Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Steve Miller" <smille10 AT sbcglobal.net>]

> From: JBarach AT aol.com Sent: Monday, February 18, 2008 7:42 PM
> 
> BHaverim --
> 
> In Ps. 55:23b, I see that most translations say something like "He will
> never let the righteous be shaken."  Whence comes the "never,"  though?
> 
> It appears that the translation never comes from "not" (lo') and "forever"
> (l'olam).  Is that the normal idiom for expressing the idea that
> something
> will "never" happen?  Is the psalm saying that the righteous will  NEVER
> be
> shaken?  Or is it saying that the righteous will NOT be shaken  FOREVER?
> The
> latter would imply that the righteous may certainly be shaken  for a time,
> but that
> that time of shaking will come to an end.
> 
> Help!
> 
> John

I think this is a very good question.

DATA:

I looked up all verses containing lo' with l`olam and also bl with l`olam.

**There are 8 instances of lo' <verb> [<subj> <objs>] l`olam:
5 unambiguously mean NOT <verb> FOREVER: Gen 6:3; Jer 3:12; Lam 3:31; Joel
2:26-27

The other 3 could be taken either way, but almost all translations that I
checked translate it as NEVER. The only that don't are the extremely literal
YLT and Greene's literal, which leave the interpretation to the reader. Ps
15:5; 55:23; Isa 14:20.

**There are 4 instances of lo' l`olam <verb>.
All 4 are unambiguously NOT <verb> FOREVER: Job 7:16; Ps 103:9; Prov 27:24
(no verb. "is" implied after l`olam); Isa 57:16. 

**There are 3 instances of l`olam lo' <verb>.
All 3 are unambiguously NEVER: Ps 112:6; 119:93; Isa 25:2
You might take Ps 112:6a either way, but considering the 2nd 1/2 of the
verse, I think it should clearly be NEVER. Ps 112:6 uses the same verb as Ps
55:23.

** There are 2 instances of bl <verb> l`olam
Ps 30:6; Ps 104:5. Both are unambiguously NEVER, and both use the same verb
as Ps 55:23 "moved".

**There is 1 instance of l`olam bl <verb>
I think it is unambiguously NEVER. Prov 10:30. It is also the same verb as
Ps 55:23.

-------------------------------
MY ANALYSIS:
When the lo' directly precedes l'olam, it is "forever" that is being negated
rather than the verb. So the meaning in this case is always "NOT FOREVER"
rather than "NEVER".

When the lo' directly precedes the verb, the verb is being negated rather
than l'olam. 
In the case of "lo' <verb> l`olam" this can have 2 possible meanings: "(not
moved) forever" which means "never moved" OR "not (moved forever)" which
means moved for some time period, but not forever. So this construct could
go either way. This is the one used in Ps 55:23.
In the case of l`olam lo' <verb>, only the verb is being negated, so it is
unambiguously "forever (not moved)", which means "never moved".

When bl is used instead of lo': bl is a more specific negative than bl. bl
only negates a verb (or an implied "is"). bl always negates just the verb,
not a phrase. So "bl <verb> l`olam" and "l`olam bl <verb>" both mean "never
<verb>" i.e. "never moved". 
------------------------------------------
MY CONCLUSION:

Taken by itself Ps 55:23 could mean either "never moved" or "not (moved
forever)". However when you consider similar, unambiguous verses with the
same verb and thought (Ps 30:6; 104:5; 112:6; Prov 10:30;), they all mean
"never moved". Thus, I believe the meaning of Ps 55:23b is "never be moved".

Sincerely,
-Steve Miller
Detroit
www.voiceInWilderness.info
I have called on You, for You answer me.
Incline Your ear, God. Hear what I say.
Show wondrously Your right hand of mercy.
Save those who trust from those who self-raise. (Psalm 17:6-7)