Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Pastor Mark Eddy" <markeddy AT adams.net>]

First of all, my apologies for calling AMR in v. 3 a verb in my first post. I 
knew it was a noun. I don't
know why I wrote that it was a verb. Sorry to make you work at correcting me, 
Clay. In light of various
responses, I did a little more searching of my own. See below.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Peter Kirk" <peterkirk AT qaya.org>


> On 23/09/2003 11:24, Karl Randolph wrote:
>
> >Look at the context. In verse two we have the heavens recounting and the 
> >expanse setting forth (as in
reporting), then in verse three the day makes speech flow forth and the night 
declares knowledge.
> >
> You may be right, but see below.
>
> >Agreed, “each day” is usually used adverbially, but not always.
> >
> >YWMM is the word for “daily”

Following Clay and Peter's lead, I looked at the two similar phrases: MYOM 
LYOM (from day to day) in Est
3:7 and Ps 96:2 and YOM YOM (day after day or day by day) in Gen 39:10 Ex 
16:5 Ps 61:9 and 68:20 Prov.
8:30,34 and Isa 58:2. The phrase in Ps 19:3 (YOM LYOM) is used nowhere else 
in the Hebrew Bible. If Ps
19:3 had used either of these other phrases, we would have to take it 
adverbially.
But since that's not what we have here, I guess I'm leaning toward accepting 
the parallelism argument:
the heavens are tellling
the sky is declaring
day pours out speech
night shows knowledge
The one bug in this is that v. 2 is presented chiastically in Hebrew, but v. 
3 is not.
I guess I'm just having a hard time picturing how one day can talk to 
another. In verse 2 mankind seems to
be the audience for what the heavens are telling. It would seem that we 
should also be the audience for
what verse 3 is saying, but this isn't made explicit.

> And "daily" is the English for YWMM. So let's turn your logic round.
> Look and an English version: "The firmament proclaims the work of his
> hands and day by day pours forth speech". By you argument, since "daily"
> is the English for YWMM, in my English sentence the first "day" must be
> the subject of "pours". But is that correct?

It looks like this is indeed the case. Here's how I've translated it now:
 The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the sky is declaring the work 
of His hands.
 A day pours out speech to another day, and a night reveals knowledge to 
another night.

But, since LYOM is often used adverbially by itself (Ex. 29:36,38 Num 7;11; 
28:3,24  1 K 5:2 1Ch 26:17 Jer
37:21 Ezek 4:10; 43:25; 45:23; 46:13) and nowhere as the indirect object (as 
far as I can tell) how about
this?:
Day daily pours out speech, and night nightly reveals knowledge. or
Day pours out speech by day, and night reveals knowledge by night.

Mark Eddy