Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Shoshanna Walker" <rosewalk AT concentric.net>]

I was reading it wrong

Rashi:

"they themselves would judge":  Heb. יִשְׁפּוּטוּ, same as יִשְׁפֹּטוּ, and 
similarly [we find the verb תעבורי,], “neither shall you go away (לֹא 
תַעִבוּרִי)” (Ruth 2:8), like לֹא תַעֲבוֹרִי. The Targum [Onkelos] renders: 
דַּייְנִין אִינוּן, they judge. The earlier passages(verse 22) were in the 
imperative form. Therefore, they are rendered: וִִידוּנוּן, יַיְתוּן, 
יְדוּנוּן, but these passages [here in verse 26] are expressions of doing 
[and are not imperative].




Shoshanna,

I think you're thinking of the pual imperfect, which (if שפט appeared
in piel) would be ישופטו Y$WP+W. This isn't what's in the text. It's
simply a strange form of the qal imperfect, which I don't think would
be read as a normal qal imperfect consonantally (since even then
having a long vowel marked by a mater lectionis would be odd in that
position).

Regards,
Jason Hare

2009/2/9 Shoshanna Walker <rosewalk AT concentric.net>:
> Doesn't your suggesting mean "they will judge", and the text mean "They 
> will
> be judged by..."?
>
> Shoshanna