Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Jason Hare" <parousia_occ AT yahoo.com>]

Leviticus 27:21 indicates the a field consecrated to the Lord "becomes 
under certain conditions" "as a field of the devotion."  (BDB)

BDB also says that << pen-'avo' vehikeiti 'et-ha'aretz kheirem >> (I find 
the transliteration scheme annoying and hope you understand my 
transliteration.  If not, get out your copy of the Tanach and see it for 
yourself in living color.) should be "let I smite the land with a ban, i.e. 
utterly destroy it." (p. 356)

The sense is that Malachi is warning the people to turn to God when Elijah 
appears and warns them, or else He will destroy the land.

Jason Hare
ozark Christian College

On 02/21/00, ""Lewis Reich" <lewreich AT javanet.com>" wrote:
> I happened to look at a translation of the last two verses of Malachi today
> and was somewhat surprised to see "pen avo v'hiketi et ha'aretz kherem"
> (my apologies for not following our usual transliteration scheme) translated
> as "lest I come and strike the land with a curse".
> 
> The traditional Jewish commentaries indicate that some dire destruction or
> desolation is portended here, which is not what I associate with the literal
> meaning of "kherem", but strikes me as a reasonable interpretation.  What
> puzzled me is why the English would have "curse", rather than, say "strike
> the land desolate"..  
> 
> Is this the generally accepted rendering in English (I have only one 
> translation at hand)?  
> 
> Lewis Reich