speech
speech
At a glance
In short
Dibbur is speech as an act (speak, address, discourse): forceful, bold, and complete whether or not anyone receives it. Amirah is speech as communication (say, tell): gentle, and aimed at a hearer who takes the meaning in. Rashi's rule that dibbur is harsh and amirah soft is limited from several directions, by Mecklenburg, the Gemara on yadber, Maharal and Moshav Zekanim. Rav Hirsch reads dibbur as the act of speech and amirah as the act of communication. But the direction is not settled: Malbim reverses the force of the two, and the Vilna Gaon to Bamidbar 22:5 seems to make dibbur the more communicative of them. Rabbi Klein holds that "Ten Sayings" or "Decalogue" would be a better translation of Aseres HaDibros than "Ten Commandments," and he calls the Asarah Maamaros "Ten Sayings" too.
Distinctions
Dibbur (דיבור)
Root ד-ב-ר.
- Rashi (to Shemos 6:2 and 32:7): dibbur is harsh speech, learned from "the man, the master of the land, spoke (dibber) with us harshly" (Bereishis 42:30), and set against amirah as supplicatory speech that seeks the listener's favor (to Bamidbar 12:1).
- Rabbi Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenburg (1785 to 1865) limits this: not every dibbur in the Torah has to mean harsh speech, and vayedaber to Dinah's heart (Bereishis 34:3) was intense but not necessarily harsh, since otherwise she presumably would not have acceded; and Rashi himself (to Vayikra 10:19) reads dibbur as boldness, not necessarily harshness.
- HaKsav VeHaKabbalah (to Devarim 4:13): dibbur is the general term for speech, which takes in all the others.
- Yadber (Tehillim 47:4), a rare form, means a kind of leadership, and one might be tempted to hear strong, forceful terms in it, but the Gemara (Makkos 11a) separates the two: dibbur connotes harshness and yadber actually connotes softness.
- Menachem Ibn Saruk lists dibbur and yadber, "leading" or "exterminating," among the distinct meanings of ד-ב-ר, and Radak bridges the two: animals are led by the speech of the one in charge, who commands them where to go.
- Maharal (Nesivos Olam): in the context of Torah study dibbur is always pleasant, and only in other contexts is it harsh.
- Moshav Zekanim (to Shemos 6:2) confines the harsh sense to the Chumash, against the rest of Tanach.
- Sifsei Chachamim on Devarim 2:16 deals with the implication of Rashi's comment there that dibbur is a term of endearment.
- Zohar (Idra Rabbah, the commentary to Parashas Naso, 132b): dibbur requires raising the voice to make a forceful announcement; amirah does not.
- Rabbi Shlomo Pappenheim of Breslau (1740 to 1814, Yerios Shlomo): dibbur is the act of using the vocal cords, whether or not it produces sound with a particular meaning.
- Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch (1808 to 1888) follows this basic approach and expands it: dibbur is the simple, physiological act of expressing an idea in words, and because it is the act itself it applies even with nobody around to hear or understand; it is a conglomeration of phonemes meant to express an idea.
- Malbim, at odds with this: amirah is absolute while dibbur is a suggestion or proposition, not necessarily absolute.
- Dibah, slander or malicious speech, does not seem to be related to dibbur: the biliteralists trace it to ד-ב and the triliteralists to ד-ב-ב (Yalkut Shorashim, Rav Hirsch). Rabbi Eliyahu Benamozegh (Eim LaMikra to Bereishis 37:2) relates it instead to ז-ב, zav, flowing, dalet and zayin interchanging as between Hebrew and Aramaic: speech is likened to liquid falling or dripping down, Hashem's word to rain and snow (Yeshayahu 55:10), Moshe's words to dew (Devarim 32:2; see Yechezkel 21:2, Iyov 29:22), so dibah is malice that flows and drips from the speaker's mouth.
- Rabbi Yitzchak bar Yakar (on the Yom Kippur prayer umah nesaper lefanecha shochen shechakim): sippur is the kind of saying that implies the most knowledge on the speaker's part.
Amirah (אמירה)
Root א-מ-ר.
- Rashi (to Shemos 19:3): "so shall you say (tomar) to the House of Yaakov," the women, gently, since Moshe was to broach the idea of receiving the Torah with them in a gentle manner.
- Kedushas Levi (to Bereishis 21:1): amirah is more intimate and quiet, dibbur out in the open.
- Rabbi Pappenheim: amirah is speaking in order to convey a certain message that must have a particular meaning; he also derives it from the two-letter root מ-ר, "switching" or "exchanging," which fits, since amirah is the exchange of ideas and in polite dialogue the parties constantly switch between being vocal and being quiet. Rabbi Wolf Heidenheim (1757 to 1832), in his comments to Yerios Shlomo, notes that Ibn Ezra and Rabbi Yoel Ibn Shuaib (both to Tehillim 19:4) offer very similar approaches.
- Rav Hirsch: amirah is an act of communication, said to somebody who then translates the sounds he hears back into the ideas they express.
- Mecklenburg expands the מ-ר sense: amirah is speech that creates a reality, switching the situation into something different.
- Malbim, second approach: amirah is for short statements, dibbur for the longer discourse that elaborates on and explains them.
- Rabbi Shmuel Jaffa-Ashkenazi of Istanbul (1525 to 1595) similarly calls amirah the "headings" or "headlines" of a topic without the details, supporting it from Yeshayahu 17:6, which foretells that Sancheriv will not conquer Yerushalayim just as a harvester cannot reach the olives on the uppermost branch (rosh amir): the amir is the branch, not all of its contents.
