Biblical Hebrew Forum

[K Randolph <kwrandolph AT gmail.com>]

George:

On Tue, Jan 3, 2012 at 3:36 PM, George Athas <George.Athas AT moore.edu.au>wrote:

> I know of no Copernican Revolution in our knowledge of Hebrew that
> relegates Blau's work to the Ptolomaic scrap heap.
>

You miss the point. It is not a Copernican Revolution that relegates Blau’s
work to the Ptolomaic scrap heap. It’s just that if the work is based on a
faulty foundation, no amount of careful kludging together will rescue a
faulty argument.

>
> Yes, Blau's work is worth the money and effort. Get it. Read it. Learn.
> You don't need to agree with everything you read in order to learn from it.
> In fact, I learn a lot from engaging with those with whom I end up
> disagreeing.
>

The question here is a matter of prioritizing time: will I learn more from
a hour of disagreeing with Blau, or analyzing a couple of chapters of
Isaiah? If I have only an hour available, the answer is clear—Isaiah wins
hands down. Blau only if I have time beyond that. Most of the time I don’t
have that extra time available, beyond taking care of other matters.

>
> Of course, if one wants to judge the book before you've read it, go ahead.
> But I pity such epistemic folly and cannot really take seriously such ones
> as demonstrate that deplorable attitude, building their castles on sand.
>

There are many things I don’t involve myself. For example, I haven’t read “On
the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of
Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life” by Charles Darwin because I
already know he used faulty, unscientific logic in the writing of that
book. The picture I am getting from this discussion is that Blau used
faulty, unscientific logic in the compilation of this book under
discussion: yes there may be a diamond in it, but it looks as if I may have
to move a ton of rock to find it.

The questions of faulty basis and prioritizing are what drive me here.

>
>
> GEORGE ATHAS
> Director of Postgraduate Studies
> Moore Theological College (Sydney, Australia)
>
> Karl W. Randolph.