Biblical Hebrew Forum

["David Stabnow" <dstabno AT lifeway.com>]

I recently discovered the following manuscript (I have added paragraph
numbers):

1 > Well, this has to be evaluated by me in a much more detailed fashion
later. I´ll
promiss to offer this later on on my website. That is because I prefer to
concentrate in first line on my paper in work, concerning the Egyptian data
about
the Exodus. First subject will be dealt in the promissed paper "Which was
the
crime of Benjamin?".

2 > I´ll make it short, perhaps elaborate later on about this subject:

3 > Moses bessing is in fact to be attributed to the crowning ceremony of
Gideon (if
as an original text or as a later fake - but how old ought it have already
been
to be later attributed to Moses?), while

4 > Balaams oracles are in the same manner (and with the similar
reservations) to be

attributed to Samuels own voice, and that during the very beginning (if not
even
crowning ceremony) of Sauls reign.

5 > Both suppose a far better knowledge of their period as imaginable for
later
times.

6 > Take a glance at Moses blessing: isn´t Benjamin a later insertion into
the text?

7 > So much,

8 > Best regards

9 > Bányai Michael

Contrary to those who unthinkingly accept it as a unit, this document is
obviously the work of several authors and editors over a long period of
time.

First there is the "ESL" author who, while obviously a scholar and
accomplished writer, betrays the fact that English is not his or her mother
tongue. I attribute paragraphs 1, 3, and most of 5 to ESL.

The writer of paragraphs 2 and 6, whom I shall call "USA," shows a grasp
not only of English, but of American colloquialisms.

Paragraph 4 is obviously a later addition. Paragraph 2 makes it clear that
the original document was short, with probably only one example (Moses'
blessing).  A later editor added the Balaam example, and had to add the
word "both" in paragraph 5 as well.  This was the "E" or "expansive"
editor.

Paragraph 7 is fragmentary, and is difficult to assign it to any writer.

Paragraphs 8 and 9 attribute the work to a "Banyai Michael."  This is
apparently a combination of the names of the two primary authors.  The
first, Banyai, is the ESL author: the name is not typical of American
names, and also, note the diacritical accent. The second, Michael, is the
USA author.  The retention of both names betrays the work of a conservative
editor, "C."

The fact that the document begins with "Well" and has a demonstrative
pronoun "this" suggests that the fragment we have is not complete: there
was more preceding this page.  Perhaps that document or others will be
discovered, and we will learn more about either "Banyai" or "Michael."

Dave Stabnow