Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Pere Porta Roca" <pporta AT tinet.fut.es>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Daniel Walin" <danserve4x AT yahoo.com>
To: <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Friday, June 20, 2003 5:37 AM
Subject: [b-hebrew] Exodus 3:7


> If all three uses of the suffixes do in fact refer
> back to the "my people," why is one suffix plural
> while the other two are singular?  Is there a reason
> for this, or is it a grammatically inconsistent aspect
> of the language?

Rather than to 'my people' the plural suffix of 'cry' (tsa'aqatam) refers, I
think, to 'they' ('eux' in French). It is clear that 'am, people, is a
collective noun. This sort of nouns are, so to say, the result, the
collection of many individuals.

It is the cry of these individuals -I'd say 'of each of these individuals'-
that the Lord paid attention to.

I fully agree with Karl W. Randolph in his remark on the plain alternance
[collective singular/plural] in human languages. Human mind (or thought or
thinking) equalizes 'people = they'.

Pere Porta