Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Peter_Kirk AT sil.org]

I'm not sure about the Hebrew... But surely in the context of early 
Israelite religion with its very hazy ideas about the afterlife (I'm 
not sure about Moabite religion) the more appropriate thought would be 
"only death will part us" rather than "not even death will part us".

Concerning Ben Crick's comments, modern Azerbaijani still uses the 
verb literally meaning "cut" (also "slaughter") in the idioms for 
making a solemn undertaking and for making a wedding contract. And on 
occasions the "cutting" is literal: I was recently at an engagement 
ceremony where the groom's mother insisted that such an occasion 
should be marked by the shedding of blood, and so her son had to 
literally cut the throat of a chicken, which we then cooked and ate. 
Ancient Hittite customs are not dead yet.

Peter Kirk