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  • From: Harold Holmyard <hholmyard3 AT earthlink.net>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] ISA 42:3 LE'EMET
  • Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2007 22:39:54 -0500

B. M. Rocine wrote:
Thank you for your answers.

'emet is a noun! Ah, yes, right you are! ;-)

But it is very common for a noun in the genitive case (the one at the end of a construct chain) to be used adjectivally. har qodshi = my holy mountain The noun qodshi is not best thought of as "my holiness"; it is better thought of as an adjective. See Waltke and O'Connor 9.5.3 if you are not familiar with this type of idiom. 'emet is used this way in the construction 'anshey 'emet as I mentioned. I can think of'elohey 'emet ("true God"), sephat 'emet ("truthful speech"), and others, I imagine.

le'emet is not straightforward. It is the only case of lamed being prefixed to the noun 'emet, which we all know is very often prefixed by bet. In fact, except for Isa 42:3 bet is the *only* clitic preposition used with 'emet. Only two or three other times is the independent-standing preposition 'el before 'emet.
Maybe Isa 42:3 is a "typo." ;-)

Hh: Look, this is not a typo. The construction is very straight forward, and there is really no controversy about it. It is not complicated at all but a quite common use of lamed. See Ronald J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, #273, the lamed of norm or manner. He even cites this phrase in Isa 42:3 as an example, translating it "faithfully."

Yours,
Harold Holmyard




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