Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Harold R. Holmyard III" <hholmyard AT ont.com>]

Dear Joe,

>Now, let's back up an look at verse 18.
>
>"See what the land is like and whether they people who live there are strong
>"or" weak, few "or" many." (NIV) [Num 13:18]

>Was "or" inserted between strong and weak because the translators simply
>felt it was "missing", or is there a grammatical explanation for this
>phenomenon?

HH: There are grammatical and stylistic reasons. The "H" on the beginning
of XZQ and RPH is an interrogative particle. A literal translation would
be: "Is it strong? Is it weak?" And the particles probably function as
indirect questions as with the preceding MH: "And you should look at the
land, what it is." We might say that: "You should see what the land is
like, and the people who live on it, whether they are weak or strong." BDB
gives "whether" as a second meaning for H, when it is used in indirect
interrogation.

                                Yours,
                                Harold Holmyard
>
>Would like to get some feedback on this, but please keep it on the
>elementary level so that I can follow along.
>
>Kindest Regards,
>
>Joe Glean --junior member--
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