Biblical Hebrew Forum

[ben.crick AT argonet.co.uk (Ben Crick)]

On Thu 13 Aug 98 (17:31:36), a.c.smith AT juno.com wrote:
> Now, if this "adornment" is a "turban" as most translators and Mr. Athas
> suggest, then the "adornment" cannot refer to TEFILLIN or TSE-TSE-OT.
> 
> But if, as the Talmud suggests (in the tractate "ketubot"), this
> "adornment" does indeed refer to TEFILLIN and TSE-TSE-OT, then this is
> the only occasion on which one may not wear these otherwise mandatory
> garments. Interestly, Martin Luther also adopted this reading of the text
> in his final edition of the Old Testament in 1545, perhaps because he
> had consulted local Rabbis regarding difficult translation passages.

 Brethren and Sistren:

 The Cambridge Bible, /Ezekiel/, 1892 (AB Davidson) opines "The 'tire' is
 not necessarily the priestly tiara, but the ordinary headdress (v 23),
 which would probably be white. Putting off the shoes was a sign of
 calamity, 2 Sam 15:31, and also covering the lower part of the face up to
 the upper lip. Mic 3:7; Lev 13:45." (page 176f).

 The New JPS Translation of HaTTeNaCh renders "17 Moan softly; observe no
 mourning for the dead: Put on your turban and put your sandals on your
 feet; do not cover over your upper lip, and do not eat the bread of
 comforters. [g]" footnote [g] reads: "Lit. 'men'" (page 931).

 Martin Luther in the Kirchenkonferenz text, Berlin, 1916, has: "Heimlich
 magst du seufzen, aber keine Totenklagen fuehren, sondern du sollst deinen
 Schmuck anlegen, und deine Schuhe anziehen. Du sollst deinen Mund nicht
 verhuellen, und nicht das Trauerbrot essen".

 /Schmuck/ would seem to be something ornamental; perhaps it was the
 TePhiLLiN?  A /Pe'eR/ is a turban, a headdress; is it from root P', to
 glorify, beautify, boast, vaunt?  The prayer shawl is worn over the head
 when in use, so it is a "headdress" within the meaning of the act, I
 suppose. But surely the /TsiYTsiTh/ are fringes on the hems of garments,
 (Numbers 15:38) like the ones the woman touched in Matthew 9:20. Would
 there be fringes like that on a turban?

 Just my $0.02
 Ben
-- 
 Revd Ben Crick, BA CF
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