Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Dave Washburn <dwashbur AT nyx.net>]

Just one point of response:

On Tuesday 26 April 2005 09:13, Heard, Christopher wrote:
> Hey all,
>
> On Apr 25, 2005, at 8:09 PM, Steve Miller wrote:
> >The Dead Sea Scrolls Bible, by Abegg, Flint & Ulrich says on page 519
> >regarding Ps 22:16: 'Among the scrolls the reading in question is found
> >only
> >in the Psalms scroll found at Nahal Hever (abbreviated 5/6HevPs), which
> >reads "They have pierced my hands and my feet"!'
>
> Again, just to be precise: 5/6HevPs does not, and cannot, read "they have
> pierced my hands and my feet," because it is not written in English.
> According to the photograph, it reads כארו = K)RW. But to make the next
> jump to saying that it reads "they pierced" obscures a several-step process
> that requires at least the following steps, if not more:
>
> (1) establishing that this word כארו is in fact an instance of a verb
> spelled כרה/KRH and not some other word;
>
> (2) explaining the intrusive 'aleph--which is probably a simple
> explanation, but it is a departure from the normal spelling of כרה/KRH,
> which is a necessary step to accomplishing #1;

This one is easy.  It's a common phenomenon in the DSS, where aleph was used 
as a plene letter alongside yod, waw and he.  My own view is that it was a 
pronunciation device, but regardless of that, "intrusive 'aleph" is well 
documented in the material from the caves.

[snip]

-- 
Dave Washburn
http://www.nyx.net/~dwashbur
Reality is what refuses to go away when
you stop believing in it.