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Re: [b-hebrew] Atem, the plural form as a sign of respect

From: K Randolph <kwrandolph AT gmail.com>
To: Pere Porta <pporta7 AT gmail.com>
Cc: "b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org" <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>, Sevillano Hispalis <sevillanomail AT yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Atem, the plural form as a sign of respect
Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 07:53:38 -0800

Pere:

On Sun, Jan 1, 2012 at 10:55 PM, Pere Porta <pporta7 AT gmail.com> wrote:

> I think, David, that it would be better that someone who is Jewish or whose
> mother tongue is Hebrew gives an answer to your question.
>

It has been well over two thousand years since anyone spoke Biblical Hebrew
as his mother tongue, so unless you have a time machine, I’m afraid this
option is not open to us.

> But to my mind... the plural form of the personal pronoun is not used as a
> sign of respect or reverence in the Hebrew language.
>

When reading the laws concerning the relationship between a slave to his
master, the master, who is a single person, is often referred to in the
plural, presumably as a sign of respect.

But is the personal pronoun used that way? I can’t think of any examples
right off the top of my head, can anyone else?

> Remark that when directly addressing to God, the Bible uses the singular
> form: look for instance at Ps 51:3
>
> Kind regards
>
> Pere Porta
>

Karl W. Randolph.

Re: [b-hebrew] Atem, the plural form as a sign of respect, Pere Porta, 01/01/2012
- Re: [b-hebrew] Atem, the plural form as a sign of respect, Sevillano Hispalis, 01/01/2012
  - Message not available
    - Re: [b-hebrew] Atem, the plural form as a sign of respect, Joseph Roberts, 01/02/2012
  - Message not available
    - Re: [b-hebrew] Atem, the plural form as a sign of respect, K Randolph, 01/02/2012
      - Re: [b-hebrew] Atem, the plural form as a sign of respect, Isaac Fried, 01/03/2012