Biblical Hebrew Forum

[K Randolph <kwrandolph AT gmail.com>]

Dear B-Hebrew Haburim:
I decided early on that if I ran into a verse I didn’t understand, that I
would skip over it and when I learned more Hebrew come back to it the next
time I read it. That way I wouldn’t get discouraged and stop reading.
Secondly, by the time I read the text a few times, I had learned enough
Hebrew that I could understand most of what stumped me before.

However, some verses defy easy reading, even after looking at them many
times. This is one of them.

ארח חיים פן תפלס נעו מעגלתיה לא תדע׃

)RX XYYM PN TPLS N(W M(SLTYH L) TD(

In looking at the context, the subject should be the strange woman, so the
main verbs should be feminine. The focus changes in the next verse.

“Lest she make life’s trail smooth, it is crooked; she does not know her
paths.”

That’s my present understanding. Any thoughts?

Karl W. Randolph.