Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Peter Kirk <peterkirk AT qaya.org>]

On 25/08/2004 08:52, MarianneLuban AT aol.com wrote:

> ...
>
> "Beginning  since the Aamu were in the midst of the Northland [Delta] [in] 
> Avaris, vagrants among them, toppling what had been made, they ruled in the 
> absence of Re, not by divine command down to the time of my Majesty"
>
> H3  Dr   definitely means "beginning since" and not "from the time", as some 
> scholars have put it--with prejudice.  Even though "n  rf  m wDw nTr"  is 
> clearly there, some have arbitrarily changed "rf" to "iri=f" [he does or did] 
> coming up with "and he did not act by divine decree" [meaning Re did not], which 
> makes no sense.  "rf" is merely an emphatic, best left untranslated, 
> emphasizing the notion that there was no "wDw ntr" [best translated by the German 
> "Gottesgebot"] i.e., complete godlessness going on in that Delta right up to the 
> time of Hatshepsut.  Then she goes on to say something to the effect that now she 
> is on the throne,  the snake on her brow spitting fire at her enemies, she 
> has "banished the abomination of the gods"--meaning those Aamu.  No doubt about 
> it--she claims the credit.
>  

Marianne, could this be understood as meaning that the Hyksos, by 
destroying the temples in the delta, made the whole area completely 
godless, and that (in her worldview) it remained godless, even after the 
Hyksos had left, because there were no temples there? Could "banished 
the abomination of the gods" mean not banishing remaining Aamu but 
banishing ungodliness by reestablishing temples?


--
Peter Kirk
peter AT qaya.org (personal)
peterkirk AT qaya.org (work)
http://www.qaya.org/