Biblical Hebrew Forum

[K Randolph <kwrandolph AT gmail.com>]

Jim:

On Tue, Aug 4, 2009 at 7:06 AM, <JimStinehart AT aol.com> wrote:

>  The two Egyptian officials in chapter 40 of Genesis whom Pharaoh suspects 
> of some terrible crime are the Chief Cupbearer and the Chief “Baker”/)PH.  
> The Chief Baker is then found guilty of some unspecified, terrible crime by 
> Pharaoh (just as Joseph had correctly predicted), and the “Baker” is 
> impaled/TLH.  Genesis 40:  20-22  [Robert Alter sees TLH as being properly 
> translated as “impaled” in this particular context.  “Genesis” at p. 232.]
>
>
Oh, so this is the argument, the interpretation of Robert Alter? Where is
his evidence? He was caught in another discussion with no linguistic
evidence to back himself up, could the same be true here?

> Neither of these officials was involved with foreign affairs,
>
>
Oh? Where is your evidence? Do the records survive that well from Pharaoh
Zoser’s reign that you can definitely say that at least one of these did not
secretly conspire with outside enemies in an effort to elevate himself to
pharaoh?

 …  But Egyptian domestic officials were almost never impaled!  Heavens.
>
>
LOL! When I see this, I have to laugh. First because of the questionable
translation, and secondly your reaction for which you have no evidence.


>   What’s going on here?  Egyptian domestic officials might routinely be 
> guilty of embezzlement, but they would not get impaled for that.  No way.
>
>
LOL!  Again your reaction is so off the wall, not conforming with history,
that it is a laugh.

You have made a judgment based on a questionable translation and on your own
presuppositions, then built up a whole narration based on it. This is the
sort of thing that conspiracy theorists do.

> Jim Stinehart
>
> Evanston, Illinois
>
>
Karl W. Randolph.