Tanach Thoughts

 Some thoughts on some peculiar name-changes in Shmuel: King Shaul's only surviving son after his fall at the hands of the Plishtim was Yishvi . But upon becoming king of most of the tribes, he's called Ish-Boshet . Not a very honorable name. In Divrei Hayamim we learn that one of his names or maybe his full name was really Eshba'al . Avimelech, son of Gidon, who was also known as Yeruba'al , is called Avimelech ben Yeruboshet . Yehonatan's son Mefiboshet's real name, according to Divrei Hayamim was Merivba'al . We're starting to see a theme here. Most commentators - both ancient and modern - who make note of this, explain it by saying that the author of Shmuel had something against the word "Ba'al", as though it refers to the Canaanite god Ba'al, and he sought to rid Ba'al worship. Bible critics claim this is evidence that Shaul held pagan beliefs and worshiped both Hashem and Ba'al. However, the Tanach is never afraid to point...

 As it turns out, Gidon had a sidekick. Well, not quite a sidekick. He's called a "na'ar" in Hebrew. A young assistant. Kind of like an intern, except with stealth and fighting capabilities. Like a spy plane. Okay, I'll stop. His name was Purah, which is exceedingly interesting. The word Purah will be familiar to some of us from Anim Zemirot: "Purah Bedorcho Be'vo'oh Me'edom". Purah means "winepress" in old Hebrew. Why is this interesting? Because Gidon's story opens up with him beating wheat in... a winepress ! As I heard from Rabbi Uzi Bienenfeld, Gidon did this because he didn't want the Midianites to discover him and take what precious little food his family had.  In that part of the story, the more well-known word for winepress was used - "Gat". But the two words mean the same thing. Gidon's story begins in a winepress, and then he has an assistant named "winepress" sneaking with him to spy on th...