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  • From: Isaac Fried <if AT math.bu.edu>
  • To: kenneth greifer <greifer AT hotmail.com>
  • Cc: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] feast for ears? Psalm 40:7
  • Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2007 18:02:04 -0500

Kenneth,

The closing H in the root KRH is a mere filler instituted to complete the root to a three-literal form. It is but a stunted HI), 'he-she', which appears in the verbal form KARITA = KAR-HI)-ATAH as YI. The final ATAH is for God.
The presence of the letter R in the root indicates that all acts and names derived from it refer to taking something apart or to putting something together. We find it in the following senses: 'dig, hollow out, excavate, tear up the earth', [Genesis 50:5]; 'pileup, spread, assemble, set up a feast', [2Kings 6:23]; 'acquire, purchase, tear away', [Deuteronomy 2:6].
Derived from KR [or QR] are: KIR, 'stove, coals holding dish, fire pit', [Leviticus 11:35], Q(AR-AH, 'dish, plate, bowl', [Exodus 25:29], KIYOR, 'sink', [Exodus 30:18], KAR, 'pile, pillow', [Genesis 31:34], KOR, 'heap', [1 Kings 5:2], KUR, 'crucible', [Deuteronomy 4:20], MI-KREH, 'mine, pit', [Zephaniah 2:9], KER-AH, 'feast, heap of food', [2 Kings 6:23], M-KOR-AH, 'place of birth, origin', [Ezekiel 29:14], and M-KER-AH, 'ax?', [Genesis 49:5].
By the equivalence assumption of G, H, X, K, Q, and by interchanging the filler letters we write the family:

גרא, גרע, גרה
הרה
חרא, חרה
כרה, כרע
קרא, קרה, קרע

אגר, אחר, אכר, עכר, עקר

גוּר, גיר, גער, גרוֹן
חוּר, חוֹר
כוּר, כוֹר
קוּר, קיר, קוֹרה, קער

גרר, גרגר, הרר, הרהר, חרר, חרחר, כרכר, קרר

Also related to KRH is the root KRT
כרת
'fell'.
Spoken Hebrew has K(R in the sense of 'mar, deface, damage, pit', and hence 'ugly'.

It appears to me that the poet's claim in Psalms 40:7 is that God is attentively listening to him [tearing wide open his ears, clearing his ear canal, so to speak] gratis, just out of sheer affection and admiration for his poetic skill and utter devotion [see also 40:2]. By this interpretation the ears are God's ears, not the poet's. The poet appears to be saying to God You opened your ears to me [to my pleadings], and not You opened my own ears [to your wishes].
The KJV translates it [so also the JPS] as "mine ears hast thou opened". The NAB adds on his own, by way of explanation, "to obedience".

Isaac Fried, Boston University

On Nov 16, 2007, at 1:32 PM, kenneth greifer wrote:


Maybe Psalm 40:7 could say "a sacrifice and a gift offering You did not desire, ears You have prepared (provided) for me, a burnt offering and a sin offering You did not ask." Maybe G-d prepared his ears to listen to G-d or the ears of the listeners who he would tell G-d's greatness to in Psalm 40:10-11. It sounds strange, but then it is poetry, so maybe it is a poetic way of saying G-d provided people to listen to him.

Kenneth Greifer
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