Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Harold R. Holmyard III" <hholmyard AT ont.com>]

Dear Bill,

You wrote:

>My interpretation hinges on the word usually translated as "maiden"
>or something equally as sweet. In Alter's book "The Art of Biblical
>Poetry" he suggests that the word could be "an earthy term". I looked
>at it a few years ago and was inclined to agree with him.

You could be right. After all, these were the Canaanites, whom God wanted
destroyed for their debauchery, among other things.

I was thinking of the story of Naaman the Aramean (2 Kings 5). Remember
that Naaman found out about Elisha from "a young girl from Israel," a war
captive who "served Naaman's wife."

                                Yours,
                                Harold Holmyard