Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Yigal Levin <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il>]

Dear Shoshanna,

Please give me one place in which the root Sha'al means "dedicated".

Before stating that someone else's undersanding is ridiculous, have a look 
at Rashi: "Like a man who lends a tool to his master for his use... The Holy 
One Bless Him becomes a lender, and must return him to me".

Radaq (Rabbi David Qimhi) has what I think is a nice idea: "I have returned 
to Him a loan that he has given me".

In any case, both of them understood the word "Sha'al" as "lend" and tried 
to deal with it in different ways, rather than making up a new meaning for 
the word.


Yigal Levin


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Shoshanna Walker" <rosewalk AT concentric.net>
To: <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Sunday, October 29, 2006 6:30 AM
Subject: [b-hebrew] 1 Sam:1:28


> 27:  This is the child who I prayed for; Hashem granted me my request
> that I asked of Him.
> 28:  Furthermore, I have DEDICATED him to Hashem - all the days that
> he lives he is dedicated to Hashem.
>
> What a ridiculous notion - to "lend" a person to G-d.
>
> Shoshanna