Biblical Hebrew Forum

[ben.crick AT argonet.co.uk (Ben Crick)]

On Mon  7 May 2001 (06:52:14), dwashbur AT nyx.net wrote:
> > > The correct parsing, according to Jewish mesorah is - `avdekha 'ani
> > > hamelekh 'ehyeh. Which very simply means I WILL be you servant. 
> 
> Obviously this raises a host of other problems, which is why I 
> usually don't pay all that much attention to the accentuation except 
> in poetry.  I haven't checked it out in detail yet, but this looks like
> a very awkward construction to me, which makes me suspect that 
> the accent is in the wrong place.

 The text of the books of Samuel is notoriously difficult in places. SR Driver
 notes on 2 Samuel 15:34

 "`BDK  WG']  The accents must be disregarded. 'If thou returnest to the city,
 and sayest to Absalom, "Thy servant will I, O king, be: thy father's servant,
 I was /that/ formerly, and now, /now/ I will be thy servant," thou wilt
 defeat for me the counsel of Achitophel." The W before 'NY (twice) must
 introduce the predicate, though both are extreme examples of its use for
 that purpose...."  (SR Driver, /Notes on the Hebrew text of the Books of
 Samuel/, Oxford, 1890, p 246).

 Driver goes on to cite his other work, /A Treatise on the Use of the
 Tenses in Hebrew and some other syntactical questions/, Oxford, 1892,
 paras 124 and 125, pp 153f in my copy; especially the "Obs." footnote on
 page 154, dealing with 2 Sam 15:34 and similar instances.

 HTH
 Ben
-- 
 Revd Ben Crick, BA CF
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