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b-hebrew - RE: [b-hebrew] Miracle of the Quail article (Nu 11:31-35)

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  • From: "Karl Randolph" <kwrandolph AT email.com>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: RE: [b-hebrew] Miracle of the Quail article (Nu 11:31-35)
  • Date: Tue, 03 Jun 2003 21:25:02 -0500

Dear Peter:

Let’s look strictly at the words.

>
> KR( hiphil certainly doesn't necessarily imply death - although it may do in
> Ps 17:13, 18:40, and certainly does in the qal at Jdg 5:27, 2Ki 9:24, Isa
> 10:4, 65:12, perhaps also Ps 20:9. But here it is used in parallel with HRG
> which does imply death.

I don’t see how KR( refers to death at all. Most of the time it refers to
crouching down, as a sign of obeissance to a conquorer, king or lord, or as a
cat on the hunt or resting. Sometimes it accompanies death, such as 2Ki 9:24,
where the king is wounded, curls up in a fetal position (crouches down) in
the chariot and dies.

> MISHMAN seems to imply the sturdiness of warriors rather than the obesity of
> gluttons, and especially in parallel with BAXUWR who were also warriors.
> Yes, on this occasion all were overeating. But I don't think the poetic
> parallelism and imagery allows us to make a contrast here between gluttons
> who died and others who were only sick.

How is that? Twice it is contrasted with leanness (Is 10:16, 17:4) and the
last use referring to a fat (fruitful) land. It comes from a root meaning fat.

In many societies, fat people are rare and found only among the upper
classes. Israel had just come out of slavery, but a vassel type slavery where
their leaders collaberated with their enslavers. It is very possible that
those who were among the leadership were fat. That would make the parallel
between the fat ones (leadership) and BAXUWR the best of the warriers.

So in Psalm 78, the best of the warriers were so sick that they were brought
to their knees, but I don’t think you can make the case that they died
(though some very likely did) and those used to eating more got more poison
and died.

Before this discussion came up, I merely assumed that God struck the people
with a supernatural plague. Now it looks like a case of God using natural
means to accomplish his supernatural goals.

Yours, Karl W. Randolph.
--
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