מאת: אבנר רמו
אל: avnerramu @ aol.com
We read in the Book of Zechariah:
וישב ממזר באשדוד; והכרתי גאון פלשתים.
“And a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines” Zec 9:6).
The Greek translator does not support the understanding of the English translator and he writes: “And aliens shall settle in Azotus.” This understanding suggests that the Greeks believed that here the Hebrew ממזר (mamzer) is a misspelled and mis-divided:עם זר (a’am zar) - “an alien people.”
The only other biblical verse that contains the word: ממזר (mamzer) is found in the Book of Deuteronomy, where we read:
לא-יבא ממזר בקהל יהוה: גם דור עשירי לא-יבא לו בקהל יהוה.
לא-יבא עמוני ומואבי בקהל יהוה: גם דור עשירי לא-יבא להם בקהל יהוה עד-עולם.
“A bastard shall not enter into the assembly of YHWH; even to the tenth generation shall none of his enter into the assembly of YHWH.
An Ammonite or a Moabite shall not enter into the assembly of YHWH; even to the tenth generation shall none of them enter into the assembly of YHWH for ever” (Deu 23:3-4).
Here the Greeks translated ממזר (mamzer) as: “one from a prostitute.” However, as the next verse is a specific remark in regard to the nations of Ammon and Moab, we may assume that here ממזר (mamzer) is also a misspelled and mis-divided: עם זר (a’am zar) - “an alien people.”
Furthermore, In the Book of Judges we read:
ויפתח הגלעדי היה גבור חיל, והוא בן-אשה זונה; ויולד גלעד את-יפתח.
“Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of velour, and he was the son of a harlot; and Gilead begot Jephthah” (Jud 11:1).
וילך יפתח עם-זקני גלעד, וישימו העם אותו עליהם לראש ולקצין; וידבר יפתח את-כל-דבריו לפני יהוה במצפה.
“Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and chief over them; and Jephthah spoke all his words before YHWH in Mizpah” (Jud 11:11).
וישפט יפתח את-ישראל שש שנים;
“And Jephthah judged Israel six years” (Jud 12:7).
In spite of the fact that the Greek (and English) translators understood that Jephthah was the son of a prostitute, he is never described as ממזר - “bastard” nor was he ever banned to “enter into the assembly of YHWH.”
This is not a special case and we read in the Book of Joshua:
ואת-רחב הזונה ואת-בית אביה ואת-כל-אשר-לה החיה יהושע, ותשב בקרב ישראל עד היום הזה:
“But Rahab the harlot, and her father's household, and all that she had, did Joshua save alive; and she dwelt in the midst of Israel, to this day” (Jos 6:25).