Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

b-hebrew - Re: End of Malachi: Kherem.

b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Biblical Hebrew Forum

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: "George Athas" <gathas AT mail.usyd.edu.au>
  • To: "Biblical Hebrew" <b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: End of Malachi: Kherem.
  • Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2000 08:54:08 +1100


>[...] 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.

This would tie in with the Conquest tradition of Joshua where the people of
the land were
put under sacred ban (xerem) for their sins, which had reached the fullest
measure. The
threat implies that the people had become "Canaanites" (in the theological
sense) in their
attitude and actions.

George Athas
Dept of Semitic Studies,
University of Sydney
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Tel Dan Inscription Website
http://members.xoom.com/gathas/teldan.htm
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
< gathas@ mail.usyd.edu.au >





Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page