[Avodah] translation of Na

[kennethgmiller at juno.com]

R' Mordechai Cohen asked about the meaning of the word "na". Rav Samson Rafael Hirsch explains this word in several places. I believe that if we study them carefully, we will get a much deeper appreciation for exactly what is meant by the "please" and "now" translations. And we will also see that "raw" is not correct.

I began my research with Matityahu Clark's "Etymological Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew, based on the commentaries of Samson Raphael Hirsch" (Feldheim, 1999), which lists six meanings of the root "nun-vav-aleph".

To me, the subtle shades of meaning among those six are difficult to follow. So instead of me simply quoting them, I researched all of the pesukim and comments cited by Rabbi Clark there, and I'll share them with you. Unfortunately, I do not yet have the new translation or Rav hirsch on Chumash, and so all the below is based on the original English translation of Isaac Levy, published by Judaica Press.

Rav Hirsch gives these meanings for the root nun-vav-aleph:

1) interrupted motion - Bereshis 5:30

2) to be disturbed, to be interrupted in a movement which has been commenced - Shemos 12:9, Bamidbar 32:7

3) to suffer refusal, denial, to be prevented from carrying out an intention by being refused, denied - Bamidbar 14:34

Here are his explanations of various forms of this root:

"Na" in regards to people:

1) interruption of, or hindering to, the direction of the thoughts or will of another - Bereshis 12:13

2) oppose some existing mood, opinion, tendency of thought or will - Bereshis 15:5

3) slways implies a certain reluctance, some opposition on the part of the person being addressed - Shemos 11:2

"Na" regarding food:

1) half-cooked - Bereshis 5:30, Shemos 12:9

2) half-cooked where the process of cooking is interrupted - Bereshis 12:13

Hiphil verb:

1) haynee - to hinder somebody in his intentions - Bereshis 5:30

2) haynee - to refuse, to deny, not to allow to happen - Bereshis 12:13, Bamidbar 14:34

3) haynee - an interruption, a stopping of the continuation of a vow - Bamidbar 30:6

4) yanee - to interrupt, to disturb - Tehillim 141:5

Noun:

t'nuasi - the refusals I have endured - Bamidbar 14:34

Now for some comments of my own. For example, where did the common translations of "please" and "now" come from?

In Isaac Levy's rendering of Bereshis 15:5, "na" is translated as "prithee" (i.e., "pray thee", please) in his text of the Chumash, and as "now" when the pasuk is quoted in the very first line of the perush. But neither of these appears in the perush where he explains the word itself. There, Rav Hirsch explains that "na" means "to oppose some existing mood, opinion, tendency of thought or will." This concept, of trying to change someone's mind, is neatly wrapped up in the word "please" (or "prithee"). And the idea of interruption, as Hirsch explains "na" in other peskuim, is neatly expressed by "now". -- But we see those ideas in "please" and "now" only AFTER we have studied Hirsch's comments in depth.

Another point: Many of us are accustomed to translate "na" in of Shemos 12:9 (about the Korban Pesach) as "raw", as it appears in the JPS, Koren, and R' Aryeh Kaplan translations. (And, l'havdil, King James.) Rav Hirsch would most emphatically disagree, saying that "na" cannot mean something which is totally uncooked, but refers to something where the cooking began but was incomplete. And indeed, the ArtScroll Tanach renders it as "partially roasted", Judaica Press as "rare", and Isaac Levy in Hirsch here, as "half-cooked".

Akiva Miller

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