Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Peter Kirk <peterkirk AT qaya.org>]

On 08/11/2004 06:23, Yigal Levin wrote:

> ...
>
> I don't have any idea what the "qarnayim" of the Samaratin Ketubah are, but
> the"Or" in "Qaran Or Panav" of Moses (Ex. 34:29, 30, 35) is spelled with an
> 'Ayin an literally means "the skin of his face becam horned". It is true
> that Qeren can also be used figuratively (and in modern Hebrew is used for
> "ray", including "radiation"), but that's an interpretation, not the literal
> meaning.
>
>  
It may not just modern Hebrew. In Habakkuk 3:4 refers to QARNAYIM 
apparently coming from God's hands, in a context where "rays of light" 
fits well, and this is the understanding of BDB and of modern 
translations. Does anyone know how far back this interpretation goes? I 
don't have good reference books on Habakkuk.

More precisely, this is a metaphor, not an interpretation, which at some 
stage became an extended sense of the word. The interpretation of the 
metaphor may be debatable.

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