Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Peter Kirk <peterkirk AT qaya.org>]

On 28/04/2005 03:42, Deborah Millier wrote:

> Dear List Members,
>
>
> TIT:XAD”$   KANE$ER   N:(W.RFY:KIY
>
> “. . .your youth becomes new like the eagle” (Psa.
> 103:5).
>
>
> The one addressed is the writer’s NEPE$, I see that.
> But I can’t find a satisfying point of comparison
> between NEPE$ and NE$ER, save the near transposition
> of letters.  :-)
>
> How does an (the?) eagle become new, hence a NEPE$’s
> youth become new?
>
>  
It is literally "the eagle" with the Hebrew article - you have omitted 
the dageshes which confirm this in your transcription. But presumably 
"the eagle" in the sense of a typical individual eagle, rather than a 
specific bird.

I think this is a good example of how Hebrew poetry, and indeed poetry 
in any language, needs to be appreciated rather than analysed. For 
surely the general message of this is obvious, even if strict logic is 
not observed. But if you need to analyse it, as you might for 
translation, I would suggest that here we really have two interleaved 
sentences: "your youth will be renewed, you will become like an eagle". 
An alternative with a subtly different meaning, which I found in a 
translation, might be "you will be renewed, you will become like a young 
eagle".

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



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