[b-hebrew] What is that to be eaten 2 Kings 6:25?
tladatsi at charter.net
tladatsi at charter.net
Fri Sep 5 13:09:57 EDT 2008
Karl & al.,
The word in question (dibyown) is of course a hapax legomenon which does not seem to be derived from any obvious Hebrew roots. The "doves dung" is the ketib. The LXX translates this as dove's dung (kabou koprou peristerwn). However even if we take the ketib and LXX at face value, that does not mean people were actually eating doves dung. In Mexico and the US Southwest there is a popular confection called "churros", a long narrow lump of fried dough sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon. It is possible to translate "churros" as dung although there are more graphic and accurate words available in English language. The name is merely reflective of the general appearance of the food, particularly when it made by hand, and perhaps the fact it an inexpensive food popular with the poorer strata of society. Perhaps "doves dung" is something similar.
Jack Tladatsi
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