Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Nir cohen - Prof. Mat." <nir AT ccet.ufrn.br>]

sebastian,

> De: Sébastien Louis <sebalou AT hotmail.com> Assunto: [b-hebrew] A
> few questions
> 1. Is the word "ahavat" a noun or a verb? How could we
> translate (literally) these sentences:
> ki ahavat nafsho ahevo
> (because love [noun] himself, he loved him - Samuel 1, 20, 17 -
> by the way, the "ki" does mean "because", doesn't it?)

(sorry my computer does not process the hebrew letters)
"because he loved him as much as he loved himself"

ahava is a noun connected with the verb ahav. ahavat nefesh
(literally, soul love) is an expression which means a very
strong love, so strong as to be ready to sacrifice one's life
(nefesh). or, if you will, loving someone as much as you love your
own soul (nefesh).

> keahavat yy et bnei israel
>(like love [noun] the Lord the sons of Israel - Hosea 3, 1)

"as much as god loves the sons of israel" - literally, as god's
love, a noun

veahavat olam ahavtix (and love [noun] forever I love you -
Jeremiah 31, 3)

ahavat olam: literally, world's love, a noun meaning: eternal love.
as discussed here at length several months ago, the biblical word 
"world" is perceived mostly in the temporal dimension.

> 2. What is the meaning of the word "ax"? Sometimes it is
> translated by "however", sometimes by "yes":
> ax basar benafsho bedamo lo toxlu

ax = BUT (indicating a "caveat": "just dont forget this"...)

> (Genesis 9, 4 - however)
> ax bezelem ithalex ish (Psalm 7, 39 ahavat - yes)

ax= ONLY (our existence is possible ONLY through godly
intervention)

in general AX means "just, only, but,
though". the english cluster "just,only,but" corresponds to the 
hebrew cluster "ax,rak,bilvad,ela". these words have a lot of overlap.

nir cohen