Biblical Hebrew Forum

[George F Somsel <gfsomsel AT juno.com>]

On Tue, 21 Jun 2005 22:35:47 -0400 "Steve Miller"
<smille10 AT sbcglobal.net> writes:
> Zech 13:5 but he will say, �I am not a prophet; I am a tiller of 
> the ground,
> for a man sold me as a slave in my youth.�  (NASB)
> 
> The phrase "a man sold me as a slave" is ????? 
> ?????????.
> The verb is causitive, literally "caused me to buy", which I don't 
> think is
> reflected in "sold me as a slave".  To sell someone as a slave is 
> not to
> cause them to buy.
> The only translation that retains the causitive meaning is KJV, 
> which says,
> "man taught me to keep cattle", but I don't think that is a 
> causitive
> meaning of "buy", although it is causitive.
> 
> Does "man" have to be the subject? Can it be the object? Could it be
> translated:
> for mankind He has made Me to purchase from My youth.
> or
> for mankind, they have caused Me to purchase from My youth. 
> (treating the
> 3rd masculine singular as the indefinate pronoun as in 13:9.)
> or
> for mankind I have been made to purchase from My youth. (replacing
> indefinate pronoun with passive)
> 
> thanks,
> -Steve Miller
> Detroit
 _______________________________________________

TEXT:

W:)fMaR Lo) NfBiY) )fNoKiY )iY$_(oB"D )a:DfMfH )fNoKiY K.iY )fDfM
HiQ:N"NiY MiN.:(W.RfY

HALOT notes that the text is uncertain here and gives a conjectural
reading of )fDfM HiQ:NaNiY, but I don't think that solves your problem. 
I think your problem is more in trying to import concepts from English
into Hebrew.  Perhaps changing the English equivalent slightly will
clarify the matter.  QNH does not simply mean "buy" but "acquire" and
thus the hiphil would be "cause to acquire."  BDB gives "caused (one) to
purchase me ."

george
gfsomsel
___________
>From Bearpecs AT aol.com  Wed Jun 22 00:15:21 2005
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Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Zech 13:5
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=20
In a message dated 6/21/2005 10:28:52 PM Eastern Daylight Time, =20
smille10 AT sbcglobal.net writes:

Zech  13:5 but he will say, =E2=80=98I am not a prophet; I am a tiller of th=
e ground,
for  a man sold me as a slave in my youth.=E2=80=99  (NASB)


NJPS translates:  "and he will declare, 'I am not a "prophet"; I am a  tille=
r=20
of the soil; you see, I was plied with the red stuff from my youth on.'  "
In the footnotes, it clarifies that by saying "tiller of the soil", the =20
self-denying prophet refers to Noah, who became drunk (Gen 9:20-12).  NJPS =20
understands 'adam as 'adom, red, and so the phrase is "caused me to 
acquire=20=
red =20
[wine]", meaning that he was a drunkard.  In other words, although he  appea=
red=20
to prophesy, it was just the ranting of drunkeness.  In the next  verse he=20
explains that the welts on his back were not received from flagellation  
in=20=
order=20
to stimulate ecstatic prophesy but rather beatings he received when he  was=20
drunk and rowdy at parties.
=20