Why Mishpatim Begins With And These Adds to What Came Before

Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Mishpatim 2:3

Curated by Arthur·Translated by Maggid (Beta)·

Rabbi Abbahu said: Every place where it says "These" (eleh), it cancels what precedes it; and every place where it says "And these" (ve-eleh), it adds to what precedes it. It is written (Genesis 2:4): "These are the generations of the heavens and the earth." What did it cancel? It canceled (Genesis 1:2): "And the earth was formless and void, and darkness." And so, "And these are the ordinances" (Exodus 21:1) adds to what precedes it (Exodus 15:25): "There He established for them a statute and an ordinance," and so forth.

Themes

Divine JusticeCreationCovenant

Biblical References

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