Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Vadim Cherny" <VadimCherny AT mail.ru>]

From: "Moshe Shulman"
> The MT translation problem is that it should have the word
> 'et' so that it comes out 'like a lion at my hands and feet.' which
> is descriptive of how the subject is being surrounded by enemies who
> have animal like characteristics.
> (A common theme in this chapter of
> Psalms.) We do find many times the word 'et' being missing when it
> would 'sound' better if it were there, so it is not such a problem,
> but it is difficult.

I don't see why the absence of et is difficult at all. Such absence is very
common, especially in poetic and allegorical texts. When someone speaks
allegorically, we could expect him to be less than strict about grammar.
The phrase, [like a] lion [threatening to bite] my hands and feet, could do
very well without et.
The phrase may be meaningless to Karl because he has a very different
connotation of lion than ancient Hebrews. For them, lion was like a jackal
for modern people.

When we have several spellings, the critical thing is to understand the
reason for deviations. Why the scribes changed the letters? In that case,
the issue is clear. The scribes understood the general sense of "lion, my
hands and feet" but sought to clarify it. They changed the spelling to
reflect the lion's action.

Vadim Cherny