Biblical Hebrew Forum

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

It seems hard to imagine that he would have taken an exact number and
changed it to "about 36". And I can't think of anywhere that multiples of 12
are used, with the K...

Yigal
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jerry Shepherd" <jerry.shepherd AT taylor-edu.ca>
To: "Yigal Levin" <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il>; "b-hebrew"
<b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Thursday, December 16, 2004 11:28 PM
Subject: RE: [b-hebrew] "about" Josh. 7:4-5


> Yigal,
>
> Again, the only thing I can think of here is that the "clash" of the
> kaph, indicating approximation, with the number which appears to be
> exact, is the narrator's way of indicating that the number is not to be
> taken as exact, but as an indication of something else being
> communicated.  Perhaps the tradition to which he had access actually did
> have an exact number (34? 38?) but he has "rounded" it to a multiple of
> 12 in order to communiciate something along the lines of the twelve
> tribes engaged in the battle.
>
> Blessings,
>
> Jerry
>
>
>
> Dr. Jerry E. Shepherd
> Associate Professor of Old Testament
> Taylor Seminary
> 11525 - 23 Avenue
> Edmonton, AB T6J 4T3
> CANADA
> Office: (780)431-5250
> Home: (780)434-1164
> Fax: (780)436-9416
> Email: Jerry.Shepherd AT taylor-edu.ca
> Internet: http://www.taylor-edu.ca
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Yigal Levin [mailto:leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il]
> Sent: Wednesday, December 15, 2004 12:30 PM
> To: b-hebrew
> Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] "about" Josh. 7:4-5
>
> Thank you Jerry and James for pointing out that 36 is a multiple of 12,
> which is, of course, a significant number in the Bible. So why not say,
> "about 12". Why 36? Why the "code"?
>
>
>
>
>