Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Brak <Brak AT neo.rr.com>]

Yigal Levin wrote:

> Dear "Brak" (or is it John? - please sign you posts in such a way that we 
> know who we are answering),
>
>  

If you look at the end of my email I do have it signed with my name, 
John Steven, which is followed by a Fulton J. Sheen quote. Nowhere did 
my email have the word Brak in it. So I'm not sure what you are 
complaining about. I have no idea why you are seeing Brak, except for my 
actual email address which is brak AT neo.rr.com - so maybe its something 
with your email client.

> Think of the expression "a living soul" in English. The "soul" is somthing 
> that all living beings (or at least humans - I have no intention of opening 
> up a debate on that) have - and so one may refer to all people as "living 
> souls", as in, "I walked down the street, and there was not a living soul 
> there".
>
> While Nefe$ Xayah is more "spirit" then "soul", the ancients considered a 
> person's breathing as evidence of his being alive - thus the use of the same 
> word for "spirit" and for "breath". "Ne$amah" has a similar meaning. So you 
> might translate vss. 20, 21, 24 as "beathing, living creatures" (even for 
> fish!), and 30 as "creatures with the breath of life".
>
> Yigal Levin
>
>  
There is a lot of different opinions about what a soul is and things 
related to that. For example as a SDA I believe that we are a soul - we 
don't have one. But that is really niehter here nor there in regards to 
my question.

Maybe I wasn't clear in my initial post, so allow me to restate my question:
Why is the identical phrase used and translated in two different ways - 
in one passage as the item - in another passage as a possession. In Gen 
1:20, 21, 24 a NEFE$ XAY.FH is the person, fish, bird, etc. But in 1:30 
a NEFE$ XAY.FH is in the person, fish, bird, etc.
Is there some kind of grammer markings to indicate the change of usage 
that I am not seeing. Its pointed the same in all examples listed. Also 
a correction, in 1:21 its NEFE$ HAXAY.FH - so let remove that one for 
discussion do to the difference.

So again why is the phrase NEFE$ XAY.FH treated different in 1:20,24 
from 1:30?



B"H
John Steven

"If you don't behave as you believe, you will end by believing as you 
behave."
-Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen.






> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Brak" <Brak AT neo.rr.com>
> To: <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2007 10:36 AM
> Subject: [b-hebrew] Nefesh - Breath or Breather
>
>
>  
>
> > In Gen 1:20, 1:21, 1:24, and 1:30  we have the phrase NEFE$ XAY.FH
> >
> > In 1:20, 1:21, and 1:24 the phrase is usually translated as "living
> > creature".
> > But in 1:30 it is usually translated as "breath of life".
> >
> > So it appears that in 1:20,21,24 NEFE$ XAY.FH  is being translated to be
> > referring to the item being spoken of (the "breather"), while in 1:30 is
> > appears to be translated as something which the item being spoken of has
> > (the "breath").
> >
> > Can someone help me make heads or tails of this.
> >
> >
> > --
> >
> > B"H
> > John Steven
> >
> > "If you don't behave as you believe, you will end by believing as you
> > behave."
> > -Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen.
> > _______________________________________________
> > b-hebrew mailing list
> > b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
> > http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-hebrew
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > No virus found in this incoming message.
> > Checked by AVG Free Edition.
> > Version: 7.5.446 / Virus Database: 269.5.1/765 - Release Date: 17/04/2007 
> > 17:20
> >
> >
> >    
>
> _______________________________________________
> b-hebrew mailing list
> b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-hebrew
>
>