[Mesorah] Translation of the verb "yiv'al"

[Mandel, Seth]

But why does no one mention the earliest source, the Targum (attributed to Yonasan)?

It is specific that the meaning is living together.  No sexual imagery at all.

Of course, you can choose whatever d'rosho you want.  But the Targum represents how Jews understood it in the time of the Ge'onim.  And that fits in exactly with how marriage was defined before Mattan Torah and is still defined for B'nei Noach:

הלכות אישות פרק א

א,א  קודם מתן תורה היה אדם פוגע אישה בשוק, אם רצה הוא והיא לישא אותה מכניסה לביתו ובועלה בינו לבין עצמו ותהיה לו לאישה. כיון שניתנה תורה נצטוו ישראל שאם ירצה האיש לישא אישה יקנה אותה תחילה בפני עדים, ואחר כך תהיה לו לאישה, שנאמר "כי ייקח איש אישה ובא אליה" (דברים כב,יג).


Yes, the marriage has to be consummated, but the first thing is moving in together.  And the converse is how gerushin worked before Mattan Torah, see Hil. M'lakhim, 9:8

יב  ומאימתיי תהיה אשת חברו כגרושה שלנו, משיוציאה מביתו וישלחנה לעצמה, או משתצא היא מתחת רשותו ותלך לה, שאין לה גירושין בכתב; ואין הדבר תלוי בו בלבד, אלא כל זמן שירצה הוא או היא לפרוש זה מזה פורשין.




Rabbi Dr. Seth Mandel
Rabbinic Coordinator
The Orthodox Union

Voice (212) 613-8330     Fax (212) 613-0718     e-mail mandels at ou.org


________________________________
From: Mesorah <mesorah-bounces at lists.aishdas.org> on behalf of Micha Berger via Mesorah <mesorah at lists.aishdas.org>
Sent: Monday, February 12, 2018 6:09 PM
To: Zev Sero
Cc: mesorah at lists.aishdas.org
Subject: Re: [Mesorah] Translation of the verb "yiv'al"

On Mon, Feb 12, 2018 at 04:44:50PM -0500, Zev Sero via Mesorah wrote:
: On 12/02/18 16:14, Micha Berger via Mesorah wrote:
: >In leshon Chazal, the term be'ilah / bo'el refers to marital intimacy.
: >
: >What about in Yeshaiah 62:5?
: >
: >כי-יבעל בחור בתולה יבעלוך בניך, ומשוש חתן על-כלה ישיש עליך אלקיך
:
: See Yonasan, Rashi, Metzudos, Radak, all of whom translate it as
: living together, settling down into the same home.

Actually TY (and Rashi, who quotes him verbatum) could be euphamistically
phrased, just like "living with" does today. (A couple of decades
ago?) No mention of the noun "home". And the seifa of the pasuq is a
word-for-word translation, not much help.

Radaq uses the word "yiv'al", which doesn't say much about translating. If
anything, it may imply he believes the word did NOT change meaning in
Chazal's hands. Anyway, his comment on the paralleling 2nd clause is
just about how there is more sason vesimchah biymei chupasahh, because
they are new. Again, not much help with translating the pasuq.

Metzidas David: misyashvim yachad mibeli pirud. Live in the same home
and never part, or intimacy without clothing separating them?

So, I had hit the rishonim Sefaria offered, and still wasn't sure.

R' Berechyah (Devarim Rabba 2:37) lists the 10 times in Tanakh BY are
called a kallah. Obviously a lot of them are from Shir haShirim. This
pasuq is on the list as well. The notion that this imagery is meant
eroically is of a kind (if more explicit) than "mah yafu dodayikh achosi
khalah", from the same list.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

--
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