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  • From: "JAMES CHRISTIAN READ" <JCR128 AT student.apu.ac.uk>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [b-hebrew] Tehom: Divine or Not Divine?
  • Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 00:54:21 +0100

Yitzhak wrote:
But in light of the
similarity in form and structure between these two
parallelisms
END QUOTE

JCR: While we are considering parallels it seems that
there is a most important parallel that we are not really
focusing on but should be as it is the most relevant.

וחשך על פני תהום ורוח אלהים מרחפת על פני המים

In this parallel we see the form al p:ney (on the face
of) used twice. It is clear from this context that
'Tehom', be it a real proper noun or merely a grammatical
nuance, is paralleled with 'the two waters' (hamayim).

If we are to insist that Tehom is proper noun an idiomatic
rendition could be 'and darkness was on Tehom's surface
and Elohim's breath was on the two waters' surface'.
Even if we were to translate Tehom as a proper noun
the intuitive reader would easily spot that the proper
noun 'Tehom' is being used as a parallel of the waters.

James C. Read
Uk





























7�ם ורוח אלהים מרחפת על פני המים

In this parallel we see the form al p:ney (on the face
of) used twice. It is clear from this context that
'Tehom', be it a real proper noun or merely a grammatical
nuance, is paralleled with 'the two waters' (hamayim).

If we are to insist that Tehom is proper noun an idiomatic
rendition could be 'and darkness was on Tehom's surface
and Elohim's breath was on the two waters' surf





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