Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

b-hebrew - [b-hebrew] Definite Article 7:14

b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Biblical Hebrew Forum

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: JoeWallack AT aol.com
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [b-hebrew] Definite Article 7:14
  • Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2007 10:30:13 EDT


Harold Holmyard:

"Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar_ treats the definite article here as special

but as an example of a category of usage (section #126 q-r). They say:

"Peculiar to Hebrew is the employment of the article to denote a single

person or thing (primarily one which is as yet unknown, and therefore

not capable of being defined) as being present in the mind under given

circumstances. In such cases in English the indefinite article is mostly

used."


The go on to speak particularly of this article in Isaiah 7:14: "H(LMH,

i.e., the particular maiden, through whom the prophet's announcement

shall be fulfilled; we should say "a maiden."

For other examples of this class of usage they give, among others, Gen

42:23; 1 Kings 19:9; Job 9:31."


Joseph:

"Gesenius is dated, so in my opinion it should generally not be used. The
above is an example of why. That the Hebrew word for the definite article
would sometimes have a meaning of the indefinite article is a
contradiction. Specifically here Gesenius changed his opinion in general
regarding the meaning of the Hebrew definite article as well as its
application to 7:14 (that the definite article is indeed intended) in a
subsequent publication."


Peter Kirk

"Your quotation comes from, or is unchanged in, the 1910 second English
edition of Gesenius as revised by Kautzsch and translated by Cowley
(GKC). Gesenius himself passed away in 1842. So he can hardly have
changed his opinion subsequent to 1910. If GKC does not agree with what
Gesenius himself wrote on this issue, that must be because Kautzsch or
Cowley had a different opinion from Gesenius, perhaps informed by nearly
70 years advance in scholarship. Of course with the benefit of another
nearly 100 years of scholarship we may want to make further revisions.
But we shouldn't attribute our new opinions to Gesenius.

Meanwhile it is certainly true that the definite article is used in
subtly different ways in different languages. Listen carefully to a
mother tongue speaker of German, French or Spanish who doesn't speak
English very well, and you will spot a number of unexpected uses of the
definite article. The differences between Hebrew and English usages are
doubtless even greater. So your argument against GKC's explanation "That
the Hebrew word for the definite article would sometimes have a meaning
of the indefinite article is a contradiction" cannot stand. In fact
there is a particular context in which Hebrew uses the (usually
definite) article and English uses the indefinite article, and there is
no contradiction.

But I would not want to defend the GKC interpretation of Isaiah 7:14."


Joseph:
The problem with using 19th century authorities is that they normally no
longer have the ability to communicate. Another problem is 19th century
editors
over-editing. In Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament,
Reprinted 1999, Copyright 1979 Baker, based on First edition Gesenius'
Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon published by Bagster 1847, on page 634 the Editor
finishes
Gesenius' entry on
"almah" with "[...The absolute authority of the New Test. is, however, quite
sufficient to settle the question to a Christian.]. Not the type of Editor I
would want trying to present to me what Gesenius meant (I should say that
here Gesenius makes clear that "almah" means "a girl of marriageable age" and

not virgin).

"Lehrgebäude" was Gesenius' previous grammatical work that he refers to as
"Lehrg.". On page 211 of Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old
Testament, based on Gesenius' later work, he discusses the letter, HEH:

"(2) the definite article,...similar laws are followed in Heb. as in Gr. and
in modern languages;...It will be well, however, to treat with care, a
subject which has been discussed of late...and on this, it will be well to
add
some original observations. The question has been raised...whether the
definite
article can ever be used for the indefinite. To this it must be replied, that

the definite article can never rightly be said to be used for the
indefinite;"

This indicates that Gesenius' thinking has changed on the subject and he is
now more inclined to see a straight-forward meaning to the Hebrew definite
article. What follows is where Gesenius now sees exceptions:

"however, there are many ideas which would be thought of and expressed as
definite by the Hebrews, which, from their being taken indefinitely in Greek,

German, French [or English], would be without the article;...The
peculiarities
in the Hebrew usage, in this matter, may be arranged in certain classes,
almost all of which, however, rest on the principle that the article is
prefixed
to known things."

Here Gesenius is now referring to idioms. Note that "[or English]" is the
Editor's contribution. Gesenius generally uses European languages for
comparison. Regarding:

"In such cases in English the indefinite article is mostly used."

above, is this the Editor's comment?

Gesenius goes on to categorize this exception as follows:

(a) to nouns which denote objects and classes of things which are known to
all.

(b) to abstract nouns

(c) after the article of comparison

(d) prefixed to collectives

Now there is no longer any category fitting:

"treats the definite article here as special

but as an example of a category of usage (section #126 q-r). They say:

"Peculiar to Hebrew is the employment of the article to denote a single

person or thing (primarily one which is as yet unknown, and therefore

not capable of being defined) as being present in the mind under given

circumstances."

Gesenius continues:

"After these remarks it is needless to state that there is no noun, which
has the article, which both cannot and even ought not to be taken
definitely."

So, per Gesenius here, if a Hebrew author used the definite article, the
author intended a definite subject although if an idiom is used, another
language may translate with the indefinite article if it falls within one of
the
above categories. And, as the Brits say. "the cruncher", Gesenius says:

"As to the instances which I formerly brought forward in contradiction to
this (Lehrg. p.655), they may be explained as follows"

So, in the words of Earnest in the classic The Importance of Being Earnest,
when it was revealed at the very end that his name really was Earnest, "As I
said."



Joseph











************************************** AOL now offers free email to everyone.
Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.




Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page