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b-hebrew - Re: Neh. 4:17b

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  • From: "Kirk Lowery" <kelowery AT cs.com>
  • To: Biblical Hebrew <b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Neh. 4:17b
  • Date: Sun, 26 Mar 2000 18:51:22 -0500


On 26 Mar 2000, at 16:25, Liz Fried wrote:

> The translation of this passage seems perfectly clear and obvious to me,
> yet I haven't seen one commentator translate it this way.
> People translate it based on the LXX, which says
> "[none of us] took off our clothes, each kept his
> weapon in his right hand."
> My translation is: "none of us took off our clothes, or
> even went to the bathroom."
> literally, it reads "nor sent out water." People
> read it "his weapon the water."
> It seems obvious to me what's going on.
> Whatcha all think?

Well, it all hangs on how one understands $il:xow, no? If it is a piel inf cs
from $lx "to send", then your translation is the only real alternative. And 1
Chr 8:8 uses this form in exactly this way.

Another alternative is that the form is a common noun, $elax, commonly
translated "missle, javelin." That's how Koehler-Baumgartner understands this
word and cites Neh 4:11,17. The problem is, what does a weapon have to do
with
water? To make matters worse, the form occurs in 2 Chr 23:10

'i$ Sil:xow b:yfdow "each man's javelin in his hand"

and Neh 4:17 has hammfyim instead of b:yfdow. So one might suspect that the
last word was corrupted somehow. The LXX tried to make this work, and doesn't
reflect a different Vorlage, IMO.

The conservative in me opts for the understanding which least disturbs the
text, so I think your choice is best, euphemistically speaking. ;-)

Blessings,

Kirk
________________________________________________________
Kirk E. Lowery, Ph.D. Email: KELowery AT cs.edu
Associate Director Phone: 215-572-3854
The Westminster Hebrew Institute Fax: 215-887-5404
Westminster Theological Seminary
P.O. Box 27,009
Philadelphia, PA 19118





  • Neh. 4:17b, Liz Fried, 03/26/2000
    • <Possible follow-up(s)>
    • Re: Neh. 4:17b, Charles David Isbell, 03/26/2000
    • Re: Neh. 4:17b, Kirk Lowery, 03/26/2000

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