While both Joshua and Moses were prophets, there were some differences. As you note above, Moses knew God face to face (an anthropomorphism). Joshua OTOH actually brought the Israelites into Canaan, something Moses failed at. Saying that Joshua wasn't as close to God as Moses does NOT mean that he is not the successor to Moses described in Deuteronomy 19:15 "A prophet from among you, from your brothers, like me, the Lord, your God will set up for you; you shall hearken to him."
In neither passage is any "manifestation" mentioned. You are reading something between the lines that is not implied, because you are used to it being interpret that way by your lovely but very different religion.
1) Your message carries many theological implications and requires more expertise than I can offer, as my background is in traffic management and administration, not in language studies.
2) The birth of my daughter has taught me many lessons. Her mother comes from a different ethnicity, and at first, I would ask her to send me a "hi" on WhatsApp when she got home. In my culture, this means that upon arriving, she would send a message like: "Hi, I just got home, I'm safe, how are you?" However, she responded rather bluntly with just "hi," because in her culture, that's how things are—only what was asked for, nothing more.
3) I'll post the translation of a verse, and then I'll see a rabbi's commentary on it.
εκ του ουρανου | from the heaven ακουστη εγενετο | was heard became η φωνη αυτου | the voice of him παιδευσαι σε | to instruct you και επι της γης | and upon the earth
εδειξεν σοι | showed to you το πυρ αυτου το μεγα | his great fire και τα ρηματα αυτου | and his words ηκουσας εκ μεσου του πυρος | you heard from the midst of the fire.
דברים (
Devarim)
Deuteronomy 4:36.
מִן־הַשָּׁמַ֛יִם הִשְׁמִֽיעֲךָ֥ אֶת־קֹלֹ֖ו לְיַסְּרֶ֑ךָּ וְעַל־הָאָ֗רֶץ הֶרְאֲךָ֙ אֶת־אִשֹּׁ֣ו הַגְּדֹולָ֔ה וּדְבָרָ֥יו שָׁמַ֖עְתָּ מִתֹּ֥וךְ הָאֵֽשׁ׃
דברים (
Devarim)
Deuteronomy 4:36. (35)
מִן־הַשָּׁמַ֛יִם – "From heaven"
הִשְׁמִֽיעֲךָ֥ – "He made you hear"
אֶת־קֹלֹ֖ו – "His voice"
לְיַסְּרֶ֑ךָּ – "to discipline you"
וְעַל־הָאָ֗רֶץ – "and on earth"
הֶרְאֲךָ֙ – "He showed you" אֶת־אִשֹּׁ֣ו – "His fire"
הַגְּדֹולָ֔ה – "the great"
וּדְבָרָ֥יו – "and His words"
שָׁמַ֖עְתָּ – "you heard"
מִתֹּ֥וךְ הָאֵֽשׁ׃ – "from the midst of the fire."
דברים (
Devarim)
Deuteronomy 4:36. (35)
TRANSLATION OF RASHI
35 has been shown to you. This term should be understood just as the Targum translates it: It has been shown to you.
"
106. The verb הֶרְאֲךָ֙ is not conjugated in the causative hifil mode [‘you have shown’], but in the reflexive hitpa'el mode [‘it has been shown to you’]. If it were a causative verb, the Targum would have translated it as 'you have shown,' instead of 'it has been shown to you,' which is a reflexive Aramaic verb (Gur Arye ×, Mizraji). However, it is not really a hitpa'el verb, but a verb conjugated in the hofal mode, which has a passive meaning, sometimes similar to the reflexive. The pronunciation also indicates that it is a hofal verb, since even for Sephardim, the pronunciation is not har'eta, but hor'eta."
In the context of Deuteronomy 4:36, the Hebrew verb הֶרְאֲךָ (her'ekha) is indeed a complex form and can be translated in various ways depending on the grammatical conjugation.
As noted in the Rashi commentary referenced, this verb is not in the hifil (causative) form, where it would mean "you have shown." Instead, it is in the hofal form, which is passive, meaning "it has been shown to you" or "you were made to see." This passive form indicates that the action of revealing or manifesting was done by another party (in this case, God) to the recipient (Israel).
Thus, translating הֶרְאֲךָ as "manifested" would be accurate, as it conveys the idea that God actively revealed or made visible something significant (His fire and words). The verb implies that the people were made to perceive this revelation, but they were not the ones doing the showing.
To summarize:
- הֶרְאֲךָ in hofal means "it has been shown" or "it has been manifested."
- The use of "manifested" in translation captures the passive nature of the verb well, as the people were the recipients of God's manifestation rather than the agents.
However, I recognize, as I mentioned my daughter's example, that RASCHI does not use the word "manifest"
