Biblical Hebrew Forum

[dwashbur AT nyx.net]

Karl,

On 29 May 2008 at 12:08, K Randolph wrote:

> Dear B-Hebrew friends:
>
> While reading through Deuteronomy, I found myself thrown for a loop in
> trying to understand the following: (now watch it be some simple thing that
> I overlooked that opens the key)
>
>
> ZKR YMWT (WLM BYNW $NWT DWR WDWR
> Where to divide it between two sections? What are the verbs, subjects?

Just at a glance, it looks to me like

Remember the days of old (for the form, see Holladay under YWM),
Understand the years of succeeding generations.

> From this second half it looks as if the verbs should be imperatives, but
> are they? The traditional pointing is that they are imperatives. But to fit
> the context, they then should be all singular imperatives.

True, but such a mix of singular and plural is not unheard-of, and seems to 
happen a lot in
poetry.

One way to read
> this is that this verse is a continuation from verse six, "Remember, their
> injustice dies, years have insight to generations" to which the second half
> of the verse then commands to ask about it. Or another reading, "Remembrance
> dies forever, its insight to change in generations" or again, "Remembrance
> dies forever, its insight years of generations" or a final guess on my part,
> "Remember days of the past, years have insight to generations" or maybe a
> different combination.

The context seems to suggest that the basic thrust is, when you think about 
abandoning
your God, remember where you came from and how your predecessors came to 
inhabit this
land, how it was God who brought it about.  If you want verification, ask 
your father and the
elders.  That's how I read it, anyway.

Dave Washburn
"I'll hold the nail.  And when I nod my head, you hit it with the hammer."