Ten years ago, as I was preparing to leyen this parashah (chant from the scroll), I noticed that instead of the customary "זכר ונקבה" we instead have the phrase "מזכר עד נקבה."
Cool, I thought, that looks like a proof text for gender as a spectrum. How does JPS 2006 translate the phrase?
(א) וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יהוה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃ (ב) צַ֚ו אֶת־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וִֽישַׁלְּחוּ֙ מִן־הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֔ה כׇּל־צָר֖וּעַ וְכׇל־זָ֑ב וְכֹ֖ל טָמֵ֥א לָנָֽפֶשׁ׃ (ג) מִזָּכָ֤ר עַד־נְקֵבָה֙ תְּשַׁלֵּ֔חוּ אֶל־מִח֥וּץ לַֽמַּחֲנֶ֖ה תְּשַׁלְּח֑וּם וְלֹ֤א יְטַמְּאוּ֙ אֶת־מַ֣חֲנֵיהֶ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֲנִ֖י שֹׁכֵ֥ן בְּתוֹכָֽם׃ (ד) וַיַּֽעֲשׂוּ־כֵן֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וַיְשַׁלְּח֣וּ אוֹתָ֔ם אֶל־מִח֖וּץ לַֽמַּחֲנֶ֑ה כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר דִּבֶּ֤ר יהוה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה כֵּ֥ן עָשׂ֖וּ בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ {פ}
(1) יהוה spoke to Moses, saying: (2) Instruct the Israelites to remove from camp anyone with an eruption or a discharge and anyone defiled by a corpse. (3) Remove male and female alike; put them outside the camp so that they do not defile the camp of those in whose midst I dwell. (4) The Israelites did so, putting them outside the camp; as יהוה had spoken to Moses, so the Israelites did.
"male and female alike." Hmm, does that capture the essence of the Hebrew? What does Jastrow say about the words מִ and עַד?
מִ־, מִי־ (followed by Dagesh forte), מֵ־, מֵי־ (before gutturals) prefix for מִן, 1) from, of, e. g. מִמָּקוֹם from a place; מֵאֵמָתַי from what time &c.—מֵאֵל־, v. אֶל. —2) (v. מִדּ־) from the time that, when; from the fact that, since; also separated מִי, e. g. Sot. IX, 7 משנתערפה העגלה after the heifer has been killed; Num. R. s. 2 מִי שהוא אומר (= מִשֶּׁ־) after having said; Y. Shek. V, end, 49ᵇ מיחזר when I come back; Y. Peah VIII, 21ᵇ top מי חזרון מי חזרון וכ׳ when we come back,—when they came back &c.; Y. Ber. II, 5ᶜ bot. מִסַּבְרִית ed. Lehm. (ed. מי סברית) because I thought; Y. Taan. IV, 69ᵃ מנפקין (Lam. R. to II, 2 מן דנפקין) when they came forth; a. fr.
עַד m. (b. h.; עוּד) turn, continuation; (prep.) up to, until, during, while; in place of. B. Mets. 87ᵃ; Snh. 107ᵇ עד אברהם up to Abraham’s time, v. זִקְנָה. B. Kam. 55ᵃ עד שאתה שואלני וכ׳ during the time that &c., instead of asking me &c. Gen. R. s. 58 עד שלא ישקיע וכ׳ before yet the Lord causes the sun of one righteous man to set, he causes that of another to rise. Kidd. 29ᵇ עד כ׳ שנה until a person is twenty years old. Ib. 31ᵃ עד היכן כיבוד וכ׳ how far does the duty of honoring parents go?; a. v. fr.—Ber. 26ᵇ (ref. to ib. IV, 1 ‘up to four hours’) עד וָעַד בכלל וכ׳ does it mean ‘up to’, and that ‘up to’ included, i.e. including the whole fourth hour of the day, or excluding the fourth hour? Nidd. 58ᵇ לימא בעד ועד בכלל קמיפלגי shall we say, their difference turns on the question whether ‘until’ is meant to include or to exclude the terminus? Ib. איכא עד ועד בכלל ואיכא עד ולא עד בכלל sometimes ‘until’ means inclusive of, and sometimes exclusive of. Ib. קמיפלגי בעד ועד דהכא they differ as to the meaning of the word ‘until’ in this case (in the Mishnah); a. fr.—בַּעַד, בְּעַד (cmp. עֲבוּר) in behalf of, for, about. Midr. Till. to Ps. IV וכי … הפונדק בַּעֲדֵינוּ (our w. missing in ed. Bub.) has that innkeeper opened his shop for the first time today, for our benefit? Midr. Till. to Ps. XII שאל בַּעֲדוֹ וכ׳ he inquired about him, where is he?; a. e.—וָעֶד, v. עוֹלָם.
Jastrow doesn't note any special meaning of the words in this particular verse, which I take to support my reading that the phrase is, "from male until female."
What does the gemara teach about this phrase?
ראו לובן ואודם כאחד אין חייבין על ביאת מקדש אבל שורפין עליהם את התרומה שנאמר (במדבר יהוה:ג׳ ) מזכר ועד נקבה
If a tumtum and a hermaphrodite saw white ziva and red blood as one, i.e., they emitted both ziva and blood and are therefore impure regardless of their sex, they are still not liable for entering the Temple, but one does burn teruma due to their contact. The reason they are not liable for entering the Temple, despite the fact that they are definitely impure, is that it is stated: “Both male and female
תשלחו זכר ודאי נקבה ודאית ולא טומטום ואנדרוגינוס .
you shall send out, out of the camp you shall send them, so that they not impurify their camp, in the midst of which I dwell” (Numbers 5:3). It is derived from the verse that only a definite male or a definite female is liable for entering the Temple in a state of impurity, but not a tumtum or a hermaphrodite.
