Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

b-hebrew - Re: Song of Solomon 1:4 -- Clarification

b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Biblical Hebrew Forum

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: "Maurice A. O'Sullivan" <mauros AT iol.ie>
  • To: b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu
  • Cc: fonsr AT bigfoot.com
  • Subject: Re: Song of Solomon 1:4 -- Clarification
  • Date: Fri, 17 May 2002 16:33:06 +0100


At 15:49 17/05/02, I wrote:

So, I wonder where the NKJV note derives from --- eisegesis, perhaps? it wouldn't be the first time <g>

Steve:
I was a bit heavy-handed about the NKJV in that remark <g> I now realise it was the work of someone with a less than full understanding of Biblical Hebrew. Let me explain.

Looking quickly at the text in question, one sees < bak > -- which very early on in a standard Hebrew grammar will appear in a table of prepositions + personal suffixes, and will be given the meaning " in you ( f. sg. ) " and the form <baka > for "in you (m.sg.)". However, _much_ later in these grammars, the matter of "pausal forms" will be covered. Simplifying horribly, this means that certain marks are placed in the middle ( roughly ) and the end of verses to mark a halt in the recitation. These marks are hard to miss, since they are usually in the form of a < ^ > under the final syllable; however, whenever each of these subdivisions is longer than normal, supplementary marks ( accents ) are employed to make further breaks within the already broken segments. Song 1:4 is quite a long verse, and the < bak > in question has two vertical dots above the < b >. These dots are named "zakef qaton" and are the tip-off that this is a shortened form of < baka >.

So, rather than accusing the NKJV note-makers of eisegesis I should, I suppose, suggest that they hadn't got to the end of the grammar; I'm not sure that that's any kinder <g>

Regards
Maurice


Maurice A. O'Sullivan [ Bray, Ireland ]
mauros AT iol.ie






  • Re: Song of Solomon 1:4 -- Clarification, Maurice A. O'Sullivan, 05/17/2002

Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page