- The Vilna Gaon (1720 to 1797, to Bamidbar 22:5, second version) seems to run the other way and understand dibbur as implying more of a form of communication than amirah does.
- Rabbeinu Efrayim (to Devarim 32:1): the heavens were created with dibbur (bidvar Hashem shamayim naasu, Tehillim 33:6) and the earth with amirah (ki lasheleg yomar hevei aretz, Iyov 37:6), since Hashem created the earth from snow (see Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer ch. 3).
Maamar (מאמר) against dibrah (דיברה)
Why Asarah Maamaros for creation (Avos 5:1) and Aseres HaDibros at Sinai?
- From the Zohar's line that dibbur requires raising the voice, Rabbi Klein argues: the whole point of raising the voice is to make a forceful impression on a listener, so at creation, with no listeners yet, Hashem did not need to raise His voice and those sayings are maamaros, while at Sinai there was an assembled audience and those are dibros.
- Rav Hirsch's application is his own: maamar requires an active listener on the receiving end to hear the utterance and translate it into reality, and at creation each utterance took effect at once, while dibbur exists independently of the listener, the Decalogue being Hashem's revelation of His absolute will, which continues to exist whether or not anybody follows it.
- Sefer HaChochmah (ascribed to the late twelfth century Ashkenazic scholar Rabbi Elazar Rokeach of Worms): amirah denotes setting up a framework and context within which a dibbur can be said, so on this understanding the Asarah Maamaros set up a reality within which the Aseres HaDibros can have relevance.
- Rabbeinu Bachya (to Shemos 13:1): dibbur alludes to the Written Torah, amirah to the Oral Torah, an idea many have cited and expanded, including the Vilna Gaon, Rabbi Pinchas Horowitz of Frankfurt (1731 to 1805) and Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehudah Berlin, the Netziv (1816 to 1893). Interestingly, Amora (derived from amirah) is the Talmudic sage who expounds the scriptures and laws, the hero of the Oral Torah. The Vilna Gaon reads Haazinu by it: "Listen, heavens, and I will speak (va'adabeirah)," the Written Torah revealed from above, "and let the earth hear the sayings (imrei) of my mouth" (Devarim 32:1), the Oral Torah brought out by the earth's inhabitants below.
- Zohar (Bereishis 239b): in Vayedaber Hashem el Moshe leymor, the leymor reveals the hidden elements not included in the vayedaber, so amirah is an expansion upon dibbur. Rabbi Klein runs this into a parallel: as the Written Torah is a fixed canonized text and the Oral Torah an expansion on it, so the Zohar (Shemos 161a) teaches that Hashem looked into the Torah and created the world, making the Torah the fixed canon and the world the expansion; so the speech expressing the Torah is dibbur, and the words creating the world amirah.
Malbim's two approaches feed the same question.
- On the first (amirah absolute, dibbur a proposition), it seems to Rabbi Klein that the words that made the world, and so the rules of nature, must have been absolute and forceful, since only Hashem can break them, while the Decalogue connotes a more malleable reality, some prohibitions being legitimately suspendable in certain circumstances. Rabbi Moshe Feinstein (1895 to 1986) uses the exact opposite reasoning to explain why tzitzis, essentially optional, opens with vayomer rather than the usual vayedaber (Bamidbar 15:37).
- On Malbim's second approach, with Jaffa-Ashkenazi, Rabbi Klein argues that verbosity is a rhetorical device for making sure an audience understands, so at creation, with no intended audience, Hashem could be as brief as He wished, just the headlines, hence maamaros, whereas at Sinai He sacrificed brevity for clarity, hence dibros.
- Following Mecklenburg's "switching" logic, Rabbi Klein adds that the sayings that made the world fit an amirah verb because they were the ultimate change in reality, from nothing to something.
Rabbi Klein's own answer is psychological: when a person feels the weight of living up to expectations, those expectations generally feel as though they were said in harsh, demanding terms even if objectively they were not, so the Decalogue, which lays out Hashem's expectations of us, is Dibros; whereas the Asarah Maamaros that created the world are Hashem's gift, and a gift is taken as an expression of love, a maamar. (In Talmudic usage maamar denotes a form of marriage instituted by the Rabbis as a prelude to consummating yibbum.)
He'emarta / he'emircha (האמרת / האמירך) and chativah (חטיבה)
- Rashi: forms of separation and division; Israel set Hashem apart from the false gods, and Hashem set Israel apart from the nations.
- Rashi's alternative: forms of glory and pride, citing yisamru (Tehillim 94:4).
- Rav Saadia Gaon (882 to 942) adds two more. First, expressions of "being on top," just as the amir (Yeshayahu 17:6) is the most important branch of a tree because it is on top: Hashem put the Jews on top and the Jews put Hashem on top. This is also related to the Arabic Emir, "military commander" or "tribal chief," who sits atop the hierarchical society he presides over (see Bartenura to Shekalim 5:3). Dunash ibn Labrat (925 to 990), Rav Saadia's interlocutor, preferred this first approach, which in some ways resembles Rashi's glory and pride reading; Ibn Ezra (to Devarim 26:17) likewise explains the words as referring to greatness.
- Rav Saadia's second reading takes them plainly as what Hashem said to Israel ("I am Hashem your God") and what Israel said about Him ("Hashem our God, Hashem is one"). Mecklenburg reads the doublet emor and ve'amarta of Vayikra 21:1 similarly: the first denotes raising the kohanim's status, making them great again, the second simply that these laws should be "said."
