Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Maurice A. O'Sullivan" <mauros AT iol.ie>]

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