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  • From: "Maurice A. O'Sullivan" <mauros AT iol.ie>
  • To: Brian & Laureen Powell <PowellBrian AT omf.net>
  • Cc: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Detained before the LORD 1 Sam 21: 7/8
  • Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 12:02:23 +0100

At 02:19 22/07/2004, Brian & Laureen Powell wrote:

Translations and commentaries in English vary on what this means. Some suggest he was forcibly restrained (ie. some kind of imprisonment), whilst others suggest that he had some kind of religious obligation that was keeping him there, or perhaps he was ritually unclean so could not perform whatever religious ceremony he had intended to do, so was waiting for the time when he would have been considered clean again.

Brian:
I agree that most modern lexicons share the sense of "compulsorily detained", but one very old one [ Gesenius' Hebrew and Chaldee lexicon to the Old Testament Scriptures ] has this:
>> to be gathered together (from the idea of restraining, compelling, , especially to a festival . 1 Samuel 21:8, <<

However, in Scherman, Nosson, ed. The Early Prophets. Vol. 2 I-II Samuel. New York: Mesorah Publications, 2002, there is no suggestion of any compulsion. Rather, there the translation begins:
>> Now there on that day was one of Saul's servants, who lingered before Hashem .....<<

Bearing in mind that the full title of this volume is " The Early Prophets with a commentary anthologized from the rabbinic writings ", the footnote to 21:8 reads:
>>At the sanctuary in Nob was a man who was so highly regarded that Ahimelech spoke freely in his presence, which turned out to be a mistake with tragic consequences. The man was Doeg, a prominent Jew who was called the Edomite, because he lived across the border in the territory of Edom. Doeg had come to Nob with a group of people to bring offerings, and after his friends left, he _lingered before Hashem_ to bring more offerings ( Radak) or to study Torah ( Rashi ) undisturbed in that sacred place.<<

Regards




Maurice A. O'Sullivan [ Bray, Ireland ]
mauros AT iol.ie






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