Biblical Hebrew Forum

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

Kenneth:
Literally, "and he rose up like a sucker…" This is a horticultural term
referring to a growth from the root of a tree, i.e. the start of a new
trunk, that is almost always not wanted as it detracts from the fruit
bearing and strength of the main trunk. As a result, farmers watch out for
them and cut them off as soon as they are spotted.

Makes perfect sense as written.

"And he rose up like a sucker before him, and as a root from dry ground he
had no form nor grandeur, we saw him and he had no looks that we should
covet him ("covet" = to desire a particular individual or thing, not a
generalized desire)." Translate from poetry to prose: his presence was
unwanted, and his looks were nothing special.

This is in the context of God's "slave" introduced in Isaiah 52:13, giving a
picture of how he is rejected, much in the same way as the stone which the
builders rejected became the corner stone (Psalm 118).

Karl W. Randolph.

On Wed, Dec 3, 2008 at 10:23 AM, kenneth greifer <greifer AT hotmail.com>wrote:

>
> Sometimes I like to see if quotes make sense if the letters in Hebrew were
> divided a little differently.
>
> Maybe Isaiah 53:2 could say "and rose up like mud (wet soil) (yud vav nun)
> the announcement (koof vav lamed as koof lamed) of his presence, and like a
> root from dry ground no form is to it and no glory (no adornment), we saw
> him and not an image, and we desired him."
>
> This is a wild guess, but wet soil and dry ground in the quote sound
> related kind of, and the usual translation does not explain why he did not
> have a form, but mud would not have a form.
>
> Kenneth Greifer
>
>