Biblical Hebrew Forum

[<tladatsi AT charter.net>]

The thrust of the story of 1 Sam 15 is that Ameleq fought 
with Isreal when Moses lead Isreal out of Egypt.  This 
created sin that was unatoned.  Two hundred years later, 
God decided it was time to settle the score.  God commands 
Saul (through Samuel) to attack and kill every single 
member of the Ameleq tribe in their city.  God is dis-
satisfied with the status quo and takes the initiative to 
bring things into balance.  1 Sam 15:2 reads

e&-r$) le) r&yl qelm( h&( -r$) te) yTdqP tw)bc hwhy rm)hK
 .eyrcMm wtl(B jrDB  wl

How do we translate *paqadetiy*?  I will punish, I will 
visit iniquity upon, I will settle accounts, I will pay 
attention to, I will charge guilt, I have remembered, I 
have marked, I have considered - are all options that have 
been offered.  Does changing the translation of the this 
one verb change the general thrust of the story any?

In my opinion it does not.  In the story God wants justice 
for the sin of Ameleq against Isreal. The sin creates a 
debt to God that has not been paid. Whether it is 2 years 
old or 200 years old does not matter.  The way to *settle 
the books* (NLT's translation) is to kill all of Ameleq, 
from old men to infants as well as destory their goods.

No matter how *paqadetiy* is translated, the point of the 
story is the same.  If you sin against God, you will create 
a debt to God that someone must pay. That may be you, or it 
may be your decendants or it may be your compatriots. It 
may be now  or it may be many generations later. This is 
the same perspective in 2 Sam 21 (where the verb pkd was 
not used).  

Having said all of the above, punish seems to be the most 
direct translation in the context of this story. 

Jack Tladatsi