Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Vincent DeCaen <decaen AT chass.utoronto.ca>]

> From: a.c.smith AT juno.com (Andrew C Smith)
> Date: Sat, 05 Dec 1998 07:54:29 EST
> fourth word in Deut 10:12 is
> MEM-AYIN-MEM-CAPH = "from you"
> seems like an unusual spelling to me. Is it?
> Or can this be read otherwise: "from your people"?
> A.C. Smith

nothing wrong with the spelling, though of course the form's in pause
before ki-im, and so the distinction between masc and fem is
neutralized. definitely not your people.

it's not unusual that min designating the function SOURCE takes as its
object a prepositional phrase LOCATION. cf. e.g. the ubiquitous
millifne, that is, min "from", la "to/for", panim "face -> presence".
in that case, lifne is used as "in the presence of", and adding min is
interpreted compositionally: away from.

perhaps it's the use of `im in general that you might to want review.
also, the verb ask + preposition might be worth your time looking up.

cheers 
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Vincent DeCaen, Ph.D.  <decaen AT chass.utoronto.ca>

Hebrew Syntax Encoding Initiative
http://www.chass.utoronto.ca:8080/~decaen/hsei/intro.html
c/o Deparment of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations
4 Bancroft Ave., 2d floor, University of Toronto, Toronto ON, M5S 1A1
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