Biblical Hebrew Forum

["David Kimbrough (CLWA)" <dkimbrough AT clwa.org>]

Thank you for a fascinating explanation.  However there is one part I did
not follow, the reference Psalm 40:6.  I had indicated that I believed that
Psalm 22:16 was the only time a word derived from the root "karah" was
translated as "pierce".  If I understand your response, you indicate that in
Psalm 40:6 a verb (KRYH) is used in the sense of "pierce" with the object of
the verb being the ear.  While the verb is indeed derived from "karah", I
have checked many English translations and this word (KRYH) is universally
translated as "open", specifically along the lines of "you opened my ears",
rather than "you pierced my ears".  It does not seem to be used in the sense
of "piercing the earlobe to allow the use of earrings" but rather in the
sense of "digging out the earwax so I can hear".
 
Your translation of the ketib as "my hands and my feet are like the lion" is
very interesting but what do you suppose it means for one's hands or feet to
be like a lion?  The 22nd Psalm is a lament, rather like a short version of
Job.  The speaker describes the terrible situation he finds himself,
surround my fierce and threatening animals, hostile and wicked men, being
physically spent, and sense of abandonment.  Would having one's hands or
feet being like a lion be an expression of pain?  Thanks.