Biblical Hebrew Forum

[MarianneLuban AT aol.com]

To diverge--I need a little help with modern Hebrew.  How would one say 
"Let's put our cards on the table"--meaning "quit bluffing and show me your 
hand"--aw, you know what I mean.  There must be some expression like 
that--and if 
it's in Biblical Hebrew that would be fine, too.  Certainly, I know how to 
say 
this in Yiddish, but it's rather vulgarly put ;-(

BTW, to get back on topic.  One of the best riposts in the entire Tanach was 
said to be uttered by King Ahab of Israel.  "Let him that puts on his armor 
not boast louder than he who takes it off."  I like this.  For me it means 
that 
anybody who is in a position to put on armor and go into battle is one 
thing--but he who lives to take it off is another matter.  Anybody agree?  Of 
course, 
ultimately this king didn't live to take off his armor but here is something: 
 Ahab, in I Kings 22:34, instructs his chariot driver to take him out of the 
battle because he had sustained a wound.  But right afterward it states that 
he "was stayed up in his chariot" until the evening.  Battles weren't fought 
at 
night in those times and so it seems to me that Ahab had somebody hold him up 
so that he could at least be seen by his men so they wouldn't lose heart.  
Then, when evening came and the fighting had to stop, he died--and no wonder! 
 
One can't really dislike a man like that, no matter what else was written 
about 
him.  That's my take.

Marianne Luban