Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Karl Randolph" <kwrandolph AT email.com>]

A quick note:

The word YWNQ, which I translate as a "sucker", is used this 
way only once in Tanakh. When it refers to infants, it refers 
to one who has not been weaned yet, hence still sucks at his 
mother's breast. In agriculture, a sucker (at least in 
English) is an unwanted growth from the roots of fruit trees. 
Yes it is a tender shoot, but an unwanted one. A farmer who 
takes care of his orchard will cut it off.

I may be wrong, but I could not help but notice the parallel 
between the English and Hebrew usage. The context that this is 
one who was not wanted strengthens the parallel.

Karl W. Randolph. 

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