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  • From: Rolf Furuli <furuli AT online.no>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] OLAM - Forever or not?
  • Date: Tue, 3 Feb 2009 09:52:36 +0100

Dear George,

I agree that we must not conclude that when we find (WLM in a text, the reference is eternity. While etymology has some limitations, I ask my students about the meaning of the verb (LM, and I point out that "a time whose length is hidden" is the core meaning of the substantive. In the Tanakh it often refer to time that is unending, but as you say, the context must decide.

Norwegian translations of mine of the Ethiopic Kebra Nagast and of many Ugaritic documents were published last year. In both languages we have a cognate word. In Norwegian we have the word "uavgrenset" (unbounded), and I consistently used "uavgrenset tid" (unbounded time) both for the Ethiopic and Ugaritic cognates. Time that is unbounded has a length that is undisclosed or hidden; it may or may not be eternal, and it is now the reader that must decide in each case.

A good translation principle in my view is to render ambiguous words in the source text with ambiguous words in the target text, and leave the interpretation to the readers. Unfortunately, this is not what modern Bible translations do, but in hundreds (I mean hundreds) of instances the translators has made decisions on the part of the readers - often wrong decisions in my view- and the readers do not know that the interpretations of the translators are forced upon them.

In Aramaic, the substantive (LM may have the same meaning as the the Hebrew cognate, but it may also refer to a period of time characterized by particular things/events (the English word "world" for this includes too many things and "age" is too restricted). The Greek word corresponding to (LM/(WLM is AIWN. It often refers to a time period characterized by particular things/events, but interestingly, it may also in particular constructions refer to eternity.

A study of the development of the meanings/references in the mentioned languages could be a fine subject for a MA thesis.


Best regards,

Rolf Furuli
University of Oslo



> Indeed, which is why it makes sense to think of olam as
conveying the notion of time continuing beyond all measure.

Not necessarily. (oLaM simply means 'always'. This may indicate infinite time. However, it might just be a rhetorical way of indicating a fixed norm (e.g., "I always lock the door when I leave"), or a way of saying 'as far as I can see' (e.g. "This will always be a problem"). That is, it refers to a period of time which is not going to be measured, even if that is in fact a finite span of time.

It must not be interpreted as always (excuse the pun) indicating 'forever' - that is, without end. This is within the semantic range of the word, but as with any particular nuance, it must be determined from the given context.

To take a biblical example: Deut 15.17 states "Take an awl and pierce it through his ear into the door, and he becomes your slave forever [ L:(oLaM)." This verse cannot possible mean that the person becomes a slave for eternity. In this case it means 'always' in the sense of 'for life' (cf. Holman CSB translation).

As I always tell my students: "Context is your best friend!"


Regards,

GEORGE ATHAS
Moore Theological College (Sydney, Australia)
www.moore.edu.au



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