Biblical Hebrew Forum

[kenneth greifer <greifer AT hotmail.com>]

Malachi 2:4 is usually translated "...I have sent this commandment to you for 
My covenant to be with Levi..." 
 
I think it could be translated "...I have sent this commandment to you to be 
My covenant with Levi..." or "...I have sent this commandment to you for the 
being of My covenant with Levi..."
 
Could it mean the commandment is meant to be the covenant or does it 
literally say "for the being of My covenant with Levi"?
 
The only similar quote I could find is Isaiah 49:6. 
 
Isaiah 49:6  is usually translated "...I have given you for a light of 
nations for My salvation to be until the ends of the earth."
 
Isaiah 49:6  is sometimes translated "...I have given you for a light of 
nations to be My salvation unto the ends of the earth."
 
Could Isaiah 49:6 literally say "...I have given you for a light of nations 
for the being of My salvation unto the ends of the earth."
 
Is the verb "to be" used in an unusual way in these quotes or are other verbs 
used in a similar way?
 
Kenneth Greifer