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b-hebrew - Re: [b-hebrew] Zech 13:5

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  • From: Peter Kirk <peterkirk AT qaya.org>
  • To: Karl Randolph <kwrandolph AT email.com>
  • Cc: B-Hebrew <b-hebrew AT lists.Ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Zech 13:5
  • Date: Wed, 22 Jun 2005 18:14:08 +0100

On 22/06/2005 16:58, Karl Randolph wrote:

Steve:

Looking at the context might help. Previous to the phrase in question, the
person in question claims that he is a slave of the soil, grammatically a
possessive where the soil owns the person. Often a feminine noun denotes a
generalized subject, while a masculine of the same refers to a specific
subject, so in context this could be translated as “this soil” refeerring to
a particular plot of land. Is this the only example in Tanakh for )DMH / )DM
אדמה / אדם ?

The verb QNH means to acquire and hold possession of (something) where the
acquiring part of the action can be by purchase or manufacture. There is no
equivelant in English, making any translation of this verb defective.

Putting the two together, we get “I am a man who is a slave of the soil, this
soil has possessed me since I was young.”


Karl, you have an excellent point, although your apparent emendation of )DM "man" to )DMH "soil" is unnecessary. There is an obvious word play between )DMH, the soil to which the speaker is now a slave [ (BD - pointed in MT as (OBED rather than (EBED but still suggesting work as a slave], and )DM, the person who caused that "slavery" perhaps by bringing up the young person on a farm. So the meaning is something like "I am a worker of the land, that is what people have made me", but of course that misses the word play.

--
Peter Kirk
peter AT qaya.org (personal)
peterkirk AT qaya.org (work)
http://www.qaya.org/



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