Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Yigal Levin" <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Peter Kirk" <peterkirk AT qaya.org>
> It is a common interpretation of the words quoted here: CAW LFCFW CAW
> LFCFW QAV LFQFW QAW LFQFW that they are in v.10 a representation of the >
speakers' incomprehensible mutterings, a bit like "rhubarb, rhubarb" in
> English, and that the point of v.13 (cf. v.11) is that their foreign
> conquerors' speech will be similarly incomprehensible.
>
> For support, see for example JPS Tanakh "mutter upon mutter, murmur upon
> murmur", and BDB s.v. QAW "mimicry of Isaiah's words, perh. senseless".
> I have seen more elsewhere but I can't find it now.
>

I have heard Aaron Demsky suggest that this is actually a part of an
alphabet mnemonic - a sort of ditty to help learners remember the order of
the letters - this section being, of course, Sade-Qoph. Both "Cav" and "Qav"
are real words.

Yigal