Biblical Hebrew Forum

[jimstinehart AT aol.com]

George Athas:
 
You wrote:  “Apart from that, I wish to say nothing at all about the 
subject as originally posted.”
 
In fact, it would be greatly informative if you would tell us whether, in 
your opinion, the conventional view of Genesis 14:7 is possible, given the 
ordinary meaning of the Hebrew words $WB and GM.
 
1.      If the attackers come from the east and start their military 
campaigning at Ashteroth in the northeast (per Genesis 14: 5), then in my 
view, it 
is impossible that they could “return”/$WB to Kadesh-barnea, a remote 
desert oasis on the border of the Sinai Desert.  That is as far west as the 
attackers ever go, on the conventional view, and as such the attackers from 
the 
east could not have “returned”/$WB to their farthest western point.
 
2.      Likewise, the Hebrew word GM cannot legitimately be viewed as 
meaning “and then they made a 180 degree reversal, and having marched dead 
west 
to make a nonsensical attack on the remote desert oasis of Kadesh-barnea on 
the edge of the Sinai Desert, they now marched dead east to the Dead Sea”.  
The word GM means “also” or “even”, and cannot legitimately be interpreted 
as indicating a 180 degree reversal of direction.  The nuances and overtones 
of GM indicate a continuation, not a complete reversal of course.
 
3.     I am making an argument here based primarily on the Hebrew wording 
of Genesis 14: 7, not based primarily on history.  What I am saying is that 
if the QD$ at Genesis 14: 7 is Kadesh-barnea, and the Hazezon at Genesis 14: 
7 is located on the west bank of the Dead Sea, as conventionally understood, 
then the Hebrew wording of Genesis 14: 7 is impossible.
 
4.     Now compare my proposed understanding and translation of Genesis 14: 
7, where the sentence flows super-smoothly and naturally.  I see the QD$ at 
Genesis 14: 7 as being historical Qadesh of Upper Galilee, not a place 
unattested in secular history by the name QD$ on the border of the Sinai 
Desert. 
 (Note that the text says QD$, not Kadesh-barnea.)  And I see Hazezon as 
being historical Hizzin/Hasi in the northern Bekka Valley, not a place 
unattested in secular history by that name on the west bank of the Dead Sea.
 
Having started the military campaign at Ashteroth and made strikes south of 
Ashteroth, the attackers now “return”/$WB north to the Ashteroth area.  
Always moving north in Genesis 14: 7, the attackers then come to, and pass 
by, 
Qadesh of Galilee.  Continuing to move north as always in this sentence, 
the attackers then enter the southern Bekka Valley (just north of Qadesh of 
Upper Galilee), and proceed north “even”/GM unto the Amorites living at 
Hasi/Hizzin/Hazezon in the northern Bekka Valley. 
 
Note how smoothly the sentence flows, based on my reinterpretation of what 
geographical places QD$ and XCCN are intended to reference. 
 
5.      George, we would all appreciate knowing if in your opinion, 
attackers from the east could “return”/$WB to Kadesh-barnea on the border of 
the 
Sinai Desert, being the farthest point west they ever go, and then the word 
GM indicates that they made a 180 degree reversal of direction and headed 
dead east to the Dead Sea.  My argument on the b-hebrew list is primarily a 
Hebrew language argument.  I do not think that Biblical Hebrew can rightly be 
contorted to fit the conventional understanding of the Hebrew wording of 
Genesis 14: 7.  In my opinion, the conventional, forced translation and 
understanding of Genesis 14: 7 should be abandoned.
 
Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois