Help parsing the Midrashim of ר׳ חנינא from בר׳ ל״ג ב׳

Question

Can anyone offer help parsing the Midrashim of ר׳ חנינא from בר׳ ל״ג ב?

He seems to quote himself in third person a couple of times: ״ואמר ר׳ חנינא הכל...והא אמר ר׳ חנינא משום ר׳ שמעון בן יוחי אין לו...דאמר ר׳ חנינא משל...״ Any insights would be appreciated.

This question is part of the Daf Yomi Challenge.

I'm not sure I follow your question. I see three (well, 4 but I think you are referring to the latter 3) statements of his on the page. Where do you see him quoting himself? — Double AA, Sep 04 '12 at 04:35
It seems to be "statement...but different statement...but statement..." Unless it's the Gemara raising the objections? — Seth J, Sep 04 '12 at 04:41
"Unless..": That's how I read it. Note the switch from Hebrew to Aramaic. — Double AA, Sep 04 '12 at 04:44
It's not any worse than some of the other random translations and source references that we get. I can write up an official answer now. (ba, everything ok?) — Double AA, Sep 04 '12 at 04:51

score 5 · Accepted Answer · edited Sep 04 '12 at 05:15

The full text of the relevant piece follows. I have put statements of R Chanina in bold, and statements of the gemara-narrator/stama in italics.

אמר רבי חנינא הכל בידי שמים חוץ מיראת שמים שנאמר ועתה ישראל מה ה' אלהיך שואל מעמך כי אם ליראה אטו יראת שמים מילתא זוטרתא היא והא"ר חנינא משום ר' שמעון בן יוחי אין לו להקב"ה בבית גנזיו אלא אוצר של יראת שמים שנאמר יראת ה' היא אוצרו אין לגבי משה מילתא זוטרתא היא דאמר ר' חנינא משל לאדם שמבקשים ממנו כלי גדול ויש לו דומה עליו ככלי קטן קטן ואין לו דומה עליו ככלי גדול:

In other words, the structure is: statement by R Chanina; contradictory statement of R Chanina; a third statement of R Chanina which resolves the contradiction. All statements are being quoted directly by the gemara, including all the "flow-words" which indicate that the contradiction exists and how it is resolved. Note how all the bold text is in Hebrew and the italicized text is in Aramaic: the former are the words of R Chanina, and the latter are the words of the Gemara. There are no nested statements.

This understanding of the text is backed up by the Hebrewbooks translation of the page in Hebrew and in English.

Thanks! It seems pretty obvious now. I guess I was getting tired and was losing focus. Fortunately, nobody hit me with a hammer! — Seth J, Sep 04 '12 at 12:47

Help parsing the Midrashim of ר׳ חנינא from בר׳ ל״ג ב׳

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