Jewish philosophy -- Early works to 1800; Judaism -- Works to 1900; Philosophy, Medieval -- Early works to 1800
been said “the fulness of the whole earth is his praise” (Isa. vi. 3),
in the same sense as “the earth is full of his praise” (Hab. iii. 3).
As to kabod being employed in the sense of praise, comp. “Give praise
(kabod) to the Lord your God” (Jer. xiii. 16); also “and in his temple
does every one speak of his praise (kabod)” (Ps. xxix. 9), etc.
Consider well the homonymity of this term, and explain it in each
instance in accordance with the context; you will thus escape great
embarrassment.
CHAPTER LXV
After you have advanced thus far, and truly comprehended that God
exists without having the attribute of existence, and that He is One,
without having the attribute of unity, I do not think that I need
explain to you the inadmissibility of the attribute of speech in
reference to God, especially since our people generally believe that
the Law, i.e., the word ascribed to Him, was created. Speech is
attributed to Him, in so far as the word which Moses heard, was
produced and brought to existence by God in the same manner as He
produced all His other works and creations. As we shall have to speak
more fully on prophecy, we shall here merely show that speech is
attributed to God in the same way as all other actions, which are
similar to our own. When we are told that God addressed the Prophets
and spoke to them, our minds are merely to receive a notion that there
is a Divine knowledge to which the Prophets attain; we are to be
impressed with the idea that the things which the Prophets communicate
to us come from the Lord, and are not altogether the products of their
own conceptions and ideas. This subject, which we have already
mentioned above, will receive further explanation. It is the object of
this chapter to show that the words “speaking” and “saying” are
synonymous terms denoting (a) “Speech”; as, e.g., “Moses shall speak
(yedabber)” (Exod. xix. 19); “And Pharaoh said (va-yomer)” (ib. v. 5);
(b) “Thought” as formed in the mind without being expressed in words;
e.g., “And I thought (ve-amarti) in my heart” (Eccles. ii. 15); “And I
thought (vedibbarti) in my heart” (ib.); “And thy heart will imagine
(yedabber)” (Prov. xxiii. 33); “Concerning Thee my heart thought
(amar)” (Ps. xxvii. 8); “And Esau thought (va-yomer) in his heart”
(Gen. xxvii. 41); examples of this kind are numerous; (c) Will; e.g.,
“And he said (va-yomer) to slay David” (2 Sam. xxi. 16), that is to
say, he wished or he intended to slay him; “Dost thou desire (omer) to
slay me” (Exod. ii. 14); “And the whole congregation intended
(va-yomeru) to stone them” (Num. xiv. 10). Instances of this kind are
likewise numerous.
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