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Question
Iโ€™ve a question about the combination of the words "maleh" and "yad" as shown in verses like Shemot 29:35, 32:29, Vayikra 8:33, Bamidbar 3:3, 1 Divrei HaYamim 29:5, 2 Divrei HaYamim 6:4, 6:15, 13:9, 29:31 etc... Why is the wording โ€™full of handโ€™ as a idiom for dedication, consecration?
Answer
โ€œFilling the handsโ€ or โ€œhands are fullโ€ is an old idiom based upon the ancient custom that upon receiving an appointment (see Shmot 28, 41 and Judges 17, 12), one was given an object to hold, like a crown, scepter, etc. (an identical term is used in this context in Akkadian). Regarding the Kohanim, they were probably given, upon anointment, the kohanic clothes or sacrifices (Unkulus, Ralbag, see Shmot 29, 24). The Torah Tmima (Vayikra 16, 141) convincingly adds that its connotation is: โ€œfill (his) placeโ€, as a substitute fills the place of his predecessor, for yad can also mean place (as in the common: โ€œal-yadโ€=near the place, โ€œyad Avshalomโ€ Shmuel II, 18, 18 and especially Dvarim 23, 13).
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