Biblical Hebrew Forum

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

> >> ... There are many cases in the Hebrew Bible of words being used in
> >> unique senses.
> >> Peter Kirk
> >
> > This is what I call sloppy lexicography, or as Vadim mentioned, sloppy
> > translation.
> >
> Karl and Vadim, you don't know what you are talking about. Go and read
> some real lexicographic scholarship and understand properly what the
> experts do before proclaiming them "sloppy" and setting your untrained
> selves up as their judges.
> -- 
> Peter Kirk

Peter, I understand your zeal in defending the Christian translations, but
I'd like to comment on the credentials. Being amateur doesn't disqualify one
from the discussion; the Masoretes weren't academics, either. Some (many)
years of study the subject matter and teaching qualifies be no worse than
others to form and express my own opinions. I'd also venture to say that I'm
more versed in logic and semiotics than many participants, and my arguments
about the proper translation of words are fully consistent with scientific
approaches.

I don't close the possibility of the unique translations. My argument is
that we must have an overwhelming reason to apply unique sense to the word,
especially when that unique sense is not etyomologically evident. It doesn't
pass the Occam's razor and is entirely improper to assign unique meanings to
the words which are meanignful in the common sense, albeit doesn't have the
meaning the translot desire for exegetical reasons.

Vadim Cherny