How many times did the Bnei Yisrael 'test' Hashem?

Summary: Ten times, some good number of times, or no times? Angering or testing?

Post: After the Bnei Yisrael cry at the report of the spies, Hashem relates how the Bnei Yisrael tested His these ten times:

22. that all the people who perceived My glory, and the signs that I performed in Egypt and in the desert, yet they have tested me these ten times and not listened to My voice,		כב. כִּי כָל הָאֲנָשִׁים הָרֹאִים אֶת כְּבֹדִי וְאֶת אֹתֹתַי אֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתִי בְמִצְרַיִם וּבַמִּדְבָּר וַיְנַסּוּ אֹתִי זֶה עֶשֶׂר פְּעָמִים וְלֹא שָׁמְעוּ בְּקוֹלִי:
have tested Me: This is to be understood literally.		וינסו: כמשמעו:

As opposed to what, exactly? What is bothering Rashi that makes his say kemashma'o, meaning in the way one would expect. This bothered me, but rather than researching it from scratch, I checked out what the Maharal (Gur Aryeh) had to say. And so this post is guided, at least initially, by Gur Aryeh.

What one would one expect, other than "tested"? Well, R Yosef Bechor Shor found an explanation which translates it as angered, on the basis of the dagesh in the samech,

וינסו, — ויכעיסו, כמו (בראשית
מ, ו בתרגום) ״והא אינון נסיסיך, ולפיכך הסמ״ך
דגושה, מצאתי.

This based on Targum Onkelos on Vayeshev, where Pharaoh's butler and baker were zoafim:

מ,ו וַיָּבֹא אֲלֵיהֶם יוֹסֵף, בַּבֹּקֶר; וַיַּרְא אֹתָם, וְהִנָּם זֹעֲפִים.

וַאֲתָא לְוָתְהוֹן יוֹסֵף, בְּצַפְרָא; וַחֲזָא יָתְהוֹן, וְהָא אִנּוּן נְסִיסִין.

which is taken as "angered". I am not so convinced that that is what zoafim means in context, but it is an interesting idea.

So too Chizkuni, who writes the same, with the same prooftext.

But Rashi is apparently stating that this is not necessary (says Gur Aryeh), for any time one does not trust in Hashem, he is testing Hashem, if He is able to perform his request. Implicit in Gur Aryeh's explanation is the understanding that there is a slight difficulty here. Other instances, such as asking for food, or water, or turning mud to entirely dry land, represents a test. But here there is no test. There is just a stated disbelief in Hashem's ability to allow them to conquer the land. And that would be what drives other meforshim to translate it as "anger" rather than "test".

This is a good semantic argument, but it entirely sidesteps the grammatical argument. That is, the dagesh in the letter samech is a mark of gemination, doubling of the letter. So, the root should have two samechs, not the one of "test". Gur Aryeh doesn't cite this grammatical argument of the aforementioned meforshim, and so he does not address it. I could imagine an answer, based somehow on vowel patterns in Hebrew, but I do not feel like exploring it at the moment. And so, I will leave it unresolved, except to note that Ibn Ezra doesn't differ from Rashi in his translation.

If it meant 'anger', then there is no indication of any 'testing' of Hashem. Regardless, the pasuk states that they tested / angered Hashem ten times. Bechor Shor asserts that this is meant absolutely literally. Thus:


וינסו אותי זה עשר
פעמים. — מדקאמר ״זה״ משמע דווקא, כמו
שאמרו רבותינו (ערכין טו, א ב משנה וגמ׳
אבות ה, ד, וספרי דברים א ד״ה ״ודי זהב״)ש
אבל אם אמר ״וינסו אותי עשר פעמים״ בלא
״זה״ [היה] משמע כמו (ויקרא כו, כו) ״ואפו
עשר נשים לחכמם״ שאינו דווקא, אלא הרבה,

וכן באיוב (יט, ג) ״זה עשר פעמים תכלימוני״
והוא דווקא, דעשר מענים מראש הספר עד שם,
וכמו (במדבר כב, כח) ״זה שלש רגלים״ דבלעם,
שהם דווקא.

His claim is that in instances it uses the word זה, the number is meant literally. When the word זה is absent, it means a large number of times. Besides this being a position spelled out by Chazal, he gives examples. Thus, Iyov says in Iyov 19:3:

ג  זֶה עֶשֶׂר פְּעָמִים, תַּכְלִימוּנִי;    לֹא-תֵבֹשׁוּ, תַּהְכְּרוּ-לִי.

3 These ten times have ye reproached me; ye are not ashamed that ye deal harshly with me.

and if you count the number of responses to Iyov up to that point, they number 10. And so too in parashat Balak, when Bilaam chastises his donkey in Bemidbar 22:28, we have:

כח  וַיִּפְתַּח יְהוָה, אֶת-פִּי הָאָתוֹן; וַתֹּאמֶר לְבִלְעָם, מֶה-עָשִׂיתִי לְךָ, כִּי הִכִּיתַנִי, זֶה שָׁלֹשׁ רְגָלִים.

