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b-hebrew - Re: [b-Hebrew] 22 nd Psalm

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  • From: Peter Kirk <peterkirk AT qaya.org>
  • To: Jason Hare <jason AT hareplay.com>
  • Cc: B-Hebrew <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [b-Hebrew] 22 nd Psalm
  • Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 04:17:54 -0800

On 24/11/2003 20:00, Jason Hare wrote:

English translations are only attempts at explaining the meaning of the
original. The JPS offered this as their translation in 1917:

"For dogs have encompassed me; a company of evil-doers have inclosed me;
like a lion, they are at my hands and my feet."

I just have to say that this translation makes sense to me given the
context. I don't know that "like a lion are my hands and feet" would make
all that much sense. I can't see this since in the context he is describing
himself as the victim of a type of ambush.

"To be" is not dropped from the Hebrew. It is just not there. Do not think
of it as reverse translation (English to Hebrew). Rather, realize that they
are two distinct languages from two groups of people who think
distinctively. Perhaps this phrase (KA'ARI YADAY V'RAGLAY) made perfect
sense to the original audience. Rather, though, I think that the
justification for the textual emendation can be found to favor this as the
original reading. The emendation would have been made in order to try and
"make sense" out of the confusion.

Regards,
Jason


Jason, what you say would make sense if ka'ari were the original reading. Your interpretation does make sense, though it is not very tidy. The problem seems to be that there is no ancient (pre-Masoretic) evidence for ka'ari. The evidence from DSS and ancient versions seems to favour the reading ka'aru, understood by the Septuagint translators as "they dug" and in various other ways by other ancient translators (e.g. Aquila "they bound up", Symmachus "as seeking to bind" - perhaps deriving the form from 'rr "curse" as the Greek verb can also mean "curse"). It is easy to understand how copyists changed the obscure ka'aru to the meaningful ka'ari, but hard to explain how the opposite change took place, and became sufficiently firmly established that it is attested as the Septuagint Vorlage, in the DSS, and in some Masoretic MSS.

So I continue to prefer ka'aru, or at least kaf-alef-resh-vav, as the best text. There is then of course the issue of how to understand that. Maybe some form of 'rr "curse" or 'rh "pluck" with the k- preposition is a possibility. But so is a variant form of krh or kwr "dig".

--
Peter Kirk
peter AT qaya.org (personal)
peterkirk AT qaya.org (work)
http://www.qaya.org/






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