Judaism DIR
In the last couple of weeks I've been thinking a lot about various names both in the Tanach and in the Talmud.
The Talmud mentions the names of a number of background characters in the Tanach that appear nameless (if they appear at all) but there are traditions to their names.
One of the names is that of King David's mother, wife of Yishai: Nitzvat bat Adel (נצבת בת עדאל) (Bava Batra 91a). As Tanachic names go, it's a weird name, to say the least. Even her father's name, Adel, doesn't appear in the Tanach. What we have is a more popular (in today's Orthodox Israeli standards, at least) variant, Adiel. They both mean essentially the same thing: Infinite is God.
Shabbat before last, however, I came across a certain verse mentioned in the 3rd chapter of Avot that may hold some key to the meaning of her name: "Mizmor L'Asaf, Elokim Nitzav B'Adat E-l, B'Kerev Elokim Yishpot." (מזמור לאסף אלוקים נצב בעדת א-ל בקרב אלוקים ישפוט) - "A psalm of Asaph. God stands in the divine assembly; among the divine beings He pronounces judgment." (Psalm 82:1)
As I read this, the wording similarity between Nitzav B'Adat E-l and Nitzvat bat Adel struck me. The average person may say: okay, she's got a weird name and it just happens to be based off a random verse in Psalms. So?
This is where a very interesting (and weird) midrash comes in. Yalkut Hamechiri on Psalm 118:28 essentially says that Yishai separated from his wife for three years. After three years, a certain opportunity came up that allowed his wife to pull a kind of Leah/Rachel/Yaakov or Tamar/Yehudah trick and be with Yishai for one night. Months later, upon seeing that she was pregnant, she was suspected of having extramarital affairs and Yishai's sons demanded she be put to death. Yishai had mercy and didn't report her or the son she had (David) to the Sanhedrin and instead kept David around as a shepherd.
This midrash is very odd for many many reasons, which are worth a thread of their own. The key takeaway from this midrash, with regards to David's mother's name, is that she never sinned: she was only ever with her husband. David wasn't a mamzer. However, he was always suspected of being one. In other places, it is said that Shmuel the prophet wrote the Book of Ruth for David, because it was suspected that as a descendant of a Moabite, he wasn't Jewish. In other words, David's lineage was always questioned; he was always surrounded in controversy.
However, this is where his mother's name comes in, in my understanding: Nitzav B'Adat E-l means that one stands in a Godly congregation or a divine congregation. Our sages were cluing us in that everything David's mother and other ancestors, such as Ruth, did, was for good, pure, holy reasons - and that's where David comes from: a pure, holy, divine place.
It's also interesting to note that Asaf, the Levite who composed this psalm, was a contemporary of Shmuel, David's parents and David. He was one of the prophetic head singers during the time of David, representing the Levites of the family of Gershon. Clearly he knew of certain rumors and may have wanted to clear the name of his king.
In the last couple of weeks I've been thinking a lot about various names both in the Tanach and in the Talmud.
The Talmud mentions the names of a number of background characters in the Tanach that appear nameless (if they appear at all) but there are traditions to their names.
One of the names is that of King David's mother, wife of Yishai: Nitzvat bat Adel (נצבת בת עדאל) (Bava Batra 91a). As Tanachic names go, it's a weird name, to say the least. Even her father's name, Adel, doesn't appear in the Tanach. What we have is a more popular (in today's Orthodox Israeli standards, at least) variant, Adiel. They both mean essentially the same thing: Infinite is God.
Shabbat before last, however, I came across a certain verse mentioned in the 3rd chapter of Avot that may hold some key to the meaning of her name: "Mizmor L'Asaf, Elokim Nitzav B'Adat E-l, B'Kerev Elokim Yishpot." (מזמור לאסף אלוקים נצב בעדת א-ל בקרב אלוקים ישפוט) - "A psalm of Asaph. God stands in the divine assembly; among the divine beings He pronounces judgment." (Psalm 82:1)
As I read this, the wording similarity between Nitzav B'Adat E-l and Nitzvat bat Adel struck me. The average person may say: okay, she's got a weird name and it just happens to be based off a random verse in Psalms. So?
This is where a very interesting (and weird) midrash comes in. Yalkut Hamechiri on Psalm 118:28 essentially says that Yishai separated from his wife for three years. After three years, a certain opportunity came up that allowed his wife to pull a kind of Leah/Rachel/Yaakov or Tamar/Yehudah trick and be with Yishai for one night. Months later, upon seeing that she was pregnant, she was suspected of having extramarital affairs and Yishai's sons demanded she be put to death. Yishai had mercy and didn't report her or the son she had (David) to the Sanhedrin and instead kept David around as a shepherd.
This midrash is very odd for many many reasons, which are worth a thread of their own. The key takeaway from this midrash, with regards to David's mother's name, is that she never sinned: she was only ever with her husband. David wasn't a mamzer. However, he was always suspected of being one. In other places, it is said that Shmuel the prophet wrote the Book of Ruth for David, because it was suspected that as a descendant of a Moabite, he wasn't Jewish. In other words, David's lineage was always questioned; he was always surrounded in controversy.
However, this is where his mother's name comes in, in my understanding: Nitzav B'Adat E-l means that one stands in a Godly congregation or a divine congregation. Our sages were cluing us in that everything David's mother and other ancestors, such as Ruth, did, was for good, pure, holy reasons - and that's where David comes from: a pure, holy, divine place.
It's also interesting to note that Asaf, the Levite who composed this psalm, was a contemporary of Shmuel, David's parents and David. He was one of the prophetic head singers during the time of David, representing the Levites of the family of Gershon. Clearly he knew of certain rumors and may have wanted to clear the name of his king.
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