Biblical Hebrew Forum

[JoeWallack AT aol.com]

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.