Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Karl Randolph" <kwrandolph AT email.com>]

Dave and Trevor:

If KPH had the original meaning of “to bend”, why not mean bending towards, 
hence resulting in or causing, or even tending towards? Yes, I know that the 
idea of perverting justice is a bit of an eisegesis, but I see it implied by 
the hiding of the bribe. The hiding implies that there is something shady 
about it, something that neither party wants to be known outside of the giver 
and the givee. Where one finds hidden bribes, there one usually finds 
perversion of justice, and anger, even strong fury.

The concept of hiding also implies a third party or parties who are part of 
the transaction, but who are not to be privy to the whole picture, in 
particular to the reason justice is twisted.

If the gift were to be a sort of MNXH “propitiatory gift” as implied by 
“bribe” in Proverbs 6:35, there’s no reason to hide it. That’s why I find the 
idea of bending away, hence deflection, of anger not making sense.

This looks like a case similar to $KX שכח where if we were 
to take the Aramaic meaning of finding, we would not have the correct meaning 
in Biblical Hebrew. 

Karl W. Randolph.

----- Original Message -----
From: Dave Washburn <dwashbur AT nyx.net>

> On Wednesday 21 July 2004 16:17, Karl Randolph wrote:
> > To All:
> >
> > This is a hapax legomai lexeme in Tanakh, do we have any clues as to its
> > definition?
> >
> > “A gift in secret ??? anger, and a bribe in the bosom (???) strong fury.”
> >
> > Why is the gift in secret, unless neither the giver nor the givee want it
> > to be known that the gift was made? Why wouldn’t they want the gift to be
> > known? Similarly, a bribe in the bosom is being hidden. Why, if not to
> > pervert justice?  What is the typical reaction when people see injustice
> > being practiced, if not fury?
> 
> A "gift in secret" is a clear term for a bribe.  It's obvious, then, why 
> they 
> don't want the gift to be known.  The part about perverting justice is a 
> bit 
> of eisegesis that isn't in the text.  The question is, whose 
> wrath/anger/fury/whatever?  The most likely candidate is the one receiving 
> the gift or bribe.
> 
> > Hence, from the context, I read this term as having the definition of
> > “excite” or “inflame”.
> 
> Uh-uh.  Every lexical tool available indicates that both the root and the 
> surface word mean "pacify," from a base meaning of "bend."  Hence, the 
> bribe 
> turns away or appeases anger.
> 
> -- 
> Dave Washburn
> http://www.nyx.net/~dwashbur
> Insert clever epigram here...or not


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