Biblical Hebrew Forum

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

On Wed 20 Jan 99 (11:41:55 +0800), zellmer AT cag.pworld.net.ph wrote:
> We have just spent an hour discussing the Niphal feminine
> participle at the end of Is 1:26.  The descriptive phrase reads
> QiRYfH Ne)eMfNfH.  One of our choices in our target language
> refers to faithfulness as an attitude, a basic characteristic.
> The other word we are considering treats faithful as describing
> the activities done by, in this case, the [inhabitants of] the
> town.
> 
> The context seems to allow the case for either here.  The passage
> could be saying that the city will become faithful or loyal, or
> that its actions will be faithful or dependable.  (We see nothing
> here that would suggest the optional translation, "established,"
> suggesting permanence.)  So we ask how you all would interpret
> this participle, especially in this case.

 Dear Paul and Jimmy,

 You seem to be on the right lines here. The city is named Jerusalem,
 and it is to live up to its name YeRuW$aLaiM. But it will only have
 peace with God if it remains righteous with God, `iYR HaTsTseDeK. Its
 earliest king was MaL:KiYTseDeK MeLeK $aLeM (Genesis 14:18). Righteousness
 and Peace go together (Psalm 85:11).

 Jerusalem and its kings and its priests and its people had gone away
 after foreign gods. In the time of Joshua its pagan king was 'a:DoNiY-
 TseDeK; but the curse of Canaan was upon his city-state too. Now the
 prophet recalls them to YHWH the True God, who will purge them and restore
 them. Then the city will once again live up to the meaning of its name; be
 *faithful to its name* `iYR HaTsTseDeK, QiR:YaH Ne'e:MaNaH. By metonymy,
 the City stands for its king, its judges, its priests, and its inhabitants.

 IMHO
 Ben
-- 
 Revd Ben Crick, BA CF
 <ben.crick AT argonet.co.uk>
 232 Canterbury Road, Birchington, Kent, CT7 9TD (UK)
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