The Hebrew text of this verse contains some interesting words. , here "from his seed", uses the noun from the root . The root, similar to its cognate , has the basic meaning of spreading or scattering, but usually has the more focussed meaning "to sow" or "to plant"; that gives the noun "seed" or in human terms, "issue, progeny" and another noun as "arm", the limb that sows, or "strength, power", the force to sow. is used in a careful word-play in the story of the two older sons of Judah: "But Onan knew that the seed would not be his; so it was if he came to his [late] brother's wife, he would waste it on the ground lest he should give children to his brother" (B'resheet 38:9), to mean both semen, "human seed", and children or offspring. In this text, and confirmed by both tradition and archaeology, it is physical offspring - children - that are in view.

Levine points out that the verb , normally translated 'give', "more precisely connotes devotion to a god" in this context. This a giving-over, a complete devoting of a person, animal or object to a god or for a religious purpose. This idea can be seen in B'Midbar 3:9 where Moshe is told to devote the Levites exclusively to Aharon and his sons the priests in the service of the Tabernacle, also in B'Midbar 8:16 where

HaShem: literally, Hebrew for 'The Name' - an allusion used to avoid pronouncing the Tetragrammaton, the so-called 'ineffable' name of G–d

Lastly, , translated here as "My sanctuary" but also by others as "My holy things", comes from the root , "to be holy or separate", which also also generates the adjective "holy" and the abstract noun "holiness". The prefix letter is used to denote a place or location in which the action of a verb takes place, so the noun - a place to be holy - takes the meaning of "sanctuary" or "holy place". This provides one of the ideas behind the concept of "claiming sanctuary" because many actions, such as taking revenge, were not considered "holy" so were not allowed within the defined area of holiness.

Rashi: Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (1040-1105CE), French rabbi who wrote commentaries on the Torah, the Prophets and the Talmud, lived in Troyes where he founded a yeshiva in 1067; focuses on the plain meaning (p'shat) of the text, although sometimes quite cryptic in his brevity

The

Sforno: Rabbi Ovadiah Sforno (1470-1550CE), Italian rabbi and physician, lived in Rome and Bolgna

Hirsch: Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888CE), German rabbi, author and educator; staunch opponent of the Reform movement in Germany and one of the fathers of Orthodox Judaism

How do we draw the lines and boundaries in our lives to preserve and protect the holy: to be aware of the effect that our actions and attitudes have on those around us. If defiling or desecrating G-d's name resulted in someone being cut off from the community - Sforno suggests that since they have already been cut off from this world by their physical death, the penalty of being cut off by G-d must apply to the world to come - what does that say to us about the importance of not doing that today? While the big issues need us to give a clear moral lead and position, the smaller items of our ever day speech and attitudes are just as important in portraying the character of G-d to our world.

Further Study: Jeremiah 32:26-35; 1 Corinthians 6:18-20

Application: Is it time to write some letters to your elected representatives to express your concern about the steady decline of medical ethics and the need to retake the high moral ground? Make sure that your own words and actions match that high moral position you are urging others to take so that you don't give your friends and family the wrong picture of G-d.

© Jonathan Allen, 2008