Biblical Hebrew Forum

["K Randolph" <kwrandolph AT gmail.com>]

Dear Calvin:

The verb has a wide range of meaning, to focus on the sexual which is a very 
minority use is distorting the understanding. From a concordance, it has a 
meaning: "to reach out to touch, used for all touching from soft caresses to 
a hard blow intended to injure or kill, also for sexual contact" used also 
for such concepts as "a touch of leprosy" or to "touch with a sword in order 
to kill", etc. Thus the reading that this is a touch of some sort of plague 
fits the context best.
 
Karl W. Randolph.


On Fri, Feb 15, 2008 at 11:29 AM, Calvin Lindstrom <pclindstrom AT yahoo.com> 
wrote:

 Dear B-Hebrew,
 
 I have a simple question on Genesis 12:17.
 
 The verb used at the beginning of the verse is ng' which can have a
 sexual usage (Gen. 20:6). Is it correct to see irony in this story at
 this point? Verse 15 speaks of Sarai being taken into Pharaoh's
 house. Verse 16 speaks of Avram being treated well for Sarai's sake.
 And now in verse 17, where we might expect to read the Pharaoh
 touched (sexually) Sarai, we  instead read that YHWH touched
 (plagued) Pharaoh and his house.
 
 Any comments would be helpful.
 
 Calvin Lindstrom
 Church of Christian Liberty
 Arlington Heights, IL
 www.christianliberty.com