[b-hebrew] midwives

Yigal Levin leviny1 at mail.biu.ac.il
Sat Nov 5 11:37:08 EST 2005


Karl, now you're back to advocating a 15th century Exodus. There is no 
reason to think that the author of Exodus had ever heard of the so-called 
"Hyksos". And that, as I wrote before, the real issue - what the author of 
Exodus intended his readers to think about the midwives, not who we, with 
our "understanding" of "real history" think they might have been.

Yigal

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Karl Randolph" <kwrandolph at email.com>
To: <b-hebrew at lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Saturday, November 05, 2005 1:56 AM
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] midwives


> Bryan:
>
> Not so quick.
>
> #6 under the Hebrew side, the "Egyptian" midwives would
> have had Semitic names, if they were Hyksos.
>
> So the score is 5 - 6, in favor of "Egyptian".
>
> There are several indications in the text that the Pharaoh
> of the Exodus was Hyksos, which would mean the Moses
> was born not long after the Hyksos came to power.
>
> Karl W. Randolph.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "B. M. Rocine" <brocine at twcny.rr.com>
>>
>> B-Haverim,
>>
>> SCORE TIED 6-6 WITH HEBREWS WINNING?
>>
>> Thanks for the discussion!  Here is a review of the "midwives" thread.
>> Of course folks are weighing the evidence as they see fit.  Am I
>> forgetting amything?  Any more comments?
>>
>> For Hebrew midwives:
>>
>> 1a.  the patakh under the first lamed of _lamyalldot_ indicates
>> _ha`ibriyyot_ must be an adjective.
>> 1b.  We don't like to tamper with the MT.
>> 2.  the LXX.
>> 3.  other translation tradition.
>> 4.  traditional Jewish commentary.
>> 5.  the midwives feared God.
>> 6.  the names are likely Semitic in origin.
>>
>> For Egyptian midwives:
>>
>> If we change the patakh under the lamed to hireq, the expression
>> _limyalldot ha`ibriyyot_ becomes a construct chain translatable as "the
>> midwives of the Hebrews."  This change would not necessitate the
>> midwives being Hebrews, but it opens the door to their being Egyptians.
>> Support includes:
>>
>> 1.  Pharaoh was surprised they didn't obey.
>> 2.  The midwives engaged in critical talk about Egyptian women.
>> 3.  It's easier to imagine Pharaoh would ask Egyptian women to kill
>> Hebrew children.
>> 4.  They are twice mentioned as fearing God as if it is remarkable.
>> 5.  The expression in v. 21 "and He made them houses" seems more worth
>> saying if the "them" are non-Hebrews.
>> 6.  A rule for narration may exist whereby participants in a following
>> narrative must first be introduced in the indefinite before they are 
>> named.
>>
>>
>>
>> Shalom,
>> Bryan
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> B. M. Rocine
>> Living Word Church
>> 6101 Court St. Rd.
>> Syracuse, NY 13026
>> (W): 315.437.6744
>
> -- 
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