- Many chassidishe commentators (Rabbi Pinchas Horowitz of Frankfurt, 1731 to 1805, and his brother Rabbi Shmuel Shmelka Horowitz of Nikolsburg, 1726 to 1778; Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Epstein of Krakow, 1753 to 1823; Rabbi Yaakov Yosef of Ostrog, 1738 to 1791; Rabbi Shimon Maryles of Jaroslaw, 1758 to 1849; and many others) read amirah as an expression of love, so that the passages mean Hashem showed His love for the Jewish People and they in turn showed their love for Him. What is the philological basis? One might perhaps suggest the Latin amor, "love," the basis of English amorous and enamored, which sounds like a homonym of amirah; but Rabbi Klein calls it quite implausible that these chassidishe masters based their teaching on a Latin homonym, and offers a much sounder basis. The Targumim render these words chativah; chativah in biblical Hebrew is "splitting" or "chopping," which might be the basis of Rashi's first explanation as "separation," but in Aramaic it can also mean to fall in love or to woo, perhaps because two lovebirds feel like one person split into two. Raavan, Rabbi Eliezer ben Nosson of Mainz (1090 to 1170), explaining the word in the piyut some recite on the second night of Pesach, says it is an expression of love and references these very Targumim; and the line in Akdamus about Israel making Him a chativah at sunrise and sunset is explained by Rabbi Yonah Isaac Neiman of Makow as the twice-daily declaration of love in Krias Shema (Berachos 6a). So the link between amirah and love is already in the Rishonim and even alluded to in the Targumim.
Also discussed in
- Synonyms: the methodויאמר / וידבר / vayomer, vayidaber; אמירה / דיבור (א-מ-ר, ד-ב-ר)
- Wildernessדבר / dibbur, yadber (ד-ב-ר)
- Wordדבר / dibbur, davar (ד-ב-ר)
Radak on these roots
Sefer HaShorashim
א-מ-ר
To say, with אֹמֶר and אִמְרָה for what is said, and at times saying in the heart, that is, thinking; in another sense אָמִיר, the topmost bough, and from it, to exalt.
Saying, and the word said
כֹּה אָמַר (Shemos 11:4), thus said Hashem, and אַתָּה אֹמֵר אֵלַי (Shemos 33:12), you say to me. וְלֶחֶם אָמַר לוֹ (Melachim I 11:18), and bread he said to him, means he said to give him bread. הֶאָמוּר בֵּֽית־יַֽעֲקֹב (Michah 2:7), the one called the house of Yaakov, is that they would say house of Yaakov to him and call him so; and אֲשֶׁר יֹאמְרֻךָ לִמְזִמָּה (Tehillim 139:20), who speak of You for scheming, is that they say to one another and speak about You. The nouns are אֵין אֹמֶר וְאֵין דְּבָרִים (Tehillim 19:4), there is no speech and there are no words, and אֲמָרַי הַֽאֲזִינָה (Tehillim 5:2), give ear to my words, and with an added mem, וְאֶת־ מַֽאֲמַר מָרְדֳּכַי (Esther 2:20), the word of Mordechai; and in another form, הַשֹּׁלֵחַ אִמְרָתוֹ אָרֶץ (Tehillim 147:15), who sends His word to the earth. Their sense, he says, is known.
Saying, and the doubled infinitive
In the words אֶל־מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹֽר (Shemos 6:10), to Moshe, saying, the saying means to say it to Yisrael. But אֶמֶשׁ אָמַר אֵלַי לֵאמֹר (Bereishis 31:29), last night he said to me, saying, is the infinitive doubled upon the verb to strengthen the matter, and the more so where it comes after; and so אֹֽמְרִים אָמוֹר לִמְנַֽאֲצַי (Yirmiyahu 23:17), they keep saying to those who despise Me.
Saying in the heart
הַֽלְהָרְגֵנִי אַתָּה אֹמֵר (Shemos 2:14), are you saying to kill me, that is, are you thinking of it; and וַיֹּאמֶר לְהַכּוֹת אֶת־דָּוִֽד (Shmuel II 21:16), and he said to strike David, is that he purposed to kill him. So too הָאֹֽמְרָה בִּלְבָבָהּ (Yeshayahu 47:8), she that says in her heart, and אָמַרְתִּי אֲנִי בְּלִבִּי (Koheles 2:1), I said in my heart.
A treetop, and exalting
בְּרֹאשׁ אָמִיר (Yeshayahu 17:6), at the top of the amir, which is the uppermost bough. From this sense are הֶֽאֱמַרְתָּ (Devarim 26:17), that is, you have raised Him up and made Him great, and הֶֽאֱמִֽירְךָ (Devarim 26:18), He has raised you up; and so יִֽתְאַמְּרוּ כָּל־פֹּֽעֲלֵי אָֽוֶן (Tehillim 94:4), all the workers of iniquity raise themselves up and grow haughty. It may be that וּבִכְבוֹדָם תִּתְיַמָּֽרוּ (Yeshayahu 61:6), and in their glory you shall raise yourselves up, belongs here too, with the alef changed for a yud.
Exalting, or saying
Some explain אִמְרוּ צַדִּיק כִּי־טוֹב (Yeshayahu 3:10) from the sense of exalting; Radak holds it right to take it from saying, say of the righteous that it is well. It may be that הֶֽאֱמַרְתָּ and הֶֽאֱמִֽירְךָ are from saying too: you brought it about that He said He would be a God to you, and He brought it about that you said to Him that you would be a people to Him and walk in His ways.
