Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Bryan Rocine" <brocine AT earthlink.net>]

Hi Rolf,

Hey, why not?  ;-)

For folks' information, I did a computer search of the
Tanakh for the string-types you mention.

you wrote:
>
>
>
> Dear Bryan,
>
>
> There are four verses in the book of Esther which *may*
show YHWH in
> acrostic. According to a certain Bullinger (if I remember
correctly) of the
> 19th century, three old Hebrew manuscripts mark the four
letters in these
> verses with majuscules. If the intention of the author of
Esther was to
> indicate the divine name in these verses, I do not know.
But here are the
> verses:
>
> 1:20 H) Wkl-Hn$ym Ytnw  (backwards)

33x

> 5:4 as you yourself note

24x

> 5:13 wkl-zH )ynnW $wH lY (backwards)

25x

> 7:7 kY kltH )lyW hr(H

38x

The occurrences do not seem quite rare enough for me to
consider them intentional.  The most obvious type of
acrostic as in Esther 5:4 is only rarely collocated with a
grammatical chunk as it is in Esther 5:4 a couple of times,
so that does make it a bit more interesting.  That all four
of these string types do occur in one little book Esther, a
book that does not otherwise mention the Name, might be
tanatalyzing to some.  ;-)

Bryan



B. M. Rocine
Associate Pastor
Living Word Church
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