Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Peter Kirk" <Peter_R_Kirk AT hotmail.com>]

This is an interesting one. D.OWDOW could be a proper name, as in BDB
(which lists this verse under D.OWDOW but not under D.OWD) and many
English translations, but it could also be "his (paternal) uncle" which
seems to be how LXX has understood it. And this translation makes much
more sense; a correctly inflected form of a common noun is much more
likely than a rather oddly formed (though attested elsewhere) personal
name. So I could translate this something like "And after the time of
Abimelech, his uncle's son Tola son of Puah, a man of Issachar, arose to
save Israel". This implies of course that Puah was Abimelech's uncle and
Gideon's brother and that Gideon was also a man of Issachar, whereas
6:15 states that Gideon was of the tribe of Manasseh. But that is a
separate issue. But I wonder if the "uncle's son" translation was
avoided to avoid this contradiction.

But I see no indication that this was levirate marriage. Remember that
Abimelech had 70 half-brothers, also sons of Gideon, whom he had
murdered (9:5), and one, Jotham, who had escaped. Also there was no
tradition of inherited leadership. Tola may have been in some way
Abimelech's heir, in Jotham's absence. But there is no indication that
he was his adopted son.

Peter Kirk
peter.r.kirk AT ntlworld.com
http://web.onetel.net.uk/~peterkirk/
  
-----Original Message-----
From: Polycarp66 AT aol.com [mailto:Polycarp66 AT aol.com] 
Sent: 16 November 2002 22:39
To: Biblical Hebrew
Subject: [b-hebrew] Judges 10.1

In Jdg 10.1 we read

WaYfQfM )aX:aR"Y ):aBiYMeLeK L:Ho$iYa( )eT_Yi&:Rf)"L T.oWLfH
B.eN_P.W.)fH BeN_D.oWDoW )iY$ Yi&.f&KfR . . . 

BDB lists "uncle" and "father's brother" under #2

The LXX seems to have taken it in this sense when it translates

KAI ANESTH META ABIMELEX TOU SWSAI TON ISRAHL QWLA hUIOS QOUA hUIOS
PATRADEFOU AUTOU ANHR ISSAXAR . . .

Would this be referring to the Levirite marriage spoken of in Dt. 25.5?

gfsomsel ---
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