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  • From: "Karl Randolph" <kwrandolph AT email.com>
  • To: Hebrew <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Syntax of Jeremiah 15:12
  • Date: Tue, 04 Jan 2005 14:53:04 -0500

Chris:

First of all, I don�t like adding to the text, so that rules out #2 below.

I read the text unpointed, which gives:

HYR( BRZL BRZL MCPWN WNX$T

When faced with a verse that does not have a readily understood meaning, as
does this one, I then ask what are the various possibilities. In this one,
the only word that can have come from different roots is the verb (in
alphabetical order):

YR( to flutter or flap (in the wind) from the same root as YRY( curtain
RW( to sound forth (a trumpet)
R(H to feed
R(( to be displeasing from which we get the derived meaning that that which
is evil or bad is displeasing, hence bad or evil.

A final question, is the prefix H- the definite article or sign of the
interrogative?

One thing that I have found that makes Jeremiah difficult to read is that he
often writes with allusions, in a round about way picturesquely describing
actions and events in such a way that one often has to visualize the action
and/or allusion in order to understand what is meant. This literary style
apparently was common among the late, pre-exile writers, more so than in
earlier Hebrew, and one of the signs of post-exilic writers is the almost
total lack of such picturesqueness in the language.

And we can�t leave out the possibility that the subject for the verb may be
found in verse 11.

If the prefix H- is a definite article. that limits the verb to YR( pointing
to a subject in verse 11. The context points to the enemies coming from
Babylon, a country, unless I�m mistaken, has no iron itself, but must import
it, and unless I�m mistaken, the easiest place for Babylon to import it from
at that time was from the former Hittite empire in the north. In this case,
the translation would refer to the enemy �the one flapping (waving is better
in English) iron (alluding to weapons), iron from the north, even bronze.�
That also fits the context of the following verse where the enemy takes
Judea, its forces and treasures, that God has given it.

If H- prefix is a sign of the interrogative, then the subject would be
�iron�, and I see no easy translation that fits the context. Look at the four
possible roots, does any give an easy translation? E.g. �Does iron feed iron
from the north, also bronze?� Huh? The same problem exists for a meaning of
�flapping� (waving), �sounding forth�, even �to be displeasing� though there
is probably a stronger case for that than the others.

In conclusion, I think taking the prefix H- as a definite article makes the
most sense. It fits the context best, making the verse a dependent clause of
the previous verse, pointing to a subject in that verse.

Karl W. Randolph.



----- Original Message -----
From: "Heard, Christopher" <Christopher.Heard AT pepperdine.edu>
>
> Hello list,
>
> I am having difficulty reading Jeremiah 15:12.
>
> UNICODE TEXT
> *��2*�ָ*��1*�ַ *�ַּ*�ְ*�ֶ*� *�ַּ*�ְ*�ֶ*�
> *z<caron>ִ*|ָּ*?*��1*� *�ּ*�ְ*��1*�*?ֶ*�
>
> ASCII TEXT
> H:AYFROA( BARZEL BARZEL MICCFPWN WN:XO$ET
>
> Three contemporary commercial translations give three quite different
> renderings:
> NRSV Can iron and bronze break iron from the north?
> NIV Can a man break iron--iron from the north--or bronze?
> JPS Can iron break iron and bronze?
>
> It's clear what each translation is doing ... But it's not clear to me which
> one, if any of these, is correct, and why. Your thoughts?
>
> Chris
> --
> R. Christopher Heard
> Assistant Professor of Religion
> Armstrong Fellow in Religion
> Pepperdine University
> http://faculty.pepperdine.edu/cheard
> http://www.iTanakh.org
> http://www.semioticsandexegesis.info
--
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