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  • From: Harold Holmyard <hholmyard AT ont.com>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Haggai 2:7 and Isaiah 41:22
  • Date: Mon, 20 Nov 2006 09:48:45 -0600

kenneth greifer wrote:
Steve Miller wrote an email on November 19 about Haggai 2:7 having a singular noun "desire" used with a plural verb and the word "us" in Isaiah 41:22 being about G-d.

Can't Haggai 2:7 be the plural "desires" or "desired things" the way it is spelled?

HH: The Masoretic pointing suggests a singular to the grammarians. Since you are not "that educated," you need to accept their judgment.

Do all plural nouns (feminine) have to have the vav and tav at the end written out to show the word is plural? Aren't the desired things the silver and gold mentioned next? I know this was all discussed before, but honestly it was a little too difficult for me to understand since I am not that educated like other people on this list. I need an easier explanation, if possible.

HH: Hebrew grammarians also say that the singular can indicate a plural idea here, either as a collective singular or as repointed to a plural according to the Greek OT.
Also about the "us" in Isaiah 41:22, couldn't that be about the isles and people G-d said to come near and talk and make a decision in Isaiah 41:1? Isaiah 41:5 discusses how the isles make idols, so G-d wants them to tell the future in Isaiah 41:21-22, so G-d, the isles, and the peoples of Isaiah 41:1 can decide if the idols are real gods or not.

HH: Yes, you're right that Isa 41:22 can include others besides God in speaking of "us." Thanks for pointing out this fact. The preceding and following verses both suggest that limiting "us" to God would be unwise. Earlier verses suggest that others besides God are thinking about what either God or the idols will do:

Is. 41:19 I will put in the desert the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive. I will set pines in the wasteland, the fir and the cypress together,
Is. 41:20 so that people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it.

HH: And a subsequent verse suggests that the reaction comes from others besides God, since it might be inappropriate for God to be afraid of somebody else:

Is. 41:23 tell us what the future holds, so we may know that you are gods. Do something, whether good or bad, so that we will be dismayed and filled with fear.

Yours,
Harold Holmyard








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