Biblical Hebrew Forum

["K Randolph" <kwrandolph AT gmail.com>]

Sameer, Lisbeth, Harold, et al.:

I agree with Sameer that we ought confine ourselves first to the
question, is "evil" the correct translation of the term R(? After
that, and only after that, should we ask what is and what is not R(.

My understanding of the term "evil" is that it always includes a moral
aspect, is that not true?

Examples of R( in Tanakh include uses that, though they are
displeasurable to the suffering of harm, they do not include the moral
aspect.

Therefore, my conclusion is that "evil" is an incorrect translation
for R(. I have suggested that "harm" or something similar is a better
translation.

Shall we discuss this linguistic aspect, or shall I join with Sameer
in requesting that the moderators shut down this thread?

Karl W. Randolph.

On 9/10/06, Lisbeth S. Fried <lizfried AT umich.edu> wrote:
> Dear Sameer, Moderator, et. al.
> I thought we were discussing the meaning of ra' in Isaiah 45:7.
> Liz
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: b-hebrew-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:b-hebrew-
> >
> > Moderator?  Isn't the question of theodicy outside the scope of this
> > discussion list (unless it is discussed in connection with elucidating
> some
> > feature of a corpus of Hebrew texts or their ANE context)?
> >
> > - sameer yadav