Biblical Hebrew Forum

["B. M. Rocine" <brocine AT twcny.rr.com>]

Hi George,

You wrote,


>  
> Secondly, Naomi is not as old as you think. At the end of the book, she is
> able to nurse (suckle) her grandson. That tells me she's not that old. That
> also tells me that much of what she says is mere rhetoric.
>  
>   
The usual word for nursing (as in breast feeding) is _meyneqet_.  Is is 
not used of Naomi.  Ruth 4:16 says Naomi became her grandson's 
_'omenet_, which means something more like a nanny or foster mother (as 
in a supporter).  It was impossible for Naomi to nurse unless she had 
herself fairly recently given birth which is unlikely since she says, "I 
am too old to be married. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even 
if I were married tonight and I also bore sons, should you wait for them 
to grow up?"

Shalom,
Bryan

--
B.M. Rocine
Living Word Church
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