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  • From: JimStinehart AT aol.com
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [b-hebrew] 6-Month "Year"
  • Date: Thu, 25 Oct 2007 14:43:38 EDT


Russ Bellon:
You wrote: "Pharaoh's Cup bearer would have spoken in Eqyptian. Whatever
Egyptian word was used would have had its own subtle connotative
distinctions.
We can assume that some shade of meaning overlapped with the Hebrew word
used
to record the conversation but beyond that arguing the distinctions unique
to na'ar is not going to prove your theory."
O.K., then let's stick with the narrator and Canaan, when the narrator is
talking to us in Hebrew, and the locale is Canaan.
1. At Genesis 37: 2, Joseph is a "na'ar" at stated age 17. That makes
perfect sense if Joseph is age 17 "years", in 6-month "years", being age 8½
regular years. Joseph is not a servant, so it would not make sense for the
narrator to refer to Joseph as a "na'ar"/boy if Joseph were age 17 regular
years,
which was full adulthood in the ancient world.
2. Isaac is twice called a "na'ar" in the binding incident. Genesis 22: 5,
12 Is Isaac age 37 regular years? No way. Isaac is a bit naïve, but he's
not that slow in his development. No, Isaac is probably age 15 regular
years, in which case his father Abraham would then be age 65 regular years.
Though these ages are not explicitly stated in the text, it fits in with all
the
stated ages and time periods in the text to view Abraham as being age 130
"years", in 6-month "years", which is awkward 13, tenfold, during the
awkward
binding incident. Similarly, we know for sure that Jacob will be awkward
age
130 "years", in 6-month "years", which is awkward 13, tenfold, when Jacob
takes the awkward, though necessary, action of leading all the Hebrews out
of
the Promised Land of Canaan into Egypt. Genesis 47: 9 Note that Jacob says
to
Pharaoh, using a translator, that the years of Jacob's life to date have
been
"few". Certainly Jacob cannot be age 130 regular years. Jacob is age 65
regular years.
3. Every single age in the Patriarchal narratives makes perfect sense.
Only boys or servants are called "na'ar" in the Patriarchal narratives.
Isaac
and Esau do not wait until age 40 regular years to marry. Isaac does not
marry
a woman who is age 30 regular years, which would already be beyond the
normal childbearing age in the ancient world. Jacob is not in his 70s in
regular
years when he weds. Sarah is not physically attractive to Pharaoh when she
is age 65 regular years, nor does Sarah bear Isaac at age 90 regular years.
Why go with the scholarly view of ages in the Patriarchal narratives when
such scholarly view makes no sense? The 6-month "year" view makes sense out
of
every single stated age in the Patriarchal narratives.
Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois



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