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  • From: kenneth greifer <greifer AT hotmail.com>
  • To: <kwrandolph AT gmail.com>
  • Cc: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] What is the scholarly consensus about Isaiah 52:14?
  • Date: Thu, 15 Sep 2011 01:51:33 +0000


Karl,

What is a collapsing context?

Kenneth Greifer




Date: Wed, 14 Sep 2011 17:25:15 -0700
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] What is the scholarly consensus about Isaiah 52:14?
From: kwrandolph AT gmail.com
To: greifer AT hotmail.com
CC: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org

Kenneth:


On Wed, Sep 14, 2011 at 5:41 AM, kenneth greifer <greifer AT hotmail.com> wrote:


University scholars have debated the meaning of Isaiah 52:14 for many years,
but if you look through all of their books and journals, you will never see
the correct translation.



Hey, that’s my line on some of the other verses I brought up! ;-)

Usually, Isaiah 52:14 is translated as "like multitudes were shocked about
you (Israel?), so is marred (hophal) from a man his form and from sons of man
his image, thus he will sprinkle (he will startle) many nations."

I think it could say "like multitudes were shocked about you (Israel?), so is
a destroyer (one caused to destroy) (hiphil or hophal), from a man his form
and from sons of man his image, thus he will sprinkle (he will cause to
sprinkle) many nations."



Problem, here we have an example of a comparative (used in a way that is not
common in English) where the syntax indicates that the participle indicates
not an actor, but a state or status of the subject. I recognize this as a
pual participle, though an argument can be made that this is a hophal
participle “caused to be ruined”.


As for the “sprinkling”, the only way I can make sense of it is to recognize
it as a reference to the New Testament instituting of baptism.

Isaiah 63 says that G-d will be shocked that there is no man to help, and in
the form of a man, He will trample the nations and sprinkle their blood on
His clothing.



This is collapsing contexts.

Most scholars say "marred" in Isaiah 52:14 is the hophal, and my translation
is technically the hophal form of the verb, so this is an example of how
university scholars have overlooked a possible translation that fits the rest
of Isaiah with pinpoint accuracy. Jeremiah 22:7 might also be the hiphil
(without the yud) or hophal form of the verb "destroyers" or "ones caused to
destroy."

The scholarly consensus is that the verb is hophal, and since my translation
uses the hophal, my idea must be the scholarly consensus too.



Don’t pull a Jim Stinehart on us. ;-)

Kenneth Greifer

(I hope you all like my new attempt to imitate a style that gets answers).



Heh heh heh heh as long as you use it only once.


Karl W. Randolph.




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