Biblical Hebrew Forum

[K Randolph <kwrandolph AT gmail.com>]

To All:
ארח חיים פן־תפלס נעו מעגלתיה לא תדע׃

Every time I read this, I stop and puzzle over it. And when I look at
translations, it is obvious that I am not the only one.

One option is that here we have a corrupted text.

Another that came to me this morning is that פן PN does not mean “lest”
rather it is the imperative of פנה PNH meaning “to face, turn towards”.

Any thoughts?

Karl W. Randolph.