Biblical Hebrew Forum

[peter_kirk AT sil.org]

Dear Jonathan,

Please don't take me as accusing you of undermining the Bible. I know 
there are some on this list, but I don't count you among them, who 
delight in seizing on any evidence of possible contradictions and 
brandishing them like weapons at us evangelicals and at the more 
orthodox Jews, with cries of "Aha! I told you so!" Well, they are 
welcome to their point of view, and I am not trying to push an agenda 
that the Bible is free from any contradictions, though I don't think 
there are major ones. But I do expect everyone on the list who points 
out a possible contradiction to check first the grammar of the Hebrew 
passage in question to see whether it really demands interpretation as 
a contradiction, or whether they have simply chosen among many possible 
interpretations the one which is most suitable for their wider 
arguments. I trust that you will agree that the latter alternative is 
not good scholarship.

In this case my question was about whether this the grammar of this 
passage in Jeremiah is evidence for contradiction, whether it demands 
such an interpretation. So what is the relevance of your comments about 
Amos and Job? In Job, we are talking about tensions between different 
theologies, which I am well aware of, but this is a quite different 
matter to the alleged contradiction of fact in Jeremiah.

If you wish to start a separate discussion on the interpretation of 
Amos 5:25, you are welcome. For a start, why is this verse translated 
as a question? I know it is a question in LXX. But here, in the 
initial word HAZ.:BFXIYM we have (in MT) he-patah-zayin with dagesh, 
which is surely normally the article rather than the interrogative he. 
(According to GKC 100l, there are "about ten passages" where 
interrogative he before shewa adds a dagesh, and GKC lists nine of 
them not including this one.) It is perhaps odd to have the article 
here but not in the following UWMINXFH, but that may simply explain 
why the LXX translators got confused and made this into a question. 
According to Soggin "The Prophet Amos", SCM 1987, this could be "the 
exclamatory ha-, a rare form but one which is attested, Jo?on S 161b 
and accepted by G. Rinaldi."

Peter Kirk


______________________________ Reply Separator 
_________________________________
Subject: Re: Jer 7:21-23
Author:  <yonsaf AT beitberl.beitberl.ac.il> at Internet 
Date:    10/01/2000 19:27


peter_kirk AT sil.org wrote:

> So do we have to interpret this as Jeremiah contradicting the rest of 
> scripture? Or can we use this as evidence that the Bible contradicts 
> itself?

[JDSafren] Yes on both counts. On your first question, see Amos' rhetorical 
ques
tion
on 5:25: "Did you offer burnt-offerings and sacrifices to me 40 years in the 
des
ert, O
House of Israel?" Both prophets regard the sacrifical cult as something not 
pert
aining
to the true worship of of the Lord, something alien, even pagan.
On your second question, compare the prophetic and Pentateuchal ideas of 
Divine 
reward
and punishment with the sentiments expressed in Job. Or take any Introduction 
to
 the
Study of the Hebrew Bible.
Yours,
--
Jonathan D. Safren
Dept. of Biblical Studies
Beit Berl College
Beit Berl Post Office 44905
Israel