Biblical Hebrew Forum

[John Ronning <ronning AT ilink.nis.za>]

Doug Kasten wrote,

"Suggesting changes to the text is OK, but there are no suggested
changes in the MT, and BDB leave the form at Niphal and don't even
suggest a Hithp reading that I can see.  Perhaps I'm missing something,
but I don't think so."

If the context and the meaning of the verb makes a translation
"pretended to be beaten" seem the most appropriate, then my question is,
is there any other case where a Niphal is translated with the idea of
"pretend to do/be something"?  If not, then it would seem more likely we
have a Hithpael here (which does not involve changing the consonants),
since the idea of pretense is well established in the range of Hithpael
meanings.

By the way, has anyone noticed the numerous parallels between the second
battle of Ai (Joshua 8) and the crossing of the Red Sea?  In both cases
God's strategy is to lure the enemy to destruction by leading his people
to "the wilderness" (Josh 8:2-5, 15, 20; cf. Exod 13:18; 14:3-5). 
Joshua's raised javelin which results in the two halves of Israel's army
converging on the men of Ai answers to Moses' raised staff which results
in the divided waters converging on the Egyptians.  The men of Ai
"perished in the midst of Israel" just as the Egyptians perished in the
waters, and in both cases, "not one remained" (Josh 8:18-19, 22, 26; cf.
Exod 14:26-28; 17:9-13).

John Ronning