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  • From: "B. M. Rocine" <brocine AT twcny.rr.com>
  • To: "Hebrew" <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Proverbs 5:16 - a declaration or a question ?
  • Date: Thu, 30 Dec 2004 16:16:01 -0500

Dear Karl,

I think whenever `ayin appears in the dual it means "eyes," but whenever it appears in the plural it means "springs." Hence if we re-vowel the word in Pro 5:16 to read me`eynoteyka it means "from your springs" not "from your eyes." When `ayin is singular, context will have to tell whether it means "eye" or "spring."

I vote leaving the MT as is and wrestling with whether Pro 5:16 is a question or a hope.

Shalom,
Bryan


you wrote:

Harold:

It is precisely because I had difficulty with the traditional meaning that I even considered a different reading. That is why I asked if there is a grammatical reason not to read it as such, not what does tradition say. By tradition, I include the Masoritic pointing.

There is no grammatical indication that this is a question.

The context indicates that a man should be looking at his wife only, not at other women, which should "be dispersed from his eyes". My reading keeps the grammar as standard instead of changing to a grammatically non-standard question and fits the context. Is there any grammatical point that I overlook?

Karl W. Randolph.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Harold R. Holmyard III" <hholmyard AT ont.com>

Dear Karl,

> The verb is plural third person, but the subject is PLGY MYM.
>
> M(YNTYK cannot be the subject, as it has a prefixed M- short for
> MN which can never be the subject of the verb.

HH: It only has a prefixed MN in your interpretation. You know that
you are ignoring the standard meaning for the term given in all
translations I've seen. So why push such obscurantist logic? The
word means "spring," and the M is part of the noun, not a prefix.

Yours,
Harold Holmyard


-- B. M. Rocine
Living Word Church
6101 Court St. Rd.
Syracuse, NY 13206

ph: 315.437.6744
fx: 315.437.6766




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