Biblical Hebrew Forum

[James Read <J.Read-2 AT sms.ed.ac.uk>]

Hi,

http://63.249.123.11/bib/poly/eze042.htm

found this useful parallel text online. It would seem that both the  
Greek and the Latin tradition are in agreement with the 500 reading.

It would make sense for the other verses not to stipulate the unit of  
measurement.

Imagine in English the following two texts (from spoken descriptions).

a) The living room was 5 metres by 7 metres. The bathroom was 2 metres  
by 3 metres. The bedroom was 4 metres by 3 metres.

b) The living room was 5 metres by 7 metres. The bathroom was 2 by 3.  
The bedroom was 4 by 3.

Which one seems more natural? A common feature of language is that we  
economise where possible and we let the context provide the missing  
words.

James Christian

Quoting Daniel Buck <bucksburg AT yahoo.com>:

> The question arises in Ezekiel 42:16-19 as to the exact dimensions   
> of the Courtyard in Ezekiel's Temple. Are they in cubits ('MH) or   
> rods (QNH)? I'd like some help sorting out the differences between   
> the Kethib and Qere readings.
> Kethib apparently reads XM$ 'MW+ QNIM (five cubits rods) whilst Qere  
>  reads XM$ M'W+ QNIM (five hundred rods). But this is only in v. 16;  
>  the other verses just have XM$ M'W+ without stipulating the unit of  
>  measurement.
>
> If the Temple courtyard were 500 rods square, it would be 36 times   
> larger than if it were 500 cubits square. Most translators appear to  
>  opt for cubits across the board, but is there any real evidence for  
>  this reading from the MT?
>
> Daniel Buck
>
>
>
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