Biblical Hebrew Forum

[GregStffrd AT aol.com]

In a message dated 11/02/2001 1:55:45 PM Pacific Standard Time, 
wross AT farmerstel.com writes:

<< <Bill>
 Hi, perhaps someone can help clarify this?
 
 What is the usage of /qananiy/ in Proverbs 8:22? >>


Dear Bill:

C. F. Burney showed that qanah never has the sense of "'possess,' or 'own' 
simply, apart from the idea of possessing something which has been acquired 
in one way or another" (C. F. Burney, "Christ as the ARCH of Creation," JTS 
27 [1925-26], page 160).

Of course, the context of Proverbs 8:22 is the deciding factor in terms of 
revealing the meaning of qanah as either "create," "get," or "buy." The 
context of Proverbs 8:22ff. speaks of Wisdom being "the beginning of 
[Jehovah's] way, the earliest of his achievements of long ago" (verse 22), 
"installed from the start" (verse 23), and "brought forth as with labor 
pains" (verses 24, 25). These descriptions favor a translation such as 
"created, "begotten," or "produced," not "buy" or "get." Gale Yee makes these 
astute observations:


<<<QUOTE>>>
In Ps 139:13 the psalmist states that he was woven in the womb of his mother. 
In Job 10:11 Job remarks to God that he was knit together with bones and 
sinews. The process of gestation in both cases is described metaphorically in 
terms of a craft. Furthermore, significant for our structural study is the 
fact that in Ps 139:13 [qanah] parallels [sakhak, "weave together"], which is 
the same situation here in Prov 8:22-23. While the usual meaning of the root 
[qanah] is "to buy or acquire," the verb is used in Gen 4:1 and Dtn 32:6 as 
well as in Ps 139:13 where the parenting aspect is unmistakable. The third 
parallel verb in Prov 8:24, [kholalti], "I was brought forth (in labor)," 
also supports the birth imagery found in [qanah] and [sakhak].
<<<END>>> (Gale A. Yee, "An Analysis of Prov 8:22-31 According to Style and 
Structure," ZAW  94 [1982], page 63, note 17).


As Yee points out, the use of qanah in Proverbs 8:22 is similar to Genesis 
4:1, where Eve clearly did not mean she "acquired" or "bought" Cain, but that 
she "produced," "begat," or even "created" Cain. The use of other verbs which 
denote temporarility, such as sakhak and kholalti, also strengthen this view 
of qanah. 


<<<BILL>>> 
 Is /qananiy/ in any way related to/derived from /bara/? >>


Related conceptually to some extent, in many cases. But qanah not derived 
from it. They are two separate verbs. 

Best regards,

Greg Stafford