Biblical Hebrew Forum

[kgraham0938 AT comcast.net]

@Steve:

> SM: Kelton, thanks for answering. Why would this be different than, for  
> example, Gen 20:13, "when God caused me to wander". ëÌÇàÂùÑÆø äÄúÀòåÌ àÉúÄé 
> àÁìÉäÄéí . The first person singular pronoun is a direct object of the 
> hiphil verb, so "me" is the one who is caused to wander. In the same way, 
> me is the one who is being caused to cry out in Zech 6:8. 
Response: The difference is found within the verbs themselves.  According to 
HALOT when Z`Q is followed by an accusative it means to "to call out to 
someone." p 277
This makes sense in light of the fact that normally when Z`Q is used it takes 
the preposition EL before the noun or pronoun in order to indicate the person 
being addressed.  I don't think T`H in Genesis has such requirements.
------------------------------------------
> SM: Why make such a strange contortion? If the qal verb is "cry", the 
> straightforward causative would be "caused me to cry". Also you've changed 
> the direct object, me, into an indirect object. 

Response:  I might be going out on a limb here, but this could be a datival 
accusative.  Where a pronoun is the direct object where one would expect a 
dative.  
--
Kelton Graham 
KGRAHAM0938 AT comcast.net
>From stoneyb AT touchwood.net  Mon Nov 21 08:58:20 2005
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Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] etymology
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>>One example I often use in discussing etymology is the English word
>>"patently."  By definition, a "patent" must be non-obvious.
>>  
>On the contrary, Joel. The original meaning of "patent" is "Obvious; 
>[...]

>That's interesting, and it reinforces my point.  If "patent"
originally meant "obvious," that etymological bit of knowledge helps
not at all in deducing that in the US today, a "patent" is awarded
only for something that's not obvious.

>Really, don't we all agree here that etymology doesn't tell you what a
word means?

I think we could all agree that etymology is a tool that must be used
with discretion; but it is not uninformative. For example, a 'patent' is
called a 'patent' because it was originally conferred by 'letters
patent' - that is, a document 'making visible' to all that the Crown had
invested so-and-so with such-and-such rights. The "patent theatres" in
Covent Garden and Drury Lane for a century and a half held under such
letters patent a rigorously enforced monopoly on public performance of
spoken drama, which is why their competitors had to push opera and
melodrama - and why today, even in the US, spoken drama is referred to
as the "legitimate" theatre.

Stoney Breyer
Writer/Touchwood, Inc.