Biblical Hebrew Forum

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

Dear Vadim,

> Just to be sure, let me clarify that I'm speaking of the semantic 
> difference between mehulal and meholal (although I would suggest 
> that meholal is not poal, but ayn-ayn root).

HH: The verb XLL is an ayn-ayn root. It can still be POAL. By the 
way, the lexicons have no trouble with the idea of one verb having 
both POAL and PUAL forms.

> For example, consider this instance:
>
> If Ezekiel's mehulal means the same as Isaiah's meholal, mhll in 
> Ezekiel is not killed, because killed is denoted everywhere in Ez32 
> with hll.

HH: That does not matter. XLL is an adjective and a verb. Ezekiel 
elsewhere uses the adjective but with Ezek 32:36 he uses the verb in 
a participle, which can be a verbal adjective.

>  The difference is also evidenced by that mhll is employed only 
> toward Meshech and Tubal, the only two tribes in the list, not 
> described as smashed anywhere in Tanakh.

HH: XLL would indicate pierced, not smashed.

>  That Ezekiel also did not consider them dead is clear from his 
> continuation, with its sense, Shouldn't they have been among the 
> dead, too?

HH: They are among the dead. Everybody mentioned is in the pit.

> In Proverbs 26:10, the rendering of mhll as killed is wrong. The 
> proverb compares someone who hires a criminal or passer-by with rav 
> mhll kol. The correct sense of the latter phrase is not archer who 
> kills everyone (which does not have immediate relation to the hire 
> of passer-by), but master who empties all, presumably by foolish 
> management. The correct translation, therefore, is Like a master who 
> empties all is he who hires a criminal or passer-by, meaning that 
> such employer would be emptied of his wealth.

HH: Proverbs 26:10 is recognized as a proverb difficult to 
understand. There are many suggested interpretations. However, 
"empties" does not suit the context well even by your interpretation. 
A verb like "loses" might. And what verb are you taking it from to 
get the idea of "empty"? The idea in the normal translation is that 
an archer shooting passers-by would be exceedingly thoughtless and 
hurtful. So somebody who hires fools is thoughtless and hurtful, 
because the people he hires will bring harm to everyone around.

> And more complicated argument below:
>
> Isaiah's use is modeled upon Job 26:13, "His hand holelah the 
> serpent." Serpent here is the traditional nahash, copper colored 
> snake, the tempter, with no implication of the mythical monsters 
> Tiamat or Leviathan. Is27:1 tells the same story in the same words, 
> distinguishing nahash from the sea serpent. After successfully 
> tempting Eve, the serpent was cursed, deprived of the covenant God 
> gave to living beings. The serpent's life was made miserable, and he 
> was emptied.

HH: Note that the contest in Job is mythological. The gliding serpent 
is another way to describe Rahab. And piercing is parallel to cutting 
to pieces:

Job 26:12 By his power he churned up the sea; by his wisdom he cut 
Rahab to pieces.
Job 26:13 By his breath the skies became fair; his hand pierced the 
gliding serpent. 

> Isaiah 51:9 "Are not you [the arm of God] the one cutting the 
> monster [Egypt], meholelet the crocodile [pharaoh]?" The next verse 
> clarifies the meaning by mentioning the passing through the Reed 
> Sea. The Torah is explicit that Pharaoh did not die pursuing the 
> Israelites. He was what could be described as emptied, losing his 
> chariots: the cream of his army.
>
> (Cutting, incidentally, is incorrect, because the word has a 
> positive, creative connotation, like cutting stone, but not 
> destruction. The correct meaning is made the one who cut the stone 
> [made the pyramids], showing that God can give power to the pharaoh 
> and empty him of it.)

HH: The imagery is the same here in Isaiah as in Job 26. Again there 
is Rahab, a sea monster, cutting to pieces (or striking), and 
piercing. The verb XCB ("hew") can certainly speak of destructive 
action. See the first verb in Hos 6:5:

Hos. 6:5 Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets, I killed you 
with the words of my mouth; my judgments flashed like lightning upon 
you.

                                        Yours,
                                        Harold Holmyard