Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Peter Kirk" <peter.r.kirk AT ntlworld.com>]

I suspect that Ezekiel was deliberately using language that shocked. So
translators should also use language that shocks, but maybe limit that shock
to what would be acceptable. Another example is the phrase which KJV
rendered "that pisseth against the wall" (1 Sam 25:22,34, 1 Ki 14:10, 16:11,
21:21, 2 Ki 9:8) which is generally rendered now as the more euphemistic
"male" - which gives the intended meaning without the strangeness of the
idiom. But somehow this euphemism misses something, some nuances in this
idiom which is used only in the context of killing all the males.

Peter Kirk
peter.r.kirk AT ntlworld.com
http://web.onetel.net.uk/~peterkirk/
 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: b-hebrew-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:b-hebrew-
> bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Karl Randolph
> Sent: 31 May 2003 07:42
> To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
> Subject: [b-hebrew] Did they turn red?
> 
> To all:
> 
> After the recent discussion of possible euphemism in Psalm 2:12, I wonder
> if there is another on in Ezekiel 16:33. I suspect that early translators
> turned red from the explicit language and softened it.
> 
> I read the verse as folows: "They give ejecta (semen) to all prostitutes,
> and you (female) give your vagina to all your lovers, and you, in your
> prostitution, bribe them to come unto you from surrounding places."
> 
> I can image that a similar euphemistic rendering in modern English would
> sound like, "They sow their wild oats in all prostitutes and you give your
> favors to all your lovers."
> 
> Any thoughts?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Karl W. Randolph.
> --