ואני אתן את פני באיש ההוא. אם היה בסתר ויש אומרים כי טעמו להכרית זרעו: I ALSO WILL SET MY FACE AGAINST THAT MAN. If the sin was committed secretly.9For if the sin is committed in public, the culprit is executed (v. 2). Others say that the reference10I also will set my face against that man. is to the extirpation of the culprit’s seed.
למען טמא את מקדשי. שהוא בתוך ארץ ישראל: TO DEFILE MY SANCTUARY. Which is in the Land of Israel.
ולחלל את שם קדשי. שישמעו הגוים: AND TO PROFANE MY HOLY NAME. For nations will hear.11Of the sin that was committed in the Land of Israel.
והיה נראה לנו כי טעם באבן שם המין כמו ויהי לי שור וחמור ודברי הקבלה נכונים והם אמת. ויאמר רבי יונה המדקדק הספרדי נ״ע כי פירוש ובמשפחתו הדומה אליו ומי הביאנו בצרה הזאת רק פירוש כמשמעו כי עם הארץ יעלימו עיניהם בעבור שהם ממשפחתו: It would have appeared to us that ba-even (with stones)12Literally, with a stone. (v. 2) is a collective noun.13Hence ba-even is to be rendered with stones. Compare, And I have oxen (shor),14Literally, an ox. and asses (chamor)15Literally, an ass. (Gen. 32:6).16Literally, and I have an ox and an ass. However, the words of tradition are correct.17The rabbis took ba-even literally. According to the Midrash the culprit was first stoned by one stone. See Sanhedrin 6:4, “The place of stoning was twice the height of a man. One of the witnesses knocked him down…If he died that sufficed; but if not, the second witness took a stone and dropped it on his heart. If he died that sufficed; but if not, he was stoned by all Israel.” They are true. Rabbi Jonah the Spanish grammarian who rests in paradise says that and against his family (v. 5) means all those like him.18Rabbi Jonah was bothered by God’s threatening the family of the sinner with punishment when they apparently did not commit any sin. Who brought us into this trouble?19Of not interpreting our verse literally. Our verse is to be taken literally. The people of the land20Spoken of in verse 4. will hide their eyes because they are of his family.21In other words, the family spoken of in our verse is to be identified with the earlier mentioned (v. 4) people of the land who hid their eyes from the sinner