כֹּה אָמַר י"י (שמות יא, ד), וְלֶחֶם אָמַר לוֹ (מלכים א' יא, יח), פירוש אמר לו לתת, אַתָּה אֹמֵר אֵלַי (שמות לג, יב), הָאֹֽמְרָה בִּלְבָבָהּ (צפניה ב, טו), זֹאת אֹמֶרֶת (מלכים א' ג ,כב), וַיְדַבֵּר י"י אֶל־מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹֽר (שמות ו, י) פירושו לאמר לישראל, אבל אֶמֶשׁ אָמַר אֵלַי לֵאמֹר (בראשית לא, כט) הוא כפל המקור על הפועל לחזק הדבר ובבאו אחרון יותר. וכן אֹֽמְרִים אָמוֹר לִמְנַֽאֲצַי (ירמיה כג, יז), הכל כמו שכתבנו בחלק הדקדוק. הֶאָמוּר בֵּֽית־יַֽעֲקֹב (מיכה ב, ז), שיאמרו לו בית יעקב ויקראו אותו כן, יֹֽאמַר־נָא יִשְׂרָאֵל (תהלים קיח, ב), וְלַֽעֲמָשָׂא תֹּֽמְרוּ (שמואל ב' יט, יד), חסר אל"ף, וכן אֲשֶׁר יֹאמְרֻךָ לִמְזִמָּה (תהלים קלט, כ), כלומר יאמרו איש לאחיו וידברו עליך, אֱמֹר אֶל־הַכֹּֽהֲנִים (ויקרא כא, א), אִמְרוּ לַֽאֲחֵיכֶם עַמִּי וְלַֽאֲחֽוֹתֵיכֶם רֻחָֽמָה (הושע ב, ג), אָמוֹר לָהֶֽם (במדבר ו, כג), וְיֹֽאמְרוּ לְךָ הִנֵּֽנוּ (איוב לח, לה). והנפעל אֲשֶׁר נֶֽאֱמַר אֱמֶת הוּא (דניאל ח, כו), יֵֽאָמֵר ליעקב (במדבר כג, כג). והשׁם אֵין אֹמֶר וְאֵין דְּבָרִים בְּלִי נִשְׁמָע (תהלים יט, ד), אֹמֶר סֶלָה (חבקוק ג, ט), אִם־אָמְרִי אֶשְׁכְּחָה שִׂיחִי (איוב ט, כו). ומשקל אחר וְנַֽחֲלַת אִמְרוֹ מֵאֵֽל (איוב כ, כט). והקבוץ לְהָשִׁיב אֲמָרִים אֱמֶת (משלי כב, בא), אִמְרֵי נוֹאָֽשׁ (איוב ו, כו), אֲמָרַי הַֽאֲזִינָה (תהלים ה, ב). ובתוספת מ"ם וְאֶת־מַֽאֲמַר מָרְדֳּכַי (אסתר ב, כ). ומשקל אחר אִמְרָה, אִמְרַת י"י (תהלים קה, יט), הַשֹּׁלֵחַ אִמְרָתוֹ אָרֶץ (תהלים קמז, טו). ובסגול בִּצַּע אֶמְרָתוֹ (איכה ב, יז). והקבוץ אִֽמֲרוֹת י"י אֲמָרוֹת טְהֹרוֹת (תהלים יב, ז), ענינם ידוע. ויש מהם אמירת הלב הַֽלְהָרְגֵנִי אַתָּה אֹמֵר (שמות ב, יד), כלומר אתה חושב, הָאֹֽמְרָה בִּלְבָבָהּ (ישעיה מז, ח), וַיֹּאמֶר לְהַכּוֹת אֶת־דָּוִֽד (שמואל ב' כא, טז), כלומר יזם להרגו. וכן אָמַרְתִּי אֲנִי בְּלִבִּי (קהלת ב, א). וענין אחר בְּרֹאשׁ אָמִיר (ישעיה יז, ו), והוא הסעיף העליון. ומזה הענין אֶת־י"י הֶֽאֱמַרְתָּ (דברים, כו, יז), וַֽי"י הֶֽאֱמִֽירְךָ הַיּוֹם (דברים, כו, יח), כלומר רוממת והגדלת אותו. וכן יִֽתְאַמְּרוּ כָּל־פֹּֽעֲלֵי אָֽוֶן (תהלים צד, ד), יתרוממו ויתגאו. ויתכן היות מזה וּבִכְבוֹדָם תִּתְיַמָּֽרוּ (ישעיה סא, ו), בחלוף האל"ף ביו"ד. ויש מפרשים מזה הענין אִמְרוּ צַדִּיק כִּי־טוֹב (ישעיה ג, י). ונכון הוא היותו מענין אמירה. ויתכן לפרש גם כן אֶת־י"י הֶֽאֱמַרְתָּ, וַֽי"י הֶֽאֱמִֽירְךָ מענין אמירה, כלומר סבבת שיאמר להיות לך לאלהים, והוא סבב שתאמר לו להיות לו לעם וללכת בדרכיו.
ד-ב-ר
To speak, like saying in sense but not in usage; a דָּבָר is a word or matter. Also דֶּבֶר, plague; מִדְבָּר, wilderness or pasture; a bee; and the inner house.
Speaking that goes on
נִדְבְּרוּ and the words formed like it mean speaking kept up, and that is why they take this form: אָז נִדְבְּרוּ יִרְאֵי (Malachi 3:16), then those who fear Hashem kept speaking; הַנִּדְבָּרִים בְּךָ (Yechezkel 33:30), who keep speaking of you; and מַה נִּדְבַּרְנוּ עָלֶיךָ (Malachi 3:13), what have we kept speaking against You.
