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  • From: "Kieron Cronin (yahoo)" <kjcronin2004 AT yahoo.co.uk>
  • To: <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [b-hebrew] The translation of ehyeh
  • Date: Wed, 3 Aug 2005 21:36:42 +0100

The debate over the translation of ehyeh can surely not be settled by
recourse to linguistic analysis alone, being as there are more than one
possible translations of it. The context of Exodus 3:14 makes clear that
ehyeh is to be understood as the self-identification (personal name) of God.
There is only one possible translation that makes sense in this context, and
that is 'I am', which makes perfect sense. I'd be happy to explain to any who
are interested, but the explanation is philosophical theology, not linguistic.

K J Cronin
>From leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il Wed Aug 3 17:11:58 2005
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From: "Yigal Levin" <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il>
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Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] YHWH pronunciation
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----- Original Message -----
From: "Vadim Cherny" <VadimCherny AT mail.ru>
> Besides your imagined hophal Yahwe, Jews generally accept the niphal
Yehawe;


Vadim, this is not true. If by "Jews" you mean people speaking from Jewish
tradition, then Jewish tradition does not have a vocalization of the
Tetragrammaton, and cosiders it forbidden to pronounce. And I know of no
Jewish source that understands the Tetragrammaton as anything but a proper
noun.

That there are individual Jews, including perhaps some on this list, who
have concluded that YHWH is a verb and that it may have been vocalized in
one way or another, is their privelage. None of them speak for Jewish
tradition.

Yigal






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