Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Steve Miller" <smille10 AT sbcglobal.net>]

> Steve Miller wrote:
> > Re. Hag 2:7. I believe it should be translated "the desire of all
> > thenations shall come", not "the desirable things of the nations shall
> > come"because "desire" is singular. The verb "come" is plural, which I
> > thinkindicates that the desire of all the nations is actually God
> Himself.
> 
> HH: This seems like an ad hoc explanation of the grammatical
> phenomenon. J. Alec Motyer ( _Haggai_ in _The Minor Prophets_, ed.
> Thomas Edward McComisky, 3:991) finds the plural verb a real hindrance
> to the Messianic interpretation since the verb requires a plural
> subject. He thinks we could say with GKC #145b, d that the plural verb
> points to "chemdath" being taken as a collective: "treasures." Or he
> thinks with GKC #124r we can suppose that, since "chemdath" is in
> construction with "goyim," the whole phrase can be taken as a plural. He
> does not feel that it is necessary to emend the first noun "chemdath" to
> a plural as BHS suggests. Both of his suggestions are well-attested
> grammatical phenomena and give better solutions to Hag 2:7 than the one
> offered by Steve.
> 
Harold,
[Steve Miller] Harold,
Could you give me 3 examples of this well-attested phenomena so that I can
judge for myself whether it really applies here?

The singular subject "God" taking a plural verb or pronoun is well-attested
in Scripture also. (Gen 1:26; 11:7; 3:22; Isa 6:8; 41:22) Why do you say it
is ad-hoc?

In Hag. 2:7, habayith hazeh, "this very house", must refer to the 2nd
temple. How do you understand that the treasures of the nations came to the
2nd temple after the time of Haggai's prophecy? 

Also, shouldn't treasures "be brought", not "come" to the temple?

Thank you for your patience,
-Steve Miller
Detroit
www.voiceinwilderness.info