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  • From: fred burlingame <tensorpath AT gmail.com>
  • To: Arnaud Fournet <fournet.arnaud AT wanadoo.fr>
  • Cc: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] lock without a key
  • Date: Wed, 3 Nov 2010 14:51:37 -0500

Hello Arnaud;

If don can tilt at windmills in 1610, to the applause of many; cannot ...
indeed, should not, fred receive the same enjoyment tilting at room air
conditioners in 2010?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Don_Quixote_6.jpg
and besides, just as wisdom issued forth from the story then, perhaps so,
will knowledge issue forth from the contest today .... :)

regards,

fred burlingame
On Wed, Nov 3, 2010 at 2:11 PM, Arnaud Fournet
<fournet.arnaud AT wanadoo.fr>wrote:

>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "fred burlingame" <tensorpath AT gmail.com
> >
> To: "Gary Hedrick" <GaryH AT cjfm.org>
> Cc: <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, November 03, 2010 7:59 PM
>
> Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] lock without a key
>
>
> Hello Gary;
>>
>> The question in my humble opinion, equals:
>>
>> a. not whether we're dealing with rocket science or building a simple room
>> air conditioner;
>>
>> b. but, whether the english translation can happen at all, at least beyond
>> rough approximation.
>>
>> The insusceptibility of biblical hebrew to english translation reveals
>> itself all across the masoretc text. Witness a few verses down in numbers
>> 31:19, 20, the hitpael form תתחטאו . This verb ordinarily and primarily
>> means to sin or miss the mark. The intensive forms of the verb however,
>> cause the verb meaning to reverse course and indicate "purification." No
>> single english word carries the double and opposite meanings of both "to
>> sin" and "purification from sin." Translation of such a hebrew word into
>> english becomes not rocket science; and not akin to building a room air
>> conditioner; but rather represents impossibility.
>>
>> regards,
>>
>> fred burlingame
>>
>> ***
>
> It makes me wonder if Don Quixote would have chosen to attack a windmill or
> a simple room air-conditioner, if simple room air-conditioners had existed
> in his time.
>
> Hard to tell.
>
> Anyway he never had to choose.
>
>
> Best
>
> Arnaud Fournet
>
>
>
>




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