Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

b-hebrew - Re: [b-hebrew] MX&OP in Gen 30:37

b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Biblical Hebrew Forum

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Isaac Fried <if AT math.bu.edu>
  • To: Yaakov Stein <yaakov_s AT rad.com>
  • Cc: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] MX&OP in Gen 30:37
  • Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2007 18:06:45 -0500

Yaakov,

XSP means 'lift up, raise, elevate, bring forth' and hence by implication 'expose to view, bare, reveal'. It is so in Isaiah 52:10

חָשַׂף יְהוָה אֶת-זְרוֹעַ קָדְשׁוֹ לְעֵינֵי כָּל-הַגּוֹיִם וְרָאוּ כָּל-אַפְסֵי-אָרֶץ אֵת יְשׁוּעַת אֱלֹהֵינוּ

in Jeremiah 13:26, in Isaiah 30:14 and in Isaiah 47:2. Psalms 29:9

קוֹל יְהוָה יְחוֹלֵל אַיָּלוֹת וַיֶּחֱשֹׂף יְעָרוֹת

is more enigmatic. I see the English translators divided over )AYALOT being deer or oaks. Also about the meaning of YXOLEL, being to dance or to generate.
By the equivalence of B, W, P; G, H, X, K, Q; D, Z, T, Y, S, C, $, T we expose [XOSPIM] the immediate relatives of XSP

גדף
הדף
חטף, חצף, חשׂף, חתף
כסף, כשׁף, כתף
קטף, קצף

חטב, חצב, חשׁב
כזב, כשׂב, כתב
קצב, קשׁב

The MA- and the -O- in MA-XS-O-P are in my view personal pronouns. MA- is essentially the stand-alone [before it got grafted onto XASOP] MAH, 'the thing which is'. The internal -O- is a contracted HU), 'he', standing also for the thing itself. These two personal pronouns [identity markers] turn the root XSP into the noun MAXSOP, 'the thing which has the property of XSP'. The initial MA- is needed since XASOP, 'you, expose', is already taken, and so is XASUP, 'he is exposed'. Yet XASIP, with an internal I = HI) for the thing itself, is available, and actually in use in 1 Kings 20:27. Only XASEP is left available, but it is a rare and doubtful "mishkal" [see $ARET of Numbers 4:12].
Hebrew employes now XASIPAH = XAS-I-P-AH for 'exposure', with the two personal pronouns -I- = -AH = HI) standing for the thing itself.

Isaac Fried, Boston University

On Nov 18, 2007, at 6:31 AM, Yaakov Stein wrote:


I was wondering about the grammatical form of the word MX&OP.

The root clearly means "to expose" or "to reveal"
from comparison with Is52:10 and Ps29:9.

I always read the sentence as if it were LX&OP, i.e.
peeling the bark (in order) to expose the white

but Rashi and others remark that MX&OP is GYLWY, i.e.
peeling the bark (and thus) exposing the white

an easier possibility for M--O- is a noun form (similar to MXSOR, MXSOM)
peeling the bark (and discovering) the exposed white

(Incidentally, in modern Hebrew this noun form is used
for an "exposed" neckline.)

However, the first reading requires a L, the second should be X&YPH,
and the third seems to be missing some connectives.

Can anyone explain this grammatical form ?

Yaakov (J) Stein
_______________________________________________
b-hebrew mailing list
b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-hebrew






Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page