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b-hebrew - Re: [b-hebrew] Gen. 2:16-17 :: idiom or clumsy lie

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  • From: "Isaac Fried" <if AT math.bu.edu>
  • To: "'Yonah Mishael'" <yonahmishael AT gmail.com>
  • Cc: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Gen. 2:16-17 :: idiom or clumsy lie
  • Date: Thu, 30 Nov 2006 02:49:02 -0500


Let’s consider some of the affixed personal pronouns in the words of Genesis
2:16-17:
כִּי בְּיוֹם אֲכָלְךָ מִמֶּנּוּ--מוֹת תָּמוּת
אֲכָלְ+ךָ=אֲכָלְךָ, where the suffixed ךָ is a curtailed אכה, which is a
variant of אתה, ‘you’. This pronoun is obsolete as a stand alone, but is
very much alive in compounds. The corresponding feminine is אך, for the
distinct את. The pronoun refers to Adam.
תָּמוּת= תָּ+מוּת, where תָּ is a curtailed אתה referring also to Adam.
מִמֶּנּוּ= מִמֶּנּ+וּ, where וּ is a curtailed הוא ‘he’. This pronoun refers
to the tree.

The moral of this story is that knowledge will never save us from death.
Isaac Fried




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