Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Peter Kirk <peterkirk AT qaya.org>]

On 25/01/2005 08:18, Karl Randolph wrote:

> Peter:
>
> Taking the Greek listed below, it is interesting to note that the verb is 
> singular, therefore it would not refer to TA APOKEIMENA which is plural, but 
> to AUTWi. I don't know Greek that well, ...

This is obvious! AUTWi certainly cannot be the subject of the verb, 
because it is dative whereas the subject must be nominative. But there 
is a Greek grammatical rule that a neuter plural subject like TA 
APOKEIMENA often (although not always) takes a singular verb. So the 
Greek syntax is unambiguous, TA APOKEIMENA is the subject.

> ... nor do I have an LXX handy, but could TA APOKEIMENA refer back to $B+ and 
> MXQQ (the Hebrew words) that are the subjects of the first half of this verse?
>  

No, not according to Greek grammar. The third line of the verse (hEWS... 
AUTWi) is a subordinate clause with its own subject and verb. Although 
Greek word order is flexible, the subject of the main clause cannot 
occur in the middle of the subordinate clause. Now in principle the 
meaning could be something like "until [this ruler] comes to him/it" 
with TA APOKEIMENA as some kind of adverbial accusative, but if the 
ruler is the subject, then who/what is the him/it?

> Similarly YB) in Hebrew is singular, looking for a singular subject.
>
> As for the AUTOS after the KAI, it looks as if it is merely linguistic, not 
> theological.
>
>  
You may be right. But perhaps it depends on what YIQ.:HAT means. BDB and 
KB explain as a noun "obedience" from the root YQH., with an anomalous 
dagesh, and most English versions agree. But it looks as if LXX has 
understood this as derived from QWH "wait for, hope" or similar. Indeed 
KB suggests that LXX, Syriac and Vulgate all support an emendation to 
T.IQ:WAT. Compare also the name  Q:HFT, Kohath. Well, if the true 
reading is T.IQ:WAT, then the normal Hebrew construction would be with 
L- and the person hoped in; although in English a person can be 
described as a "hope", I don't think this is possible in Hebrew. But it 
clearly is possible with Greek PROSDOKIA. And so this would support the 
argument that the change from dative to nominative reflects the 
difference in linguistic structure between Hebrew and Greek.

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



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