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b-hebrew - Re: [b-hebrew] Definite Article 7:14

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  • From: Harold Holmyard <hholmyard3 AT earthlink.net>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Definite Article 7:14
  • Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2007 19:12:29 -0500

Dear Isaac,


Just a brief remark. HA-RA(EB of Isaiah 29:8 is "he who is famished". Notice that this translation does not contain one single "the".

Thanks. This example is not in Ehrensvärd's article, but the author would probably treat it as a generic use of the definite article. David's point would be that the person here is a generalized person, a hypothetical person, while the person in Isa 7:14 seems to be a specific person, as is the person in Gen 14:13. So in my thinking, these last cases appear to be a special use of the generic article where the quality of the person is emphasized and the person is unidentified, even though it is in fact a specific individual or thing.

I would have to study the rest of Ehrensärd's article more carefully, but he still came across examples he could not really account for. He also had to discount some as misprints or "non-functional" uses of the article or put them in categories different than English usage or in usages unlike English.

Yours,
Harold Holmyard






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