I believe that Moses, when he returned from exile in Midian, told the
elders the phrase: 'He has remembered you.' I believe the
pronunciation is as follows: pakod pakadeti.  Is this correct?

Secondly, does the phrase mean, He has remembered you (as a person? as
a people? or both?)?  I know that the word pakod translates as
remember, and also means a deposit, derivative of the word, pikadon.

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Request for Question Clarification by tutuzdad-ga on 23 Sep 2004 15:43 PDT

From what text (and what version) do you recall this statement, 'He
has remembered you'?

tutuzdad-ga

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Clarification of Question by dortmund-ga on 23 Sep 2004 16:21 PDT

I first saw it in a book by Josef Deutsch, titled Let My Nation Go,
The Story of the Exodus of the Jewish Nation from Egyptian Bondage, A
compilation of Talmudic and Midrashic sources, on page 129 of the
book, by Feldheim Publishers, 1998. Author is in Lakewood, NJ.

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Request for Question Clarification by tutuzdad-ga on 23 Sep 2004 19:07 PDT

To begin with, Moses never said this to anyone.God commanded Moses to
take these words back to the elders but because he was slow of speech
(kaved peh)and slow of tongue (kaved lashon) God allowed MOses'
brother Aaron to speak the message, which he presumably did.

I can tell you what these words are BELIEVED to have been as far texts
teach, and what the words mean if you like.

tutuzdad-ga

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Clarification of Question by dortmund-ga on 23 Sep 2004 19:40 PDT

Yes, if you can tell me what the words are believed to have been and
what they mean would be most helpful.

Dear dortmund-ga;

Thank you for allowing me to answer your interesting question.
Normally, as you might imagine, a straightforward question such as
yours could be answered with a simple straightforward answer. But
because of the fact that the issue is a matter of biblical history and
much of what has been recorded has been translated and re-translated
over the years, it is difficult to say for certain the ?exact? phrase
used in the context you are referring to. It is important then to note
some pertinent facts related to this phrase in order to know roughly
what the phrase was and what it meant. Since you are agreeable to my
explanation of what is ?taught? as opposed to ?exact phrase? I will
gladly explain what I know about this issue.

The phrase "pakod pakadeti" (alternatively recorded in some texts as
?"Pakod pakad'ti?, ?pakod pakad-ti? and perhaps other variations) is
not JUST a phrase. In fact the significance of this predates Moses as
was prophesied as a sign to be watched for. You see, long before Moses
time, God had told Jacob that when the redeemer of Israel came to
Egypt he would utter special words. Jacob handed this secret down to
Joseph who later told his brothers. Asher handed the secret down to
his daughter Serakh (Serakh bat Asher, known as ?Serah? and ?Sarah? in
Biblical texts). So when Moses was instructed by God to tell the
elders He has said ?I have remembered you?, Serakh was the only person
alive who had heard the secret words and recognized ?the sign? as it
was predicted in previous generations. When she heard the words and
recognized them she told the Israelites that Moses had truly been sent
by God.

Serakh, Jacob?s granddaughter, is only spoken of three times in the
Holy Bible (In Genesis 46:17 she is among those who went down into
Egypt. In Numbers 26:46 she is counted among those who departed. In I
Chronicles 7:30 she is mentioned as a descendant of Jacob). What else
we know of her comes from midrashim from the third to fourteenth
centuries. According to this text we know that, while others certainly
learned of this significant phrase later, Sarakh was the only living
person who knew for certain what the phrase was. Whether or not the
actual phrase was ever spoken we will never know but suffice to say
that Sarakh was convinced that the message Moses (actually) brought
back to the elders was close enough according to the secret she was
given.

The Legend of Serakh bat Asher
http://www.wlcj.org/outlook_articles/serakh_asher_seder.html

What texts teach is that the phrase Serakh was waiting and watching
for was ?pakod pakad'ti" or, ?I have surely remembered you?. These
words of course have been translated (back and forth, in various
languages, mind you) for centuries so this should probably be
qualified in terms of accuracy, as ?as best we know?. The phrase ?I
Have remembered you? and ?I have surely remembered you? and perhaps
other variations of this statement have been translated from the
original language many times. To return to the original language from
these statements and expect absolute accuracy would be futile because
each statement would translate differently. For example, if we look at
?I Have remembered you? the re-translation some texts refer to the
phrase ?pakod pakad'ti". Of the phrase ?surely remembered you?, on the
other hand, the re-translation is referred to as ?pakod pakadti
et?chem?. It is difficult, if not impossible to know which phrase was
actually spoken and which translation actually applies. What we do
know however is that the phrase ?pakod pakadti et?chem?, the same
words used by Joseph (Genesis 50:24,25) and told to Serakh, is the
version that appears in Shemot 3:16 and 13:19:

