Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Yigal Levin <Yigal.Levin AT biu.ac.il>]

Hi Daniel,

Rashi, David Qimhi and Ibn-Ezra (10-12th centuries) all claim the word is 
similar to the Arabic and means either "lead" or "a builder's tool" - which I 
suppose would be a plumb line. 

BTW, even if the Akkadian does mean "tin", tin could have been used for the 
same purpose. Tin and lead are not all that different. Both were used to 
alloy with copper to produce bronze.


Best 

Yigal Levin


-----Original Message-----
From: b-hebrew-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org 
[mailto:b-hebrew-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Daniel Lundsgaard 
Skovenborg
Sent: Friday, March 23, 2012 4:44 PM
To: B-Hebrew
Subject: [b-hebrew] When did )NK in Amos 7:7f become interpreted as "plumb 
line"?

Hi,

I recently became aware of some difficulties in the "traditional" 
interpretation of the word אֲנָךְ in Amos 7:7f. It is usually translated 
something like:
"… the Lord was standing by a plumb line (i.e. vertical) wall, with a plumb 
line in his hand …"

This is supported by the dictionaries which refer to cognate languages 
(אֲנָךְ is from Akkadian "annaku") where the word means "lead" or "tin", 
which gives the meaning "lead" and thus "plumb line" in Hebrew. Yet, 
Landsberger (JNES 24,285ff) has argued that the Akkadian word means "tin", 
not "lead".

There is much more to say about this issue, but what I want to ask you is how 
old the "plumb line" interpretation is.
The oldest I have seen is Luther (Bleischnur), but I guess he was not the one 
who came up with it. I have checked LXX (steel), Peshitta (following LXX), 
Targum (judgement), Vulgate (brick trowel) and the early Christian 
interpretations in "Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture" series (Origen 
and Ephrem the Syrian, both following LXX/Peshitta). (As for Ephrem, ACCS 
translates his quotation of Amos 7:8 "plumb line", but his exegesis makes 
most sense if you understand him as LXX/Peshitta.)

Do you know other sources before Luther that interpret אֲנָךְ as as a plumb 
line?

Regards,
Daniel Lundsgaard Skovenborg

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