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b-hebrew - Re: [b-hebrew] Is.45:7 God created evil?

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  • From: "Harold R. Holmyard III" <hholmyard AT ont.com>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Is.45:7 God created evil?
  • Date: Thu, 4 Aug 2005 13:08:42 -0500

Dear Evgeny,

Is.45:7 says "I (God) make peace and create evil" - BoRe Ra. LXX translates Ra here as êáêá (kaka) - "bad". English NIV translates "I bring prosperity and create disaster". I guess the "correct" translation really depends on exegesis. But from the linguistic point of viev, is Ra always means "evil", or it is legitimate to translate it also as "disaster" for example? Another note - the verb here is BaRa that usually applies to God creating something that didn't exist before. The translation echoes to theology - did God created evil, or He just allowed the creatures with free will to do evil?


HH: Yes, it is perfectly legitimate lexically to translate RA( as "disaster." The word does not always refer to what is morally evil.

Yours,
Harold Holmyard




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