Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Jonathan D. Safren" <yonsaf AT beitberl.ac.il>]

There's a Hebrew article, with an English abstract, in Mo'ed 13 (2003) with
a section discussing qetsef. Details:

Menahem Zevi Kaddari, "Some Gleanings of Biblical Hebrew Lexicography",
Mo'ed 13 (2003), 89-93.
Sincerely,
Jonathan D. Safren, Editor
Mo'ed - Annual for Jewish Studies
Center for Jewish Culture
Beit Berl College
Beit Berl Post Office
44905 Israel
Tel. 972-9-7476396
e-mail: moed AT beitberl.ac.il
Tel. 972-9-7476396





----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Yigal Levin" <Yigal-Levin AT utc.edu>
To: "Biblical Hebrew" <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Tuesday, July 01, 2003 8:52 PM
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] qetseph in 2Ki 3:27


> Since you folks seem to be more interested in the polemics of software
than
> in Bible (why don't we send each other good old parchments and leave Bill
> Gates and friends without our support?), I'll try to address David's
question:
>
> The phrase "qetseph", which means "wrath" or "anger", especially God's, is
> mentioned dozens of times, and mostly in connection with God's anger
> against Israel, just like here. My trusty old PRINTED (gasp!) Mandelkern
> concordance has about 2 columns full. Take a look at Num. 16:22, Dt. 9:19,
> Isaiah 64:8, Zach. 1:2. It's also used for human anger, such as in Gen.
> 41:10 and Esther 2:21.
>
> The problem here is in the story itself. The armies of Israel and Judah
> (and Edom), accompanied by the prophet Elisha, attack Moab and are
> successful. Then, the king of Moab sacrifices his son, and suddenly, a
"big
> wrath" comes upon Israel and forces them to retreat.
> Huh? Is it Yahweh who answers the Moabite's (human!) sacrifice and pushes
> back Israel? Why would he do so? Or is it the Moabite God Chemosh who
> answers, and is successful against Israel? Also not likely, in a biblical
> context. I remember looking into the story long ago, but I don't remember
> the details. Traditional Jewish exegesis looks for a reason that God would
> be angry with Israel (their disbelief in Elisha a view verses back).
Modern
> commentators usually assume a textual problem. i don't remember being
> convinced by any explanation I saw.
>
>
> Yigal
>
>
>
>
>
> Dr. Yigal Levin
> Dept. of Philosophy and Religion
> University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
> 615 McCallie Avenue
> Chattanooga TN 37403-2598
> U.S.A.
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