“Imprecise Hyperboles” and a “Noble Ruse”: The Longevity of the Ancients and the Patriarchal Narratives of Moses in Eleazar Ashkenazi’s Revealer of Secrets

Eric Lawee
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Abstract

Abstract: Among biblical accounts that invite skepticism, the antediluvian genealogies of Genesis have long attracted attention, with Methuselah famously living close to a millennium and others nearly as long. This study explores an analysis of the issue and its cognates in Revealer of Secrets ( Ẓafenat paʿneaḥ ), a fourteenth-century Torah commentary by Eleazar Ashkenazi that has only recently reentered the light of history. Striking is Eleazar’s teaching that Moses composed the chrono-genealogies in Genesis based on sundry traditions that contained “imprecise narrative hyperboles.” Eleazar also suggests that the patriarchal narratives are a “noble ruse” designed to inculcate belief in the world’s creation. Eleazar's exploration of the topic provides an entrée into the fertile mind and spirited pen of this barely known late medieval rationalist as well as into an unstudied chapter in the history of Jewish reflection on a challenging biblical crux that evoked much reflection and a rich medley of larger religious themes.
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“不精确的夸张”和“高尚的诡计”:以利亚撒·阿什科纳兹的《揭秘者》中古人的长寿和摩西的父系叙述
摘要:在令人怀疑的圣经记载中,《创世纪》的上古家谱一直备受关注,玛土撒拉活了近千年,其他人也活了近千年。本研究探讨了对该问题及其在《秘密的启示者》(Ẓafenat pa ā neajah)中的同源词的分析,这是14世纪由以利亚撒·阿什肯纳兹(Eleazar Ashkenazi)撰写的《托拉》评论,最近才重新进入历史之光。引人注目的是,以利亚撒的教导是,摩西根据各种“不精确的夸张叙述”的传统,编写了《创世纪》中的年代家谱。以利亚撒还认为,父权叙事是一种“高贵的诡计”,旨在灌输对世界创造的信仰。以利亚撒对这个话题的探索,让我们得以深入到这位几乎不为人知的中世纪晚期理性主义者丰富的思想和生气勃勃的笔墨中,也让我们得以深入到犹太人反思一个具有挑战性的圣经关键问题的历史中一个未被研究的章节,这个关键问题引发了许多反思和更大的宗教主题的丰富混合。
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