Biblical Hebrew Forum

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

----- Original Message -----
From: "Yigal Levin" <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il>

> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Karl Randolph" <kwrandolph AT email.com>
> 
> 
> > Neither $RYM nor M$RRYM is found in Qohelet, making that question here
> moot.
> >
> > At least neither show up in a search in Online Bible, unpointed text.
> >
> 
> Try Qohelet 2:8, "(asiti li $arim ve$arot" - "I gat (excuse the King James
> English) me men singers and women singers".
> 
> There's something to be said for a good old fashioned Mandelkern
> concordance.
> 
>
It’s also found in the Lisowski’s concordance.

I was being lazy and using only the electronic search function, which 
sometimes misses words because the data file was not designed for unpointed 
searches. Most of the times it works, though. 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> > The explanation of $RYM being found in post-Exilic literature is that that
> literature is historical, referring to pre-exilic actions. Though the
> post-exilic word would usually be used, what's to prevent a pre-exilic word
> from sneaking in when describing pre-exilic events?
> >
> > Karl W. Randolph.
>
> Could very well be. But can you rule out Me$orerim being used in pre-exilic
> Hebrew, but just not in the texts that we have? Or post-exilic people also
> using the "old" term in  daily usage. That's why I suggested that the
> difference may be semantic, rather than chronological.
> 
> Yigal

I personally believe that Qohelet is pre-exilic.

The problem arguing for a semantic reason is that the only large document we 
have spanning this time in Biblical Hebrew is Tanakh, and its use of the 
Pilel participle as a noun to refer to singers is only in post-exilic 
writings. As for daily use in spoken language, we can only guess based on 
written records. But the use pattern is certainly suggestive of a 
chronological use difference.

Karl W. Randolph.
-- 
___________________________________________________________
Sign-up for Ads Free at Mail.com
http://promo.mail.com/adsfreejump.htm