Biblical Hebrew Forum

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

Dear Vincent,

> I have been looking at Isaiah 29:5-6 and trying to decide whether 5c
> which begins with WHYH should be read with v. 5 as the third line of a
> tri-colon or with v. 6 as the first line of a quatrain. It seems to me
> that WHYH is more likely to mark the beginning of a unit than the end of
> one. Would y'all mind regaling me with the benefits of your scholarly
> wisdom on this very minor matter?

HH: John Oswalt's commentary joins Isa 29:5c with verse 6, but the 
Massoretes obviously wanted it with the rest of verse 5, and they lay 
claim to the ancient reading tradition, which should probably be 
honored if there is no strong reason to doubt it. It seems that the 
second WHYH can provide a parallel to the first WHYH in verse 5. Then 
verses 6-8 can expand verse 5 in a description of how verse 5 comes 
to pass.

                                        Yours,
                                        Harold Holmyard