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  • From: David Bell <davidbbell AT ono.com>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [b-hebrew] Job 28:26
  • Date: Tue, 8 Feb 2005 18:42:55 +0100

Greetings:

I was looking recently at Job 28:26. The text states God made a path for lightning thunders.
(WDRK LXZYZ QLWT).

I'm afraid that I don't quite understand the grammar here.

The KJV ASV and RSV all treat these two nouns as a construct absolute chain (lightnings of the thunder). But that doesn't really seem to be what is happening with these two words. The majority of the other major translations take them together to refer to a thunderbolt (NASB) or a thunderstorm (NEB, NIV). The Message understands a waw between the two of them and translates thunder and lightning.

Could someone give me an idea about what is really going on with this construction! Thanks!

David Bell
davidbbell AT ono.com
En MMV civitatem fundamenta habentem expectans
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Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Job 28:26
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David Bell wrote:
Greetings:

I was looking recently at Job 28:26. The text states God made a path for lightning thunders.
(WDRK LXZYZ QLWT).

I'm afraid that I don't quite understand the grammar here.

The KJV ASV and RSV all treat these two nouns as a construct absolute chain (lightnings of the thunder). But that doesn't really seem to be what is happening with these two words. The majority of the other major translations take them together to refer to a thunderbolt (NASB) or a thunderstorm (NEB, NIV). The Message understands a waw between the two of them and translates thunder and lightning.

Could someone give me an idea about what is really going on with this construction! Thanks!

I think probably all the translations are taking them as a construct phrase, which is what they appear to be, but rendering it into English is not always a straightforward task. Part of the problem is determining what xaziz means. There are few occurrences to go by, and whatever it's doing has to somehow be connected with the thunder that follows. If it can mean something like a gust when used of wind, the most reasonable idea is that it means something like a bolt when used of thunder. Hence, thunderbolt. But perhaps it contributes somewhat more to the meaning than that, which gets us to the natural association between thunder and lightning. There is probably not a clear answer as to the precise meaning, but the grammar is more straightforward.

Trevor Peterson
CUA/Semitics




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