[b-hebrew] midwives
B. M. Rocine
brocine at twcny.rr.com
Tue Nov 1 17:18:44 EST 2005
Hi Yitzhak,
thanks for responding!
Your response sent me on a search with interesting results, I think. In
BH narrative there seems to be a consistent formula for introducing
named people and things that I may represent as follows:
a. There was _an_ X
b. And the name of _the_ X was...
Examples:
Gen 2:10-11 (a.) venahar yotse' me`eden...(b.) shem ha'exad...
Gen 4:17 (a.) vayehi boneh `ir (b.) vayyiqra' shem ha`ir...
Num 11:26 (a.) vayyishsha'eru shney 'anashim... (b.) shem ha'exad...
The (a.) clause introduces a person or thing to the narrative. It
introduces the person or place with grammatical indefiniteness (_an_ X).
Then a subsequent (b.) clause gives the person or thing a name. In
the (b.) clause, the person or thing is referred to with grammatical
definiteness (eg. _the_ X). The pattern is extremely consistent, so I
may call it a "rule" for BH narrative. In fact, I could not find a
clear counter example when a person or thing is named at the start of a
narrative. The only possible counter example I know of is Exo 1:15.
(a.) vayyo'mer melek mistrayim lamyalldot ha`ibriyyot
(b.) 'asher shem ha'axat...
I wonder if the "rule" I have sketched here has any impact on whether we
should read lamyalldot or limyalldot in v. 15. I think it does by
ruling out lamyalldot!
I still have reservations, however, because even limyalldot is
grammatically definite by virtue of its place in an alledged definite
construct chain. Hmmmmmmmmmm.
Shalom,
Bryan
Yitzhak Sapir wrote:
> On 10/30/05, B. M. Rocine wrote:
>
>>B-Haverim,
>>
>>What do you all think of the possibility that the
>>midwives of Exo 1:15 were Egyptians rather that
>>Hebrews?
>
>
> Shalom,
>
> While a construct phrase is possible here, I don't
> think it is legitimate to read it that way. First, two
> midwives are involved and the verse clearly states
> their names. So it seems very likely that the
> "myaldot" are used with the definite article.
<noted and snipped>
--
B. M. Rocine
Living Word Church
6101 Court St. Rd.
Syracuse, NY 13026
(W): 315.437.6744
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