Biblical Hebrew Forum

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

Dear Vadim,

I have not looked at your work on Isaiah 53 in depth, but it looked 
strange and far out and basically wrong.

                                Yours,
                                Harold Holmyard

> Gentlemen:
>
> A few days ago, I posted a request for review of the article on Isaiah 53.
> Since I did not receive much replies, I realize that probably most
> participants are too busy to go through a long article. Therefore, let me
> posit here several most relevant questions on the chapter:
>
> 1. Verse 1, reference to arm of God
> This is uniformly interpreted as some kind of divine revelation on the
> hero, a sign of power. However, universal Tanakhic usage of both iad and
> zroa, especially with preposition le, denotes crushing power of God, and
> is never beneficial to the object of application.
>
> Verse 4, nasa usually translated in the sense of took away or laid on himself
> To our knowledge, no other entry in Tanakh justifies such meaning, while
> nasa normally means lifted, with the sense took possession of, and in the
> case of sin - participated in.
>
> Verse 5, avonot, usually translated as sins
> Sins is too broad; avon is specifically a delusion, without connotation of
> expiable sin
>
>
> Verse 5, meholal, usually translated as killed or cut through
> However, the word's semantics points to emptied out, which is how this and
> related words are employed in Tanakh. This emptying is often contraposed
> (like in Ezek32) to killing, thus not the same.
>
> Verse 5, hevrah, usually translated as bruises
> To be sure, the word is in singular, as may refer to a single livid spot
> at the most. However, bruise (havurah) is grammatically impossible, since
> u cannot be short before reish, but must be written with vav. Therefore,
> probable reference is not to havurah (bruise), but to haverah, wife of the
> youth, a standard metaphor for religious orthodoxy.
>
> Verse 6, ifgia bo, usually translated as laid on him
> The word is never translated so anywhere else in Tanakh. Its root refers
> to clash, which produced different words from hit to demonstration. Its
> semantical meaning is, to clash with something, which is how it is
> approximated in Isaiah 59:16 with intercede.
> Moreover, preposition bo refers to the sin entering the man, not being
> laid on him, which would be denoted with preposition al.
>
> Verse 7, nigas, usually translated as oppressed
> Nowhere in Tanakh the word has this meaning.
>
> Verse 8, nega lamo, usually translated as he was punished
> The word nega is not punishment, but a disaster. But more importantly,
> lamo always refers to a collective (singular form of multitude, such as
> nation), never to a person.
>
> Verse 9, waiten, usually translated as was given or they gave
> The only two grammatically possible readings are, you (sing.masc.) gave,
> or he gave
>
> Verse 9, bemotaw, usually translated in his death
> However, the word is in plural, and thus may be interpreted only as the
> reference to his altars
>
> Verse 10, tasim, usually translated as you made [his life an offering for
> sin]
> The word tasim means lay or bring, and is in future tense sing. either
> second-person masc, or third-person fem. A word nafsho (his soul), fem.,
> is perfectly relevant, thus, if his sould had brought an offering for his
> sin. In order to have something done to his soul, other interpreters have
> to presuppose a masc. object, such as the nation, who did this harm to the
> soul. However, nation is not mentioned anywhere close, and cannot be the
> antecedent.
>
> Verse 11, meamal nafsho, usually translated out of his anguish
> The plain meaning is, from the work of his soul, that is, in the result of
> his repentance
>
> Verse 11, izdak zadik larabim, usually translated, the righteous one shall
> make many righteous
> This translation is made impossible by the preposition le: for or before
> many, thus justified the righteous before multitude (obviously, Jews
> before gentiles)
>
> Verse 12, lapsheim ifgia, usually translated as interceded for criminals
> Interceded is always encountered in Tanakh with preposition be, meaning
> before someone, and with a clear definition of the goal of intercession,
> such as not to burn the scroll. Preposition le, when employed with ifgia,
> means attached to. Therefore, he was attached to criminals, or, regarded
> as one of the criminals.
>
> There is no need to comment that this reading does not leave place for the
> Christian messianic interpretation.
>
> I would appreciate any comments or arguments to the contrary. Thank you
> for the time you may devote to this issue.
>
>
> Sincerely yours,
>
> Vadim Cherny
>
> P.S. The article is at http://www.anarcho.net/on_religion/Ieshayahu%2053.htm
>
>
>
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