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b-hebrew - [b-hebrew] Was Pharaoh "Touched" or "Plagued" by God at Genesis 12: 17?

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  • From: JimStinehart AT aol.com
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [b-hebrew] Was Pharaoh "Touched" or "Plagued" by God at Genesis 12: 17?
  • Date: Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:23:21 EDT


George Athas:

1. You wrote: “[T]he 'core' meaning of NG( is 'to touch'…. In the case you
have mentioned, there is 'touching' happening with 'great touchings'.”

I agree.

2. You wrote: “Yes, the 'core' meaning of NG( is 'to touch', but it is by
no means the full extent of the semantic range. …’Plague’ is perfectly
acceptable within the semantic range.”

I agree.

3. Yet “plague” nevertheless is not a good translation of NG( at Genesis
12: 17, because that translation hides the connection to NG( at Genesis 32:
25/26. The linguistic point I have been trying to make on this thread is
that
YHWH interacts with each of Pharaoh and Jacob in a somewhat similar way, as
shown
by the same Hebrew verb NG( being used at Genesis 12: 17 and Genesis 32:
25/26.

4. You wrote: “I know you'll probably produce an essay in reply to this….”

If anyone wants to read an “essay” of mine on the textual and historical
meaning of Genesis 12: 17, see my response to Yigal Levin’s latest posting on
this thread. I am trying to show the intimate connection between NG( at
Genesis
12: 17 and NG( at Genesis 32: 25/26, so that people will realize that Abraham
does not act in a cowardly or immoral fashion in Egypt. Genesis 12: 18-19 is
official Egyptian government propaganda that is largely false, rather than
proving that Abraham acted in a cowardly and immoral fashion in Egypt. To
see
that, one key is to understand that YHWH communicates with Pharaoh at Genesis
12: 17 in roughly the same way as YHWH communicates with Jacob at Genesis 32:
25/26. That’s why it’s important how NG( is translated at Genesis 12: 17.

5. You wrote: “So, to conclude, IT MEANS ‘PLAGUED’!”


But it’s the same Hebrew verb as is used regarding YHWH’s communication with
Jacob at Genesis 32: 25/26. In my opinion, that linguistic point is of
critical importance in understanding the Patriarchal narratives.

Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois




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