28 And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam: 'What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?'

It makes sense, for "these X times" would indicate that a specific enumerable X times are being discussed, and so the number should be precise.

I would add, from later in Balak:

י  וַיִּחַר-אַף בָּלָק אֶל-בִּלְעָם, וַיִּסְפֹּק אֶת-כַּפָּיו; וַיֹּאמֶר בָּלָק אֶל-בִּלְעָם, לָקֹב אֹיְבַי קְרָאתִיךָ, וְהִנֵּה בֵּרַכְתָּ בָרֵךְ, זֶה שָׁלֹשׁ פְּעָמִים.

10 And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together; and Balak said unto Balaam: 'I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times.

and in sefer Shofetim:

טו  וַתֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו, אֵיךְ תֹּאמַר אֲהַבְתִּיךְ, וְלִבְּךָ, אֵין אִתִּי:  זֶה שָׁלֹשׁ פְּעָמִים, הֵתַלְתָּ בִּי, וְלֹא-הִגַּדְתָּ לִּי, בַּמֶּה כֹּחֲךָ גָדוֹל.

15 And she said unto him: 'How canst thou say: I love thee, when thy heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth.'

On the basis of this pasuk, Rabbi Yehuda tries to enumerate the 10 Trials of the Bnei Yisrael. In Arachin 15a-b:

ר' יהודה עשר נסיונות ניסו אבותינו להקב"ה שנים בים ושנים במים שנים במן שנים בשליו אחת בעגל ואחת במדבר פארן שנים בים אחת בירידה ואחת בעלייה ...ש

And read there, further. There is a divide among meforshim as to whether to take this literally or not. Besides Bechor Shor, above, we have Rashi who sides with the midrash. Much as we would expect:

ש(כב) וינסו - כמשמעו:זה עשר פעמים - 

שנים בים שנים במן ושנים בשליו וכו', כדאיתא במס' ערכין (טו א):ש

On the other side, we have Ibn Ezra:

[יד, כב]
זה עשר פעמים -הטעם רבים.
והזכיר עשר - בעבור היותו סך חשבון, כי הוא סוף האחדים וראש העשרות שהם במחברת השנית.

Ten, in particular, is used to mean "many" because it is is a sum, for it is the end of the individual numbers and the beginning of the tens, which are the second place. (I think he means the tens place.)

Ibn Caspi, as well, comes out on the side we would expect -- for his idea of peshat is that not everything is meant so darned literally. Thus:

זה עשר פעמים. הטעם פעמים רבות, וזכר עשר להיותו

סך חשבון:

Shadal as well. He translates the pasuk as "e m'hanno già tante volte sperimentalo", which Google Translate renders "and experiment with me from so many times", rather that particularly ten times. (I would also note that this Italian translation gives us "tested" rather than "angered".)

Rashbam as well:

פסוק כב 
עשר פעמים - הרבה. כמו: עשרת מונים.
ואפו עשר נשים. 
עשר פעמים תכלימוני. 

We should note that Rashbam's list of examples includes that pasuk from Iyov which Bechor Shor used as an example of a precise number. Perhaps he considers it irrelevant, in context, precisely how many answers were given to Iyov at this point, and Iyov was rather expressing exasperation.

None of these commentators directly and explicitly address Bechor Shor's proof, or point, of the word זה vs. its absence. If I may venture an answer on their behalf, based on what they did say: Perhaps they consider more important the particular number. Three is a countable number of a few, and those were most of the זה numbers. Ten plays this other function, of a group and sum, meaning many. And then there is only one instance of 10 with the word זה present, which they don't consider very convincing (see Rashbam) and several other examples where 10 means some good number of times, but not explicitly 10.

For example, in Vayeitzei, when Yaakov complains:

ז  וַאֲבִיכֶן הֵתֶל בִּי, וְהֶחֱלִף אֶת-מַשְׂכֻּרְתִּי עֲשֶׂרֶת מֹנִים; וְלֹא-נְתָנוֹ אֱלֹהִים, לְהָרַע עִמָּדִי.

7 And your father hath mocked me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.

when an attempted count of earlier changes of wage do NOT number ten; though of course some midrashically minded meforshim will try to enumerate the specific ten times there.

While Bechor Shor makes a good argument, my own inclination runs with those who say "many". For the Biblical text does not actually give us 10 instances of angering / testing Hashem up to this point, and we see ten used in exasperation in other instances meaning "a whole lot", such as by Yaakov. Zeh might just be used here as a means of emphasis, rather than denoting a specific ten instances. And trying to find particular instances strikes me, certainly, as a midrashic endeavor.