Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Trevor Peterson" <abuian AT access4less.net>]

----- Original Message Follows -----
From: "wattswestmaas" <wattswestmaas AT eircom.net>
To: "B-Hebrew" <b-hebrew AT lists.Ibiblio.org>
Subject: [b-hebrew] Psalm 2:11
Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2005 15:31:34 -0000

> Hallo
> 
> Psalm 2:11
> NaSHKu-VaR ?   This is a five part question.
> 
> Absolutely  Nowhere in Gesenius or van de merwe grammar
> books can I find infornation about two masoretic signs
> that are written here:
> 
>  1.  the first is the peculiar sign above the 'bet' in
> this phrase.

You should get William Scott's Simplified Guide to BHS,
which explains the various accent marks and textual sigla.
It also provides glosses for the Aramaic in the Masora and
Latin in the textual notes. Having said that, I don't have
mine handy at the moment, but this is some type of accent
mark. Note that there is a different accenting system for
Psalms (and Job and Proverbs, I think) from the other books.
> 
>  2.  and what do these circles above letters mean that i
> keep coming accross?

The circles reference the masora in the outer margins. The
first circle (from right to left) on the line references the
first note (from top to bottom); the notes are divided by
what look like periods.
> 
[snipped]
> 
>   5. since the psalmist a few verses earlier uses 'BeN'
> for son, then I wonder why he switches from hebrew to
> aramaic in the middle of this psalm, unless he really
> wants his readers to understand something other than
> 'son'?

Or he might be using it for poetic effect. Foreign words, or
more often words that are more widely attested in cognate
languages but were apparently rare in BH, are common in
poetry. Part of what makes Shakespeare so difficult to read
is that he exploited the different dialects of English to
multiply vocabulary.

Trevor Peterson
CUA/Semitics