SHEMOT 3:16

?3:16 Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them:
HaShem, the G-d of your fathers, the G-d of Abraham, of Isaac, and of
Jacob, hath appeared unto me, saying: I have surely remembered you,
and seen that which is done to you in Egypt.?
SHEMOT ? JPS VERSION
http://www.breslov.com/bible/Exodus3.htm#19

?3:16 'Go, gather the elders of Israel, and say to them, 'YHVH, the
God of your fathers, appeared to me - the God of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob. He said, 'I have granted you special providence regarding what
is happening to you in Egypt.?
SHEMOT ? KAPLAN VERSION
http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=2&CHAPTER=3#P19

SHEMOT 13:19

?13:19 And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him; for he had
straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying: 'G-d will surely
remember you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you.'
SHEMOT ? JPS VERSION
http://www.breslov.com/bible/Exodus13.htm

?13:19 Moses took Joseph's remains with him. Joseph had bound the
Israelites by an oath: 'God will grant you special providence, and you
must then bring my remains out of here with you.'?
SHEMOT ? KAPLAN VERSION
http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=2&CHAPTER=13

????.

The phrase ?pakod pakadti et?chem? then is not One remembering another
in the literal sense, but is an oath indicative of the fact that one
is favored above other. By saying ?remembered? the intent is to convey
that one has been ?counted? or set aside for pecial purpose. In Shemot
we see that the phrase was used to remember ?the people? as opposed to
one person. By remembering the elders the oath refers to them and all
the peoples they represent and by remembering ?the children if Israel?
the oath refers to the chosen people of Israel. Logically, since the
phrase is used in no other context through the scriptures, we can
assume that when God said this to Moses, He too intended it to be
taken that He was remembering the people, rather than Moses himself.

I hope you find that my research exceeds your expectations. If you
have any questions about my research please post a clarification
request prior to rating the answer. Otherwise I welcome your rating
and your final comments and I look forward to working with you again
in the near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.

Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga ? Google Answers Researcher



INFORMATION SOURCES

DEFINED ABOVE


SEARCH STRATEGY


SEARCH ENGINE USED:

Google ://www.google.com


SEARCH TERMS USED:

PAKOD 

PAKADETI

SERAKH

MOSES

JACOB

SHEMOT

MIDRASHIM

MIDRASH

REMEMBERED YOU

HEBREW

ARAMAIC

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Clarification of Answer by tutuzdad-ga on 24 Sep 2004 09:22 PDT

I should probably have pointed out that in Shemot the phrase ?pakod
pakadti et?chem? is translated as "special providence", therefore to
be remembered (as it is called in some translations) is to have a
special accounting or acknowledgement above others.

regards;
tutuzdad-ga

I agree that what is critical to understanding the fullness of this
phrase is that the word 'remembered', as you said, has a larger
meaning - and that the phrase is more of an oath than a Divine Memory.
Have been fascinated by this phrase for several years. Am tipping $7
because 20 + 7 = 27 = 9, which in the meaning of numbers signifies
completion.

I believe the Biblical passage to which you refer is Exodus 3:16.

Here you can see various English translations:

http://bible.cc/exodus/3-16.htm

"At first Moses protests that he's unqualified to fulfill this role.
God reassures him: 'Go and assemble the elders of Israel and say to
them: "The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob, has appeared to me and said, 'I have taken note of you
(pakod pakadeti etkhem), and of what is being done to you in Egypt.'
(3; 16)."

http://www.matan.org.il/eng/learning/shemot.html

"G-d then gives Moses detailed directions on how to proceed and how
the Exodus will come about:

'Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them: "G-d,
the G-d of your fathers, has appeared to me, saying: I have surely
remembered ('pakod pakadati') you, and have seen that which is done to
you in Egypt."

http://www.chabadonline.com/scripts/tgij/paper/Articlecm.asp?ArticleID=1149

It appears to me that this means "remembered you as a people,"
referring to all of Israel, not just to the elders.