Biblical Hebrew Forum

[unikom AT paco.net]

Dear Reinier,

Your example of Gen23:8 confirms to the pattern of paga usage in the
meaning of to intercede: it is always employed with preposition be,
meaning to intercede before someone. This is not the case in Isaiah 53.
Also, don't forget that Is53:12 employs hifil. Taking paga for intercede,
hifgia means making someone to intercede. This reading is meaningless in
the context. Returning to the more common sense of paga, to clash, we
have, to make someone to clash, or too attach oneself. This is how the
word is employed in Joshua.

Please let me know if this does not look persuasive.


Sincerely,

Vadim Cherny



> > 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.
>
> I just finished working on PG( for our dictionary project and I found at
> least one case that contradicts your last statement. Take Genesis 23:8,
> where Abraham asks some people to make a request to Ephron "for him",
> which is LIY in Hebrew. So if that phrase is correct I don't see any
> reason why LP$(YM YPGIY( couldn't mean "pray for criminals".
>
> By the way, PG( is not exclusively found with the preposition BE, but
> also with 'ET (Exodus 5:20)or without direct object marker (Exodus
> 23:4), though I admit that BE is by far the most common. In Isaiah
> 53:12, however, BE is not needed because the phrase stating to whom the
> intercession was directed is not in the text.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Reinier de Blois
>
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