Biblical Hebrew Forum

[<jason AT hareplay.com>]

Karl,

Is there an encoding problem? Your Hebrew is coming across as numeric code
rather than as the letters. Should I set my system differently to read it?

> I read this as an idiomatic phrase. It reminds me of one that was used in
the U.S. in the late 1800s, where when person A "laid" person B "in the
grave", it meant that person A killed person B. I read it as a passive form,
"He was given his grave with the wicked" ויתן
את רשעים
קברו which, when the idiomatic phrase is taken into
account, has the meaning of dying with the wicked, followed by being in a
state of death with the rich.
>

ויתן את רשעים קרבו
WYTN )T R$(YM QRBW
vayitein et-resha`yim kirvo

At first I thought that this was a pi`el form, but at second look, the nun
of the root (נתן) has assymiliated and is represented by the dagesh.

I thought that the wacons (vav-consecutive) form of NTN נתן was pointed
differently: vayiten (with a penultimate stress and a segol in the ultima).
So, I would take the text as it is as a future tense because the vowel
quality is not shifted for the wacons.

However, I don't know that a qal form of NTN נתן should be regarded as
passive. Is that really what we have to do to get this text to make sense?

Why doesn't it make sense as it has traditionally been understood?

And he shall make - ויתן
with the wicked - את רשעים
his grave - קרבו

That looks pretty natural as far as reading goes. I don't know why the
confusion with this verse. Apparently, it is just in that the )T is a
preposition rather than an object marker.

Jason

P.S. This is not a justification for any messianic claims. I am not
messianic, so don't think I'm defending a viewpoint. This just seems more
natural to me.