָן, וַיִּתְיַצֵּב עִמּוֹ שָׁם; וַיִּקְרָא בְשֵׁם, יְהוָה.
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5 And the
LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the
name of the LORD.
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ו וַיַּעֲבֹר
יְהוָה עַל-פָּנָיו, וַיִּקְרָא, יְהוָה יְהוָה, אֵל רַחוּם וְחַנּוּן--אֶרֶךְ
אַפַּיִם, וְרַב-חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת.
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6 And the
LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed: 'The LORD, the LORD, God, merciful
and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth;
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ז נֹצֵר חֶסֶד
לָאֲלָפִים, נֹשֵׂא עָוֹן וָפֶשַׁע
וְחַטָּאָה; וְנַקֵּה, לֹא יְנַקֶּה--פֹּקֵד עֲוֹן אָבוֹת
עַל-בָּנִים וְעַל-בְּנֵי בָנִים, עַל-שִׁלֵּשִׁים וְעַל-רִבֵּעִים.
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7 keeping
mercy unto the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression
and sin; and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of
the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the
third and unto the fourth generation.'
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ח וַיְמַהֵר,
מֹשֶׁה; וַיִּקֹּד אַרְצָה, וַיִּשְׁתָּחוּ.
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8 And Moses
made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.
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ט וַיֹּאמֶר
אִם-נָא מָצָאתִי חֵן בְּעֵינֶיךָ, אֲדֹנָי, יֵלֶךְ-נָא אֲדֹנָי,
בְּקִרְבֵּנוּ: כִּי עַם-קְשֵׁה-עֹרֶף הוּא, וְסָלַחְתָּ לַעֲוֹנֵנוּ
וּלְחַטָּאתֵנוּ וּנְחַלְתָּנוּ.
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9 And he
said: 'If now I have found grace in Thy sight, O Lord, let the Lord, I pray
Thee, go in the midst of us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our
iniquity and our sin, and take us for Thine inheritance.'
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י וַיֹּאמֶר,
הִנֵּה אָנֹכִי כֹּרֵת בְּרִית, נֶגֶד כָּל-עַמְּךָ אֶעֱשֶׂה נִפְלָאֹת, אֲשֶׁר
לֹא-נִבְרְאוּ בְכָל-הָאָרֶץ וּבְכָל-הַגּוֹיִם; וְרָאָה כָל-הָעָם
אֲשֶׁר-אַתָּה בְקִרְבּוֹ אֶת-מַעֲשֵׂה יְהוָה, כִּי-נוֹרָא הוּא, אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי,
עֹשֶׂה עִמָּךְ.
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10 And He
said: 'Behold, I make a covenant; before all thy people I will do marvels,
such as have not been wrought in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all
the people among which thou art shall see the work of the LORD that I am
about to do with thee, that it is tremendous.
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יא שְׁמָר-לְךָ--אֵת
אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי, מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם; הִנְנִי גֹרֵשׁ מִפָּנֶיךָ, אֶת-הָאֱמֹרִי
וְהַכְּנַעֲנִי, וְהַחִתִּי וְהַפְּרִזִּי, וְהַחִוִּי וְהַיְבוּסִי.
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11 Observe
thou that which I am commanding thee this day; behold, I am driving out
before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the
Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
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יב הִשָּׁמֶר
לְךָ, פֶּן-תִּכְרֹת בְּרִית לְיוֹשֵׁב הָאָרֶץ, אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה, בָּא
עָלֶיהָ: פֶּן-יִהְיֶה לְמוֹקֵשׁ, בְּקִרְבֶּךָ.
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12 Take heed
to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land
whither thou goest, lest they be for a snare in the midst of thee.
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יג כִּי
אֶת-מִזְבְּחֹתָם תִּתֹּצוּן, וְאֶת-מַצֵּבֹתָם תְּשַׁבֵּרוּן; וְאֶת-אֲשֵׁרָיו,
תִּכְרֹתוּן.
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13 But ye
shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and ye shall
cut down their Asherim.
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יד כִּי
לֹא תִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה, לְאֵל אַחֵר: כִּי יְהוָה
קַנָּא שְׁמוֹ, אֵל קַנָּא הוּא.
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14 For thou
shalt bow down to no other god; for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a
jealous God;
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1. See “Nash
Papyrus” entries: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0014_0_14544.html; http://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-OR-00233/1, Cambridge Digital
Library; https://www.biblicaltraining.org/library/nash-papyrus; Wikipedia.
2. http://opensiddur.org/set-prayers/earth-cycle/daytime/morning/adventures-in-ancient-jewish-liturgy-the-ten-commandments-and-the-shma-in-the-nash-papyrus/
3. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0014_0_14544.html
4. http://rosetta.reltech.org/TC/extras/Nash.html
“Nash Papyrus”
NOTE: all Hebrew-English
translation s are from Mechon-Mamre.org website.
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