Biblical Hebrew Forum

["B. M. Rocine" <brocine AT twcny.rr.com>]

Dear Serge, I think "the saturated with the parched" refers by a figure of
speech to the total land holdings of the self-righteous.  The idea is that
nothing will be safe from the "wipe-out," the sphot.  The well-watered land
is at risk as much as the dry.  In Deu cursing and blessing depict the land
as one of the primary objects.  The clause in question has a bear skeleton
of elements that we could imagine more filled in as follows:

lema`an yiyeh sphot ha'erets harravah veha'erets hatsme'ah
"as a result the wipe-out of the saturated land with the dry land will
come."

sphot is an infinitive construct in construct with haravah and hatsme'ah,
adjectives that are here being used substantivally.  Literally, we might
translate " as a result, the wipe-out of the saturated with the parched."

I would guess that the 1QS II citation, which supplies the self-righteous
one's spirit instead of his land as I did, is a result of community
interpretation.  I guess that a spirit may have both that which is
"saturated," perhaps the intentional, or nurtured actions and that which is
dry, unintentional or natural actions.  See Rashi.

Shalom,
Bryan

you wrote:

----- Original Message -----
From: S. L.
To: Biblical Hebrew
Sent: Tuesday, November 19, 2002 11:30 AM
Subject: [b-hebrew] Deut29


   Dear List,
does anybody have an idea of how to interpret Deut 29:18 "the moist and the
dry alike" and of how to make  sense of this verse's syntax (i.e. how to
understand it verbatim)? The expression reappears in a slightly different
form  the Quern Rule of Community 1QS II 14.
    Serge Lyosov
----------------------------------


B. M. Rocine
Living Word Church
6101 Court St. Rd.
Syracuse, NY 13206

ph: 315.437.6744
fx: 315.437.6766