How it differs from saying
In sense it is like saying; the difference is in usage. Saying, אמירה, is never without someone spoken to, even where the pasuk does not say who: אִמְרִי נָא אֲחֹתִי אָתְּ (Bereishis 12:13), say that you are my sister, means say it to those who ask you. Speaking, דבור, stands without anyone spoken to, since it points at speech itself, the thing that belongs to man, which is why one says a man is living and speaking and not living and saying. Speaking is never said of what cannot speak, even in a figure, as saying, telling and relating are: וְיֹאמְרוּ לְךָ הִנֵּנוּ (Iyov 38:35), and they say to you, here we are; וְעוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם וְיַגֶּד לָךְ (Iyov 12:7), and the bird of the heavens will relate it to you; וִיסַפְּרוּ לְךָ דְּגֵי הַיָּם (Iyov 12:8), and the fish of the sea will tell you. The two take different words after them as well: saying takes אֶל and the lamed alone, while speaking takes בְּ and אֶת besides. Either can mean to think: דִּבַּרְתִּי אֲנִי עִם לִבִּי (Koheles 1:16), I spoke with my heart, means I thought, and so does אָמַרְתִּי אֲנִי בְּלִבִּי (Koheles 2:1), I said in my heart.
A matter, or anything at all
עַל דְּבַר הַכֶּסֶף (Bereishis 43:18), on the matter of the money, and אֵין מַחְסוֹר כָּל דָּבָר (Shoftim 19:19), no lack of anything, of any kind a man needs. עַל דִּבְרָתִי מַלְכִּי צֶדֶק (Tehillim 110:4) and עַל דִּבְרַת בְּנֵי הָאָדָם (Koheles 3:18) can be read the same way: on the matter of Malki-Tzedek, on the matter of the sons of man.
Plague
דֶּבֶר כָּבֵד מְאֹד (Shemos 9:3), a very heavy pestilence, whose sense, he says, is death; and from it אֱהִי דְבָרֶיךָ מָוֶת (Hoshea 13:14), I will be your plagues, O death. The verb is from it too: יַדְבֵּר עַמִּים תַּחְתֵּינוּ (Tehillim 47:4), He brings death on peoples beneath us, and וַתְּדַבֵּר אֶת כָּל זֶרַע הַמַּמְלָכָה (Divrei HaYamim II 22:10), and she brought death on all the seed of the kingdom.
Who struck Mitzrayim בַּמִּדְבָּר
Some take בַּמִּדְבָּר in הַמַּכִּים אֶת מִצְרַיִם בְּכָל מַכָּה בַּמִּדְבָּר (Shmuel I 4:8), who struck Mitzrayim with every plague בַּמִּדְבָּר, from this sense of death. Or it is as it reads: He struck them at Yam Suf with every plague, as it says הַיָּד הַגְּדֹלָה (Shemos 14:31), the great hand, that He struck them with ten plagues, and בַּמִּדְבָּר is in the wilderness of Yam Suf. Yonasan renders it וּלְעַמֵיהּ עֲבַד פְּרִישָׁן בְּמַדְבְּרָא, and for His people He did wonders in the wilderness. Radak's father explains it as speech, like דָּבָר, from וּמִדְבָּרֵיךְ נָאוֶה (Shir HaShirim 4:3), and your speech is comely; on his reading they said, these are the gods who struck Mitzrayim with every plague by His word and His command alone, and now He Himself has come; who will save us from His hand?
The wilderness
מִדְבַּר סִינָי (Shemos 19:1), the wilderness of Sinai, and אֵת כָּל הַמִּדְבָּר הַגָּדוֹל (Devarim 1:19), all the great wilderness: a desolate place, neither worked nor settled. The place where cattle graze is also called מִדְבָּר, whether far from the city or near it, as עַל פְּנֵי דֶרֶךְ אֶת הַמִּדְבָּר (Shmuel II 15:23), toward the road to the grazing ground.
Driving, and the pasture
כְּעֵדֶר בְּתוֹךְ הַדָּבְרוֹ (Michah 2:12) he takes as like a flock amid its driving, and כְּדָבְרָם (Yeshayahu 5:17) as according to their driving, akin to the Targum, which renders וַיִּנְהַג, and he drove, as וּדְבַר. The right account, Radak says, is that the pasture of the flocks is called מִדְבָּר from this, since the shepherd drives the flock there, as וַיִּנְהַג אֶת הַצֹּאן אַחַר הַמִּדְבָּר (Shemos 3:1), and he drove the flock after good pasture to the pasture ground, as its Targum has it. From the same sense come דֹּבְרוֹת, rafts, the great logs tied at their heads and driven along the sea.
The bee and the inner chamber
דְּבוֹרָה, a bee, as עֲדַת דְּבוֹרִים (Shoftim 14:8), a swarm of bees; and דְּבִיר, the inner house where the Aron was set, the outer one being called the הֵיכָל.
