Biblical Hebrew Forum

[peter_kirk AT sil.org]

From "A Translator's Handbook on the books of Nahum, Habakkuk and 
Zephaniah" by David J. Clark and Howard A. Hatton (UBS 1989):

_A land possessed by nettles and salt pits, and a waste for ever_: the 
area around the Dead Sea, where Sodom and Gomorrah were located, is 
indeed very barren... The meaning here is that the whole territories 
of Moab and Ammon will become as barren as the area around the Dead 
Sea."

Thus I would take the k-'s in this verse to refer to one word only, 
and line c to refer primarily to Moab and Ammon and secondarily to 
Sodom and Gomorrah. So I would translate to give a meaning something 
like: "Moab will become, as Sodom is now, and (the land of) the 
Ammonites will become, as Gomorrah is now, a land of nettles and salt 
pits, and a waste for ever." TEV captures most of the meaning, though 
inelegantly: "Moab and Ammon are going to be destroyed like Sodom and 
Gomorrah. They will become a place of salt pits and everlasting ruin, 
overgrown with weeds." but I would replace "They will become" by "They 
too will become".

Peter Kirk


______________________________ Reply Separator 
_________________________________
Subject: Zephaniah 2:9bc
Author:  mjoseph AT terminal.cz at internet
Date:    15/05/1999 17:43


1) What does the description in line c describe? Gomorrah (and Sodom)? 
Moab and Ammon? NecessariIy both?

2) What is the force and extent of the preposition "k"? It seems to me 
that it means that Moab and Ammon will be like Sodom and Gomorrah, which 
(the latter) are nettle-swamps, etc. If so, how far does the "k" extend? 
Will Moab and Ammon be something like Sodom and Gomorrah? Exactly like? 
And does the comparison necessariIy imply that all three terms of line c 
(nettle-swamp, salt pit, wasteland forever) apply to Moab and Ammon?

Thanks,

Mark Joseph

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