The Talmud says sex is a spectrum! We know from other Torah passages that זכר ונקבה (male and female) are liable for entering the Temple in a state of impurity. The gemara argues that other sexes (here specifically tumtum and androgynous) are not. The proof text is Numbers 5:3, which the gemara reads to teach that impure tumtum and androgynous are simply sent out of the camp while impure. This gemara clearly understands the phrase מזכר עד נקבה as indicating a spectrum of sexes.
The Rashi chumash by Rabbi Shraga Silverstein has what I believe to be the more accurate translation:
מִזָּכָ֤ר עַד־נְקֵבָה֙ תְּשַׁלֵּ֔חוּ אֶל־מִח֥וּץ לַֽמַּחֲנֶ֖ה תְּשַׁלְּח֑וּם וְלֹ֤א יְטַמְּאוּ֙ אֶת־מַ֣חֲנֵיהֶ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֲנִ֖י שֹׁכֵ֥ן בְּתוֹכָֽם׃
From male until female shall you send them out. Outside of the camp shall you send them; and they shall not make unclean their camps in whose midst I dwell.
as does Samson Raphael Hirsch's 19th Century German translation:
מִזָּכָ֤ר עַד־נְקֵבָה֙ תְּשַׁלֵּ֔חוּ אֶל־מִח֥וּץ לַֽמַּחֲנֶ֖ה תְּשַׁלְּח֑וּם וְלֹ֤א יְטַמְּאוּ֙ אֶת־מַ֣חֲנֵיהֶ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֲנִ֖י שֹׁכֵ֥ן בְּתוֹכָֽם׃
Vom Männlichen bis Weiblichen sollt ihr hinausschicken; außerhalb des Lagers hinaus sollt ihr sie schicken, und sie sollen ihren Lagern nicht die Reinheit nehmen, in deren Mitte Ich wohne.
and Saymon Pires da Silva's Portuguese translation:
מִזָּכָ֤ר עַד־נְקֵבָה֙ תְּשַׁלֵּ֔חוּ אֶל־מִח֥וּץ לַֽמַּחֲנֶ֖ה תְּשַׁלְּח֑וּם וְלֹ֤א יְטַמְּאוּ֙ אֶת־מַ֣חֲנֵיהֶ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֲנִ֖י שֹׁכֵ֥ן בְּתוֹכָֽם׃
De homem até mulher, expulsai-os; fora do acampamento os expulsareis, para que não contaminem o seu acampamento, no meio do qual Eu habito.
Even Rashi understands the phrase this way:
עד נקבה - משמע כל מי שיש לו דין שהוא מזכר עד נקבה שיש להן טהרה:
("until female: this means everyone who is subject to law, that is, from a male to a female, who are pure")
So, why do the majority of translations insist on "male and female" instead of "from male until female?"
There are other readings of the text. For example, Chizkuni understands an age rather than gender spectrum, including both adults and children:
מזכר עד נקבה תשלחו מאיש עד אשה לא נאמר לומר לך שלענין טומאה שוים גדולים וקטנים.
מזכר עד נקבה תשלחו, “be such a person male or female he or she must be removed from the camps forbidden for their category of defilement.” The verse teaches that in respect of ritual defilement the Torah does not make a distinction between minors and adults, males or females.
Much of the rest of Niddah 28b not quoted above is an (anonymously narrated) argument between Rabi Yosei and Rav. They disagree about which principles may be derived from which words in Numbers 5:3. The discussion has implications not just for an understanding of human sex and gender, but also the relative valuation of people of different sexes, and laws pertaining to purity and impurity of vessels. Click here to study Niddah 28b
The Women's Commentary understands the phrase as a commentary on the difference between sex and gender:
male and female alike. Heb. mi-zachar ad n’kevah. Everyone is subject to these temporary impurities. What is the difference between this expression and the expression ish o ishah (“men or women,” literally “man or woman”) in Numbers 5:6 and 6:2? The first expression is applied to animals more often (Genesis 6:19; 7:3, 9, 16; Leviticus 3:1) and seems to identify sexuality as opposed to gender. The primordial humans were created as “male and female” (biological categories) in the image of God in Genesis 1:27, but become gendered as “man and woman” (social categories) in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2:23–24.
Rabbi Wenig shares a brilliant commentary on a related verse:
“Zachar u'nikeva [male and female]” is, I believe, a merism, a common Biblical figure of speech in which a whole is alluded to by some of its parts. When the Biblical text says, “There was evening, there was morning, the first day,” it means, of course, that there was evening, there was dawn, there was morning, there was noon time, there was afternoon, there was dusk in the first day. “Evening and morning” are used to encompass all the times of the day, all the qualities of light that would be over the course of one day. So, too, in the case of Genesis 1:27b, the whole diverse panoply of genders and gender identities is encompassed by only two words, “male” and “female.”
--Rabbi Margaret Moers Wenig, “Male and Female God Created Them: Parashat Bereshit” in Torah Queeries: Weekly Commentaries on the Hebrew Bible
I remain convinced that Numbers 5:3 refers to a gender spectrum. I'd love to hear what this verse means to you; contact me here or via my website: www.cantorsarahmyerson.com