וְאֵֽין־דֹּבֵר אֵלָיו (איוב ב, יג), כֵּן בְּנוֹת צְלָפְחָד דֹּֽבְרֹת (במדבר כז, ז), דָּבָר דָּבֻר עַל־אָפְנָֽיו (משלי כה, יא), הַדֹּבְרוֹת עַל־צַדִּיק עָתָק (תהלים לא, יט). והנפעל רוצה לומר בו ההתמדה בדבור לפיכך הוא בלשון נפעל אָז נִדְבְּרוּ יִרְאֵי י"י (מלאכי ג, טז), הַנִּדְבָּרִים בְּךָ (יחזקאל לג, ל), מַה־נִּדְבַּרְנוּ עָלֶֽיךָ (מלאכי ג, יג). והכבד [פִּעֵל] דִּבֶּר הָאִישׁ אֲדֹנֵי הָאָרֶץ (בראשית מב, ל), וַיְכַל לְדַבֵּר אִתּוֹ (בראשית יז, כב), רוּחַ י"י דִּבֶּר־בִּי וּמִלָּתוֹ עַל־לְשׁוֹנִֽי (שמואל ב' כג, ב), פֶּה אֶל־פֶּה אֲדַבֶּר־בּוֹ (במדבר יב, ח), אָז דִּבַּרְתָּֽ־בְחָזוֹן לַֽחֲסִידֶיךָ (תהלים פט, כ), דִּבְּרָה לְשׁוֹנִי בְחִכִּֽי (איוב לג, ב), וַיְדַבֵּר יְהֽוֹנָתָן בְּדָוִד טוֹב (שמואל א' יט, ד), וַיְדַבֵּר י"י אֶל־מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹֽר (שמות ו, י), אֶֽת־גְּבֻֽלְךָ כַּֽאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר־לָךְ (דברים יב, כ), וַֽאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר־לִי (בראשית כד, ז), וְלֹא יָֽכְלוּ דַּבְּרוֹ לְשָׁלֹֽם (בראשית לז, ד), פירוש לדבר אתו, נִכְבָּדוֹת מְדֻבָּר בָּךְ (תהלים פז, ג), וַיְדַבֵּר הָעָם בֵּֽאלֹהִים וּבְמֹשֶׁה (במדבר כא, ה), וַתְּדַבֵּר מִרְיָם וְאַֽהֲרֹן בְּמֹשֶׁה (במדבר יב, א), תֵּשֵׁב בְּאָחִיךָ תְדַבֵּר (תהלים נ, כ), וְדִבַּרְתִּי עַל־הַנְּבִיאִים (הושע יב, יא), דִּבַּרְתִּי אֲנִי עִם־לִבִּי (קהלת א, טז), כלומר חשבתי כמו שבא גם כן לשון האמירה בזה הענין. ושלא נזכר פועלו ממנו [פֻּעַל] בַּיּוֹם שֶׁיְּדֻבַּר־בָּֽהּ (שיר השירים ח, ח). וההתפעל וַיִּשְׁמַע אֶת־הַקּוֹל מִדַּבֵּר אֵלָיו (במדבר ז, פט), משפטו מִתְדַּבֵּר. והשם דָּבָר, דָּבָר גָּדוֹל (מלכים ב' ה, יג), וּדְבַר מַה־יַּרְאֵנִי (במדבר כג, ג), סמוך למלת מה, וּדְבָרִים אֲחָדִֽים (בראשית יא, א). ובתוספת ה"א דִּבְרָה, עַל־דִּבְרַת בְּנֵי הָֽאָדָם (קהלת ג, יח), עַל־דִּבְרָתִי מַלְכִּי־צֶֽדֶק (תהלים קי, ד). או בדגש דַּבְּרָה, יִשָּׂא מִדַּבְּרֹתֶֽיךָ (דברים לג, ג), או בתוספת מ"ם מִדְבָּר, וּמִדְבָּרֵיךְ נָאוֶה (שיר השירים ד, ג), או בדגש מבלי תוספת דִּבֵּר, וְהַדִּבֵּר אֵין בָּהֶם (ירמיה ה, יג), תְּחִלַּת דִּבֶּר־י"י בְּהוֹשֵׁעַ (הושע א, ב). וענין הכל כמו אמירה אלא שיש הפרש ביניהם בשמוש הלשון, כי האמירה אינה מבלי סמיכה אל אחר והדבור הוא מבלי סמיכה אל אחר כי הוא מורה על עקר הדבור שהוא באדם, כמו שתאמר אדם חי מדבר ולא תאמר אדם חי אומר אלא אם הסמכנו פלוני אומר לפלוני. ואף על פי שאין הסמיכה כתובה לפעמים הענין מובן כי המאמר עם הסמיכה. כמו אִמְרִי־נָא אֲחֹתִי אָתְּ (בראשית יב, יג), כי בודאי ירצה לומר אמרי לשואלים אותך. וכן הדומים לו על זה הדרך. ולא יאמר לשון דבור על שאינו מדבר אפילו דרך משל כמו שיאמר לשון ספור והגדה כמו וְיֹֽאמְרוּ לְךָ הִנֵּֽנוּ (איוב לח, לה), וְעוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם וְיַגֶּד־לָֽךְ (איוב יב, ז), וִֽיסַפְּרוּ לְךָ דְּגֵי הַיָּֽם (איוב יב, ח), וכן בקשר יש הפרש ביניהם כי המאמר קשור עם אֶל ועם למ"ד השמוש לבד והדבור קשור גם כן עם בי"ת השמוש ועם אֶת ולא כן המאמר. ומה שאמר אָמַרְתִּי אֲנִי בְּלִבִּי (קהלת ב, א), ענינו חשבתי. וכן הָאֹֽמְרָה בִּלְבָבָהּ (ישעיה מז, ח). ויש כמו ענין עַל־דְּבַר הַֽצְפַרְדְּעִים (שמות ח, ח), עַל־דְּבַר הַכֶּסֶף (בראשית מג, יח), על ענין הצפרדעים, על ענין הכסף. וְזֶה הַדָּבָר אֲֽשֶׁר־מָל יְהוֹשֻׁעַ (יהושע ה, ד), זה הענין