Biblical Hebrew Forum

[David Kummerow <farmerjoeblo AT hotmail.com>]

>  >
>  > You grammarians make mountains out of molehills. There's no oath 
> here, just
>  > simple action and consequence. Why not just take things at face value?
>  >
>
> HH: Because it's a known usage of the phrase )M L), and it fits here,
> and your idea really does not work because there is no specification of
> wrong behavior with yours.
>  >


Exactly. Conklin has recently done an exhaustive analysis of all oath 
formula in the Hebrew Bible. These verses in Job are analysed and fit 
the pattern of oath formula where the curse half is suppressed (be it 
for politeness reasons, assumed cultural knowledge, etc.).

Conklin, Blane W. 2005. “Oath Formulae in Classical Hebrew and Other 
Semitic Languages.” PhD diss., University of Chicago.

From memory, I think the work is now published.

Regards,
David Kummerow.