Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Shoshanna Walker" <rosewalk AT concentric.net>]

In the Torah, every single word is there for a reason, even some words are
missing letters, etc. - it is all very precise.

You can't really have a full understanding by just brushing it off as
"variety"

Rashi says that his voice was that of a youth.

I don't have all the commentators in front of me, nor would I be able to
understand them all, but they do address this.

Shoshanna


> I think it is impossible to put a sharp distinction between words like
na`ar
> and yeled without dragging in the ways in which they later became
> distinguished in rabbinic Hebrew.  For example, Exodus 2:6 refers to the
> three month old infant [Moses] with both terms in the same sentence!
"Then
> [the daughter of the Pharaoh] saw him--the yeled--and Lo, the na`ar was
> crying."  There are probably numerous other examples of two words this
close
> in meaning being used together.  What is wrong with the assumption that
the
> author was simply trying to avoid monotony, and used synonyms to make the
> narrative flow?   I believe there is little to be gained by assigning a
> strict age or experience specificity to a word that has such a broad
> referential field.
> Kol Tuv,
> Charles David Isbell
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "David Stabnow" <dstabno AT lifeway.com>
> To: "Biblical Hebrew" <b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
> Sent: Monday, July 16, 2001 7:51 AM
> Subject: Re: 2 Ki 2:23-24
>
>
> >
> > Shoshanna,
> >
> > I agree with your short answer.  But questions of vocabulary are seldom
> > satisfied with short answers.  As you know, na'ar is used of children of
> > varying ages, from pre-birth to early twenties.  It also refers to
"young
> > servant" or "retainer" (acolyte?).  Still, I agree that the default
> meaning
> > is the bar-mitzvah boy, on the verge of manhood.
> >
> > As to the variation in 2 Ki 2, note that in v. 23 they are ne'arim
ketanim
> > "little youths," for which yeladim in v. 24 is a synonym.
> >
> > Dave Stabnow
> >
> >
> > >A na'ar (youth) is someone older than a yeled
> > >
> > >Yeled (child) related to the word "LaLedet" - to give birth
> > >
> > >Tinok (infant) - because it still nurses (Yonek).
> > >
> > >Shoshanna
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >>Can somebody tell me if there is any significant differance between
the
> > >>words na`ar  and yeled?
> > >>
> > >>In 2Ki 2:23 It says some children (na`ar) came and mocked him. Then in
> > the
> > >>next verse (24) it says that he cursed them, and that a she bear came
> and
> > >>tore 42 children (yeled). Why the differant words?
> > >>
> > >>TIA
> >
> >
> >
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