Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Harold R. Holmyard III" <hholmyard AT ont.com>]

Dear Evgeny,

> Just to offer for consideration another possible 
> translation/interpretation of 2Sam24:1

> The anger of God (towards people of Israel) 
> moved IN THEM (BaHeM) David to say ... 
> (Actually, this is
> exactly how this verse is translated in Russian 
> (Sinodal) Old Testament translation)

> So the anger of God caused (moved) people of 
> Israel to ask (tempt) David to command to 
> count. >Theological explanation - anger of God 
> is withdrawal of His grace, so man become 
> subject to >temptations. The anger of God 
> (withdrawal of grace) caused such a 
> psychological state in both Israel >and David 
> that they were moved by temptation to count.

HH: The Hebrew word order is against this 
translation. You have reversed the natural order, 
which would be "moved David in/against them." 
Also, the preposition B before "them" seems to 
match the same preposition before "Israel" in the 
previous clause, where it means "against."

HH: The preposition B follows the verb SWT 
("move/incite") in other passages with the 
meaning "against," which further argues that it 
means "against them" here in 2 Sam 24:1. Here is 
one, and it may be the same author since it is 1 
Samuel.  I capitalize the key words:

1Sam. 26:19 Now let my lord the king listen to 
his servant's words. If the LORD has INCITED YOU 
AGAINST ME, then may he accept an offering. If, 
however, men have done it, may they be cursed 
before the LORD! They have now driven me from my 
share in the LORD's inheritance and have said, 
'Go, serve other gods.'

HH: Here are other passages where SWT is followed 
by B with the meaning "against."

Jer. 43:3 But Baruch son of Neriah is INCITING 
YOU AGAINST US to hand us over to the 
Babylonians, so they may kill us or carry us into 
exile to Babylon."

Job 2:3 ¶ Then the LORD said to Satan,  "Have you 
considered my servant Job? There is no one on 
earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a 
man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still 
maintains his integrity, though you INCITED ME 
AGAINST HIM to ruin him without any reason."

                                        Yours,
                                        Harold Holmyard
> From dwashbur AT nyx.net  Fri Aug  5 21:24:40 2005
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Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Is.45:7 God created evil?
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On Friday 05 August 2005 15:20, Read, James C wrote:
> Yes Shoshanna. I agree with you here. There are many angels with
> different names and Satan's chief purpose is in tempting mankind.
> But the account of Job is not that Yah calls Satan and asks him
> to go and test Job.
> On the contrary, it is Satan who demands that Job be tested and
> challenges Yah by slanderously saying that Job only serves Yah
> because of the blessings that Yah has given him.
> Yah allows this to happen in order for the opportunity to be
> given that this is not the case but in no way requests of Satan
> that it be done.
[snip]

Actually, when God asks Satan "have you considered my servant Job?  Look how
great he is. Makes your blood boil, doesn't it?????"  (my paraphrase,
obviously) it almost appears that God is taunting Satan, daring him to make
an accusation.  In both chapters, it is God, not Satan, who brings up the
subject of Job.  What do you do with that?

--
Dave Washburn
http://www.nyx.net/~dwashbur
"Well, if I'd wanted a safe life, I guess I wouldn't have
married a man who studies rocks." - Betty Armstrong (Fay Masterson)