Question
Someone told me that its important to look at the first time that a word is used in the Tanakh, as this shows the way it will be used subsequently. Is this actually a Jewish principle?
Answer
Shalom,
The principle is popularly accepted, and appears in the writings of Rav Zadok of Lublin, for example, Yisrael Kdoshim, ch. 7, but I’ve seen it used many times by others, as well. I imagine that their source is in the kabbalistic writings, but I’m not so well-versed in such sources.
With Love of Israel,
Rav Ari Shvat
