Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Noam Eitan <noameitan AT yahoo.com>]

> I am doing some research on Exodus and I would like to know whether Umberto
> Cassuto's commentary on Exodus is considered dated?

I am not an expert in this field, but his book on Genesis hit me like a 
lightning bolt when I first read it 30 years ago. I am now reading his book 
on Exodus. He opens up the text and indicates very obvious structures, 
patterns of repetition (important words repeating a fixed number of times), 
and all kind of internal links. I believe he is the one who came up with the 
rule that solves the so-called issue of “two creation stories”, namely, that 
the narrator starts with a general exposition and later revisits the story in 
detail. Lately I found other examples of this in the text. His linguistic 
sensitivity is IMO unparalleled. Most of his insights about the text are on a 
common sense level (he writes he deals only with ‘pshat’), and I often 
wondered how come none of his predecessors picked up on his simple 
‘revelations’ before him. I think his mastery of Biblical Hebrew is superior 
to that of the greatest lights of Jewish Biblical commentators. Pardon my 
writing that, but I do have a
 soft spot for him, ever since that day 30 years ago that my TANAKH teacher 
at high school couldn’t believe I was reading him, and our neighborhood Rabbi 
was angry at me for same. OTOH I realize now that his explanation to Genesis 
1:1 (Bereshit – Bereshit of what?) points out the problem, but does not 
answer his own question.)
 
 
Noam Eitan from Brooklyn




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From: "Karl Randolph" <kwrandolph AT email.com>
To: "Hebrew" <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Date: Sat, 31 Jan 2004 02:24:04 -0500
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Aegean Ethnic determinatives on Philistineguardsof
        Judean kings in Kings and Samuel?
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Dora:

In 1 Samuel 22:2, before Samuel died and well before David went to Ziklag, 
David’s troop had grown to 400 men. With this group he fought against a 
Philistine incursion. By 1 Samuel 25:13, or shortly after Samuel’s death, 
David’s army had already reached 600 men. Then, in 1 Samuel 27:2 David led 
his 600 men to live in Ziklag. These men formed the core of David’s army.

These were seasoned warriers before they reached Ziklag. It could be that 
)KY$ outfitted them as hoplites when he made them part of his body guard, 
hence how the term came into Hebrew.

As for the term being Greek, this was during the Linear B period—is there any 
linear B reference to hoplite? I haven’t heard of any. If not, when was the 
first mention in Greek? Homer? Later?

Karl W. Randolph.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Dora Smith" <villandra AT austin.rr.com>

> Karl:
> 
> Where in 1 Samuel is it that it says they were Israelis?  I think Baruch
> Halpern missed it.
> 
> Yours,
> Dora Smith
> Austin, Texas
> villandra AT austin.rr.com
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Karl Randolph" <kwrandolph AT email.com>
> 
> 
> > Dora:
> >
> > What a wierd "history".
> >
> > 1 Samuel does give where David's original 600 troops came from. They were
> Israelis.
> 

-- 
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