שבעבורו מל יהושע, אֵין מַחְסוֹר כָּל־דָּבָֽר (שופטים יט, יט) שום ענין בעולם מכל המינים אשר האדם צריך אליהם, וְלֹא יָמוּת מִכָּל־לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל דָּבָֽר (שמות ט, ד), וְאֵין־מַכְלִים דָּבָר (שופטים יח, ז), וְלֹֽא־יִרְאֶה בְךָ עֶרְוַת דָּבָר (דברים כג, טו), שום ערוה בעולם. ויתכן לפרש כמוהם עַל־דִּבְרָתִי מַלְכִּי־צֶֽדֶק (תהלים קי, ד), עַל־דִּבְרַת בְּנֵי הָֽאָדָם (קהלת ג, יח), וכמוהם רבים. וענין אחר דֶּבֶר כָּבֵד מְאֹֽד (שמות ט, ג), בשש נקודות והוא ענין מיתה, וממנו אֱהִי דְבָרֶיךָ מָוֶת (הושע יג, יד). והפעל הנוסף ממנו [הִפְעִיל] יַדְבֵּר עַמִּים תַּחְתֵּינוּ (תהלים מז, ד). והפעל הכבד וַתְּדַבֵּר אֶת־כָּל־זֶרַע הַמַּמְלָכָה (דברי הימים ב' כב, י). ויש מפרשים מזה אָז יְדַבֵּר אֵלֵימוֹ בְאַפּוֹ (תהלים ב, ה). ומפרשים אלימו כמו אֵילֵי הָאָרֶץ (יחזקאל יז, יג). ויש מפרשים מהענין הזה הַמַּכִּים אֶת־מִצְרַיִם בְּכָל־מַכָּה בַּמִּדְבָּֽר (שמואל א' ד, ח). או הוא כמשמעו ופירושו שהכם על ים סוף בכל מכה כמו שאמר את הַיָּד הַגְּדֹלָה (שמות יד, לא), שהכם בעשר מכות. ופירוש במדבר במדבר ים סוף. ויונתן תרגם וּלְעַמֵיהּ עֲבַד פְּרִישָׁן בְּמַדְבְּרָא. ואדוני אבי ע"ה פירשו כמו דָּבָר מן וּמִדְבָּרֵיךְ נָאוֶה (שיר השירים ד, ג). וכן פירושו אמרו אלה האלהים שהכו את מצרים בבל מכה בדברו ובמצותו לבד ועתה הוא בעצמו בא מי יצילנו מידו. מִדְבַּר סִינָֽי (שמות יט, א), אֵת כָּל־הַמִּדְבָּר הַגָּדוֹל (דברים א, יט), מקום שימם שאינו נעבד ונושב. וכן מקום מרעה הבהמות יקרא מִדְבָּר רחוק מן העיר או סמוך לעיר כמו עַל־פְּנֵי־דֶרֶךְ אֶת־הַמִּדְבָּֽר (שמואל ב' טו, כג). וענין אחר כְּעֵדֶר בְּתוֹךְ הַדָּֽבְרוֹ (מיכה י, יב), מנהגו. ובא בשתי ידיעות כמו בְּתוֹךְ הָֽאָֽהֳלִי (יהושע ז, כא), וְנָתַן אֶת־הָֽעֶרְכְּךָ (ויקרא כז, כג), והדל"ת מעמדת בגעיא ומשפטה להחטף כמו וְרָעוּ כְבָשִׂים כְּדָבְרָם (ישעיה ה, יז). ופירושו כמנהגם ודומה לתרגום וַיִּנְהַ֣ג (בראשית לא, יח) וּדְבַר. והנכון כי מזה נקרא מִדְבָּר מקום מרעה הבהמות לפי שהרועה נוהג שם הבהמות, וַיִּנְהַג אֶת־הַצֹּאן אַחַר הַמִּדְבָּר (שמות ג, א). כתרגומו בָתַר שְׁפַר רַעֲיָא לְמַדְבְּרָא. ומזה הענין אֲשִׂימֵם דֹּֽבְרוֹת בַּיָּם (מלכים א' ה, כג), והם הקורות הגדולות שקושרין אותן בראשיהן ומנהיגין אותן בים וקורין אותן בלע"ז צַאטַארַ [רטץ] וְלַדְּבוֹרָה אֲשֶׁר בְּאֶרֶץ אַשּֽׁוּר (ישעיה ז, יח). עֲדַת דְּבוֹרִים (שופטים יד, ח), סַבּוּנִי כִדְבוֹרִים (תהלים קיח, יב), כַּֽאֲשֶׁר תַּֽעֲשֶׂינָה הַדְּבֹרִים (דברים א, מד), אביילא"ש בלע"ז. לַֽהֵיכָל וְלַדְּבִיר (מלכים א' ו, ה), ידוע. והוא הבית הפנימי, כמו שאמר וַיִּבֶן לוֹ מִבַּיִת לִדְבִיר לְקֹדֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִֽׁים (מלכים א' א' ו,. ואמר וּדְבִיר בְּתֽוֹךְ־הַבַּיִת מִפְּנִימָה הֵכִין לְתִתֵּן שָׁם אֶת־אֲרוֹן בְּרִית י"י (מלכים א' א' ו, והבית החיצון נקרא היכל.
ח-ט-ב
Cutting, as of wood. Rabbi Yonah takes two of its words as high and lifted up; Radak keeps them to cutting, a bed's hewn poles and a house's hewn corner stones.
Cutting
וְלֹא יַחְטְבוּ מִן־הַיְּעָרִים (Yechezkel 39:10), and they shall not cut from the forests, and מֵֽחֹטֵב עֵצֶיךָ (Devarim 29:10), from the hewer of your wood: the sense is cutting. The passive of the heavy form is מְחֻטָּבוֹת תַּבְנִית הֵיכָֽל (Tehillim 144:12), hewn after the pattern of a palace.
