Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Diana N. Shaw" <DINOSAUR2LIST AT prodigy.net>]

Came on with a question that I see oddly coincides with a current b-greek thread from Ephesians.

Is there any justification in Hebrew grammar for the KJV use of the article with "vine" and "fig tree" in Zachariah 3:10?  They're anarthrous in the MT (and also LXX), so wondered what the source of the KJV translation was.  [Had never noticed this difference, but saw the NEB translation (which supplies "his," German style) quoted in Judith Baldwin's commentary.  Checked NIV & RSV and found they do likewise.]  With the article, the line sounds a bit Messianic, so the difference doesn't seem negligible.  (My personal preference would be that they not supply anything; just leave them anarthrous.)