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b-hebrew - Re: Beguiled in Gen 3:13

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  • From: Paul Zellmer <zellmer AT cag.pworld.net.ph>
  • To: B-hebrew list <b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Cc: Lewis Reich <LBR AT sprynet.com>
  • Subject: Re: Beguiled in Gen 3:13
  • Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1998 06:18:20 +0800


Paul Zellmer wrote:

> The parallel passage for 2Ki is 2Ch 32:15. Here the phrase is:
> )aL-Ya$$iY) )eTKeM
> which appears to parallel the Gen 3 example. Is 36:10, another parallel
> passage, uses
> the lamed again. However, 2 Kings 19:10 and Isaiah 37:10, which both has
> God as the
> supposed deceiver, both use the suffixed personal pronoun. My guess is
> that N$) can
> use either form (direct or indirect) to mark its object.

Just an addendum to my own note. I don't have the tools or the training to
investigate
this, but I can think of two reasons off the top of my head for this
alternation between
the direct and indirect object. The first is that this might be a verb that
originally
required either the direct object or the lamed-form, but we are seeing it in
a transition
to the other form. The second could be a result of a minor, stylistic(?)
difference in
meaning.

It would be interesting to find out how the object was marked in related
languages,
especially in the earliest times. I freely admit that I do not hold to a
late date for
the Penteteuch, that I hold to Moses as the author of all except the final
chapter of
Deuteronomy. If this is the case, then *probably* the oldest forms would use
the direct
object. (Hey, I'm not trying to start a thread on early vs late dates. I'm
merely
clarifying my position while recognizing that there are others out there. I
often find
myself wishing others on this list would do the same.)

If it is the result of a subtle difference in nuance, I see this as a
possibility: Let's
assume that my answer to Monika Ulrich was accurate, that the basic meaning
of the word is
to give a false hope, and that to deceive is an extension of that idea. If
that's the
case, then "give a false hope" would already include a direct object and the
clause would
need an addressee, an indirect object. But, in the case of "deceive," what's
missing
would be a *direct* object, i.e., *who* is deceived.

I'm not claiming that these are the only two possibilities, nor am I saying
that either
one is on the right track. I repeat that I do not have the tools or the
training to
investigate this further. Some of you with the resources and ability might
want to follow
this up. Or some of you working on advanced degrees might be able to find
the beginning
of some thesis or dissertation here.

Just my ramblings,

Paul

--
Paul and Dee Zellmer, Jimmy Guingab, Geoffrey Beltran
Ibanag Translation Project
Cabagan, Philippines

zellmer AT faith.edu.ph







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