Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Peter Kirk <peterkirk AT qaya.org>]

On 25/04/2005 02:08, Heard, Christopher wrote:

> ... Outside of Psalm 21 (LXX, = MT, EVV Psalm 22), there is no 
> biblically (or, as far as I know, nonbiblical) attested use of orussw 
> to mean "to pierce," especially "to pierce" living flesh as opposed to 
> inanimate matter. Neither is there any such attestation for Hebrew 
> karah. ...


This may be true of the Greek ORUSSW, but it is not true of the Hebrew 
KRH. This Hebrew verb is used in Psalm 40:7 (v.6 in English versions), 
)FZ:NAIYM K.FRIYTF L.IY, literally "you dug ears for me". I accept that 
the meaning of this is rather obscure, and it is not helped by the LXX 
(39:7) KATHRTISW "you prepared". But the meaning probably relates either 
to ear piercing as in Exodus 21:6 (Hebrew RC(, found only here in the 
Hebrew Bible) or to God forming the ear cavity in the body - so both a 
matter of piercing living flesh.


> ... Both Greek orussw and Hebrew karah I (normally) take objects that 
> name empty spaces--wells, pits, holes, graves--_not_ the matter from 
> which those spaces were hollowed out. (Even Ezekiel 8:8 is no 
> exception to this ...


This might be an argument that KRH in Psalm 40 refers to forming the ear 
rather than piercing it.

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



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