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b-hebrew - Re: Judges 5:30

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  • From: George Athas <gathas AT mail.usyd.edu.au>
  • To: B-HEBREW <b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Judges 5:30
  • Date: Mon, 27 Sep 1999 09:16:47 +1000


Henry Churchyard wrote:

> [...] I'm
> not demanding an obscene English translation for it -- but "girl" is a
> weak translation because it avoids the issue of the significant
> meaning difference between _rah.am_ and _na`ara_h, while "maiden" and
> "damsel" go in entirely the wrong direction.

The connotation of the root N(R seems to be "inexperienced" and, thereby,
"young". The
word _raxam_ seems to mean "girl" but not with the connotation of
"inexperienced". Perhaps
this means that the "girls" threw themselves at the victors??? The context
doesn't really
tell us much. Remember that it's Sisera's mothers attendants who are speaking
here. They
may be referring to "wenches" who threw themselves at the victorious
soldiers, or may just
be a sharp perjorative term for "innocent" women who were raped by the
soldiers, perhaps
akin to "slut". The text is a little ambiguous.

The irony, though, is that THE _raxam_, Ya`el, got the better of Sisera. In
the Jdg 4
narrative, Ya`el definitely comes across to Sisera as a _raxam_ - a wench who
is all too
willing to "look after" him. However, her actions show that she is still
"innocent" though
fatally cunning. She is not an inexperienced girl (or na`arah) - she is
definitely a
cunning _raxam_.

Regards!
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GEORGE ATHAS
Dept of Semitic Studies,
University of Sydney
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Tel Dan Inscription Website is at
http://members.xoom.com/gathas/teldan.htm
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