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  • From: "Karl Randolph" <kwrandolph AT email.com>
  • To: Hebrew <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Broad heart
  • Date: Thu, 29 Sep 2005 15:26:20 -0500


Dear Reinier:

Looking over your responses below, it appears to me that
you claim that "expand the heart" in Hebrew is equivalent
to "fill the mind" in English: filling it with God's Torah in
Psalm 119:32, with hardships Psalm 25:17, wisdom and
insight 1 Kings 5:9, with pride Psalm 101:5 and Proverbs
21:4 and good in Isaiah 60:5.

In other words, while you have claimed that there are at
least two meanings to the idiomatic phrase "expansive
heart", you have suggested a unified meaning that fits all
uses of the phrase, different from what I suggested, but a
unified one just the same. Yours may be right.

I started this thread with the example of parakalein in
Greek as being a very plastic term, encompassing many
actions that could take place when calling a person to
one's side; from your last response I get the impression
that "expansive heart" in Hebrew may be a similarly
plastic phrase, adapting to its surroundings.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Reinier de Blois" <editor AT sdbh.org>
>
> Hi Karl,
>
> >
> > ... It appears to me that you already have at
> > least two unique definitions for the idiomatic phrase "spacious
> > heart", could there be more?
> >
> >
> There are at least two. That cannot be helped. You seem to be so
> convinced that a word or idiom can have one meaning only that you
> have to go very far to find a common denominator that covers each
> occurrence.
> I think that is pure speculation and does not really inspire
> confidence. I'd rather stay close to the text and use all the
> handles that the text offers than relying on my phantasy. If that
> leads to two meanings, so be it.
>
> >...
> >
> What you say may be true but I don't find it in the text.
>
Context, context, context. I repeatedly refer back to context
to understand verses, especially when I run into a difficult
wording. Often just a few verses are sufficient to make a
difficult reading plain, occasionally up to a chapter is
needed to get sufficient context. What you didn't see in the
text, I saw in the text from context.

> > ...
> No, these have nothing to do with knowledge but more with pride.
> After all the text never says specifically what exactly fills the
> heart. We need the context to figure out what.
>
> > How does that fit with Psalm 25:17 which started this thread?
> > That difficulties give much knowledge?
> >
> >
> Psalm 25:17 is as clear as can be. "The troubles of my heart have
> broadened" . In other words: "they are plenty and completely occupy
> my thoughts".
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Reinier

I just noticed that you took your response off line. I hope
you don't mind that I brought it back on line, as it
discusses a subject brought up by others.

I want to mention that throughout I have been looking for
patterns of action, and yours of "fill the mind" certainly is a
pattern that seems to fit. The more I think about it, the
better it seems to fit than what I originally suggested.

Yours,

Karl W. Randolph.


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