Rabbi Yonah: high and lifted up
Rabbi Yonah explains in another sense חֲטֻּבוֹת אֵטוּן מִצְרָֽיִם (Mishlei 7:16), chatuvos of the etun of Egypt, and כזויות מְחֻטָבוֹת, like corners mechutavos: that is, high and lifted up. The Targum of הֶֽאֱמִֽירְךָ הַיּוֹם (Devarim 26:18), He has exalted you today, is חָטְבָךְ, with these letters.
Radak keeps it to cutting
Radak holds that the word should not be taken out of the first sense. In חֲטֻּבוֹת אֵטוּן מִצְרָֽיִם it goes back to the bed: the pasuk says that the poles of her bed are hewn and set right with the adze and the compass and the like, the tools with which beds are made. So too כזויות מחטבות, like hewn corners: it is the way of the world to build the corners of a house of hewn ashlar stone even where the rest of it is built of rough stones; the corner stones are cut so well and so straight that they all look like one stone, and the pasuk likens daughters even and straight in their stature to those corners.
וְלֹא יַחְטְבוּ מִן־הַיְּעָרִים (יחזקאל לט, י), מֵֽחֹטֵב עֵצֶיךָ (דברים כט, י), ענין כריתה. והפעול מהכבד מְחֻטָּבוֹת תַּבְנִית הֵיכָֽל (תהלים קמד, יב). ורבי יונה פירש בענין אחר חֲטֻּבוֹת אֵטוּן מִצְרָֽיִם (משלי ז, טז), כזויות מְחֻטָבוֹת, כלומר גבוהות ונשאות. ותרגום הֶֽאֱמִֽירְךָ הַיּוֹם (דברים כו, יח) חָטְבָךְ. ולפי דעתי אין להוציאו מהענין הראשון, ופירוש חֲטֻּבוֹת אֵטוּן מִצְרָֽיִם שב אל הערש ואמר כי ערשה בדיו חטובות ומתוקנות במעצר ובמחוגה וכיוצא בהם מהכלים שמתקנין בהן המטות. וכן כזויות מחטבות, כי מנהג העולם לבנות זרות הבית אבנים חטובות אבני גזית אף על פי שכל הבית בנויה באבנים שלבות, הזויות עושים אבני גזית ומחטבות היטב עד שידמו כל אבני הזויות מרוב חטיבוחן ביושר כאילו כלם אבן אחת ודמה הבנות ששוות וישרות בקומתן לזויות.
Radak, Sefer HaShorashim, Berlin 1847. Public domain, digitised by Sefaria from the National Library of Israel.
Sources
Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein, "Shavuot Special Feature!," What's in a Word?, Ohr Somayach, 8 June 2019.
Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein, "Bamidbar: Out in the Wild," What's in a Word?, Ohr Somayach, 20 May 2023.
Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein, "That’s Amore!," What's in a Word? Synonyms in the Hebrew Language (book manuscript).
Cited in the essay: Bereishis 34:3, 42:30; Shemos 6:2, 13:1, 19:3, 32:7; Vayikra 10:19, 21:1; Bamidbar 12:1, 15:37, 22:5; Devarim 2:16, 26:17-18, 32:1; Yeshayahu 17:6; Tehillim 19:4, 47:4, 94:4; Avos 5:1; Makkos 11a; Berachos 6a; Zohar, Idra Rabbah (Naso) 132b, Bereishis 239b and Shemos 161a; Rashi to Shemos 6:2, 19:3, 32:7, Vayikra 10:19, Bamidbar 12:1 and Devarim 26:17-18; Rabbi Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenburg, HaKsav VeHaKabbalah (בר' יב:יג, שמות ו:ב, ריש פ' אמור); Maharal, Nesivos Olam; Moshav Zekanim to Shemos 6:2; Sefer HaChochmah; Rabbeinu Bachya to Shemos 13:1; the Vilna Gaon, including to Bamidbar 22:5; Rabbi Pinchas Horowitz of Frankfurt; the Netziv, Haamek Davar to Vayikra 1:1; Malbim; Rabbi Moshe Feinstein; Rabbi Shmuel Jaffa-Ashkenazi; Rabbi Shlomo Pappenheim, Yerios Shlomo, with Rabbi Wolf Heidenheim's notes; Ibn Ezra and Rabbi Yoel Ibn Shuaib to Tehillim 19:4; Ibn Ezra to Devarim 26:17; Rav Hirsch; Rav Saadia Gaon; Dunash ibn Labrat; Sifsei Chachamim to Devarim 2:16; Bartenura to Shekalim 5:3; the Targumim; Raavan; Rabbi Yonah Isaac Neiman of Makow on Akdamus; Rabbi Shmuel Shmelka Horowitz of Nikolsburg; Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Epstein of Krakow; Rabbi Yaakov Yosef of Ostrog; Rabbi Shimon Maryles of Jaroslaw; Menachem Ibn Saruk; Radak; Yalkut Shorashim; Benamozegh, Eim LaMikra to Bereishis 37:2; Yeshayahu 55:10; Devarim 32:2; Yechezkel 21:2; Iyov 29:22; Rabbi Yitzchak bar Yakar, Yom Kippur liturgy; Rabbeinu Efrayim to Devarim 32:1; Tehillim 33:6; Iyov 37:6; Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer; HaKsav VeHaKabbalah to Devarim 4:13; Kedushas Levi to Bereishis 21:1.