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  • From: "Jonathan D. Safren" <yonsaf AT beitberl.beitberl.ac.il>
  • To: Peter_Kirk AT sil.org
  • Cc: Biblical Hebrew <b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Atonement in the Pentateuch
  • Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1998 20:10:45 +0200

Today's Tiorah portion in the synagogue was Leviticus 16, the Yom Kippur purgation ritual, and there I found support for the claim that kipper be'ad means "puify, c;eanse, purge" and not "atone for".
     In :ev. 16: 19. wetihero weqiddesho is used in similar context, like word sequence, and with the same connotation as wekhipper 'al haqqodesh in Lev. 16: 16. Also, don't forget Akkadian kuppuru. I don't have RLA in front of me, but if I remember correctly, it occurs in the context of the akitu festival. Correct me, please, if I am wrong.
As Y. Kaufmann pointed out long ago, the type of sacrifice known as hattat, of which several are offered in Lev. 16, has nothing to with sin, put is instead a "purification offering; Heb. hitte', in the pi'el, means to purify, and indeed it is used in Modern Hebrew as "disinfect".
Chag Sukkot Sameach, to those of you who celebrate Sukkot.

--
Jonathan D. Safren
Dept. of Biblical Studies
Beit Berl College
44905 Beit Berl Post Office
Israel
 



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