Monday, November 25, 2019

חיי שרה - ״באי שער העיר״



I read the English translation to the verse:
וְעֶפְרוֹן יֹשֵׁב בְּתוֹךְ בְּנֵי חֵת וַיַּעַן עֶפְרוֹן הַחִתִּי אֶת אַבְרָהָם בְּאָזְנֵי בְנֵי חֵת לְכֹל בָּאֵי שַׁעַר עִירוֹ לֵאמֹר:
"Lechol Baei Sha’ar iro" is transated to “those who entered the gate of his town”.

In Parashat VaYishlach it says: “kol yotzei sha’ar iro”. Will the translation there be “all those who left out the gate of his town”?
Seems to me that this is an idiom, that means “the inhabitants of his town”.

The problem is that both Onkelos and T’ Yonatan write "לְכֹל עָלֵי תְּרַע קַרְתֵּהּ” (LeChol Alei T’ra Karte’)
Did both of them mean that Efron talked just to those who entered the town?
or it was obvious to them that this is just an idiom, and they translated the idiom to Aramaic.

Rashi writes: “shekulam batelu mimlachtan”.  Rashi does not clarify who are “kulan”, but I have a feeling that he meant “all the inhabitants of his town”.
Professor Kadari, in his “Millon HaIvrit Hamikrait” writes on the Pasuk in Ruth “Kol Sha’ar Ami” (Ruth 3:11) “Kelal Ezrachei Ha’ir Beth Lechem” (all the citizens of the town Beth Lechem”). This is in-spite of the Targum there that says: “Kadam kol yotvei tra Sanhedrin rabba” “the people who who sit in front of the Great Sanhedrin). He mentioned in the same paragraph the verses from Chaye Sara and Vayishlach. ie, the meaning is the 'inhabitants of the town'.

The interpretation of Professor Kadari makes sense.  So why English translations are “those who entered the gate of his town”?
Seems to me that all followed the steps of Targum Onkelos, Yonatan, the Septuagint. Although those targumim here translated literally, and not idiomatic.
See also peirush HaRaDak:
באי שער שבאים ויוצאים בשער, ר״ל כל אנשי העיר. ופעם יאמר באי ופעם יאמר יוצאי שער עירו וענין אחד ר״ל כל אנשי העיר
As for the phrase “Sha’ar Ha’ir” not always it means “the gate of the town" (sometimes it does).  Onkelos translates the words “Bishearecha” as “Bekirvayich” , “in your towns”.



Kol Tuv,

Aharon

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