Biblical Hebrew Forum

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

karl,

as long as i "dig" i cannot "provide" much evidence to your translation. as i 
do not have an 
"engine", my list below may be missing one or two items.

1) in all the ones i managed to  find, KRH only appears in the context of a 
pit. 
so, either it means "to dig", or the etymology you indicate, "to prepare", is 
restricted to pits. but this is not how languages function.

2) the other terms for digging (other than KRH) are NOT used for pits. so, 
according to your reading, 
all the BH pits, real or figurative,  were "prepared" and none of them was 
really dug.

2)  i concede that both "dig" and "prepare" are plausible translations in 
most places. but i do not see a single place where "dig" is not 
a natural fit.  in some of these sentences, though, "to prepare" would be a 
poor fit. see my annotations below.

3) "dig" fits well into a group of semitic words going back to (and quite 
widely used in) akkadian.  "to prepare" would be a "word isolate" 
in hebrew, maybe in semitic, unless you show otherwise.

4) most bible translations give  "dig".

yours,
nir cohen

PS the "roots" KR and QR seem to have a common ancestry, which has to do with 
hammering on soil or stone. perhaps
onomatopoeic?". isaac, david, any ideas?...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

job 6:27 Yea, ye would cast lots upon the fatherless, and dig a pit for your 
friend.
-----------

gen 26:25 And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the 
LORD, and pitched 
his tent there; and there Isaac's servants digged a well.

provided: to whom? 
--------------

exodus 21:33 And if a man shall open a pit, or if a man shall dig a pit and 
not cover it, and an 
ox or an ass fall therein,

provide a pit, for the ox?    :) :)
---------------

psalms 57:7 They have prepared a net for my steps, my soul is bowed down; {N}
they have digged a pit before me, they are fallen into the midst thereof 
themselves. Selah

(observe: KRH was used for the pit, not for the net. also, digged a pit 
BEFORE me, not FOR me!!! here, "provided" makes no sense at all.)
------------------

psalms 119:85 The proud have digged pits for me, which is not according to 
Thy law.
-------------------

psalms 7:16 He hath digged a pit, and hollowed it, and is fallen into the 
ditch which he made.
-------------------

psalms 94:13 That Thou mayest give him rest from the days of evil, until the 
pit be digged for the wicked.
--------------------

jeremiah 18:20 Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit 
for my soul. Remember 
how I stood before Thee to speak good for them, to turn away Thy wrath from 
them. 
-----------------------

jeremiah 18:22 Let a cry be heard from their houses, when thou shalt bring a 
troop 
suddenly upon them; for they have digged a pit to take me, and hid snares for 
my feet. 
-------------------------

proverbs 26:27 Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein; and he that rolleth a 
stone, it shall return upon him.
---------------------------

On Sun, 13 Mar 2011 19:13:34 -0700, K Randolph wrote

> Nir:
> 
> On Sun, Mar 13, 2011 at 1:25 PM, Nir cohen - Prof. Mat. <nir AT ccet.ufrn.br> 
> wrote:
> 
> karl,
> 
> you must be mistaken here. even in the quotation you give, mekhon mamre 
> translates KRH as "diggeth".
> 
> 
> So also every dictionary that I bought.
> 
> One of the advantages of reading Tanakh through several times, is that one 
> finds those examples where “digging” does not fit the context, one of which 
> I listed.
>  
> modern hebrew is very clear about it, using KARAH=dig, MYKHREH=ore mine. BH 
> also uses it specifically 
> for digging. in the expression "KRH BWR WYXPRHW" there is a clear parallel 
> between KRH and XPR, dig.
> 
> so, why does BH need two words for digging?
> 
> 
> Why even assume that they are two words for digging? Why not accept that 
> the second adds detail, in this case the method by which the first verb was 
> accomplished? 
> 
> the problem is not with KRH, it is with XPR. the verb XPR is used for 
> wells, canals and city walls, as in the word 
> XAPIR=city wall (?). it certainly has a specific meaning that has to do 
> with water and stone/brick walls. 
> 
> XPR to delve, unearth, both the digging out and finding meanings [synonyms] 
> חצב to hew (out), נקר to dig out, שפן to dig up [used once] 
> 
> XAPIR is not Biblical Hebrew.
>  
> i agree that in the phrase KRH )ZNW one may interpret  KRH in the 
> shakespearean sense of "lend me your ears".
> i believe, though, that the meaning is, figuratively, concave:  "bend one's 
> ears" to hear better.
> 
> nir cohen
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Karl W. Randolph.

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