Biblical Hebrew Forum

["George F. Somsel" <gfsomsel AT juno.com>]

On Mon, 30 Aug 2004 16:49:51 -0700 (PDT) Uri Hurwitz <uhurwitz AT yahoo.com>
writes:
> sorry about the misunderstanding: I have not reacted to your 
> comments, but specifically to the inaccurate translation of the 
> discussed biblical phrase. The words "He  Alone"-- or any equivalent 
> --are simply not found in the Hebrew original, and not required for 
> clarity or comprhension in English.
>  
>  I'd be curious to hear your, or anyones, comment on this.
>  
> URI  
>  
> Peter Kirk <peterkirk AT qaya.org> wrote:
> On 30/08/2004 17:31, Uri Hurwitz wrote:
> 
> >Peter Kirk 
> wrote:
> >
> > 1 Kings 12:33, "on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the 
> month 
> >that HE ALONE HAD DEVISED". 
> >
> >A more accurate translation of the highlighted biblical words above 
> -- )a$er bada)
> >milibo -- would be "that he had invented in his heart" ; the same 
> phrase occurs also in Neh. 6:8.
> > 
> >BD -- "empty, idle, (invented) talk" as in Job 11:3 and elsewhere 
> may well originate from the above.
> > 
> > 
> >
> I should have said that I was quoting NRSV. Anyway, the point seems 
> 
> clear, that Jeroboam had decided for himself on the date of this 
> feast, 
> and that it was not (in the view of the Deuteronomic author) one of 
> the 
> feasts prescribed by YHWH.
> -- 
> Peter Kirk
>                 
> ---------------------------------

Uri,

I'm not sure what your objection is here.  What do you do with 

)a:$eR_B.fDf) MiL.iB.oD [Qere:  MiL.iB.oW  ?

If you follow the Qere, then it would seem that it implies fairly clearly
that it was Jereboam's determination rather than (according to the
Deuteronomistic historian) YHWH's command.  This is due to the contrast
with 12.27 where it states

W:$fB L"B Hf(fM HaZ.eH )eL_)a:DoN"YHeM )eL_R:HaB:(fM MeLeK_Y:HW.DfH

and thus contrasts the "heart of the people" with "his [Jeroboam's]
heart."

george
gfsomsel