Biblical Hebrew Forum

[mjoseph <mjoseph AT terminal.cz>]

Peter Kirk helpfully wrote:

>BDB tries to classify common verbs according to subject and object. 
>Under both XZH and R)H the subjects given are all either persons or 
>the eyes. The list for R)H is not exhaustive, but probably BDB would 
>have noted an unusual subject like PANIYM.

OK; this isn't conclusive, but it is close enough.  Looks like K & D were 
correct.

>See also Ps 17:15 ):ANIY 
>B.:CEDEQ )EX:EZEH PFNEYKF.

Yes, this has been suggested as a parallel to the thought.

>Incidentally, the particular form P.FN"YMOW use in Ps 11:7 is unique.

Not so.  See:

Job 20:23  (FL"MO
Job 22:2   (FL"MO
Job 27:23  (FL"MO
Job 27:23  KAP."YMO

>Westminster Morphological Database parses as "noun both plural 
>construct with pronominal suffix 3rd masculine plural" and GKC (91h,l) 
>confirms that -MOW is a rare poetic plural possessive.

Keil & Delitzsch call this a "dignified singular suffix."  We both know 
that it is a 3rd person masculine *singular* suffix attaching to a 
*plural* noun, but what are we supposed to call it on this list, 
"singular" or "plural"?  I take great pains to make my students 
understand that the pronominal suffix indicates *both* who possesses, 
*and* how many things are possessed.

>So the meaning 
>here is literally "their face(s)".

I would say the meaning is "his face." (1) Though the form of PaNiYM is 
plural, the meaning is singular (as I pointed out in my last post), and 
thus "face" instead of "face(s)"; (2) The suffix is explained above, thus 
"his" instead of "their".

>The plot thickens. Perhaps the 
>meaning is "the Upright One (God) will see their faces"? But then who 
>are the "they"?

By implication, the righteous, but as I've argued above, I don't see this 
translation as being correct.  In light of the nature of the suffix, the 
usage of PaNiYM with verbs of seeing, and the admissibility of using 
YaSHaR as a collective subject with a plural verb, the correct 
translation should be "The righteous (collectively) will see His (God's; 
the antecedent is in v. 7a) face."

Mark Joseph

____________________________
There are two kinds of fools:
The first says, "This is old, therefore it is good."
The other says, "This is new, therefore it is better."
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