Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Deborah Millier <deborahmillier AT yahoo.com>]

Peter K. wrote:

> 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.

Oh I knew that it was definitive. I just balked during
my rendering at whether or not it should be translated
that way into English. :-)

> I think this is a good example 
> of how Hebrew poetry, and indeed 
> poetry in any language, needs to 
> be appreciated rather than analysed. 

Think? I usually appreciate Hebrew (and other) poetry
more *after* I've analyzed it! However, I'm pretty
sure I know what you mean. There is in most poetry a
certain element of "haze" which can truly be
appreciated.

> For surely the general message of 
> this is obvious, even if strict logic 
> is not observed. 

I don't always trust that what seems obvious to me is
truly obvious; not when handling a text considerably
removed from me in time and culture. Not to mention
language. :-)

> I would suggest that here we really 
> have two interleaved sentences: 
> "your youth will be renewed, you 
> will become like an eagle". 

Okay. I thought of that. But then what does it mean
for for the author's NEPE$ to become "like an eagle"? 

And truly the point of comparison seems to revolve
around the idea of newness. Renewed NEPE$. Renewed
NE$ER. That's what my SLA reveals.

Both alternatives still leave me with interpretational
questions...

> 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".

Again, why then would the author desire his NEPE$ to
become like a young eagle? His NEPE$ would sore? Catch
rodents quickly? Have keen eyesight? Strength to claw
and rip? What? :-)

Shalom from Manila, Philippines,
--Michael Millier

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