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b-hebrew - Re: [b-hebrew] When did )NK in Amos 7:7f become interpreted as "plumb line"?

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  • From: Daniel Lundsgaard Skovenborg <waldeinburg AT yahoo.com>
  • To: Yigal Levin <Yigal.Levin AT biu.ac.il>, "b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org" <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] When did )NK in Amos 7:7f become interpreted as "plumb line"?
  • Date: Sat, 24 Mar 2012 06:20:54 -0700 (PDT)

Hi Yigal,


Thanks!

Of course tin or a wooden brick or whatever could have been used for such a
tool, but if the Akkadian word gave name to the tool, I think it must mean
"lead" (tin is normally בְדִיל and lead עֹפֶרֶת, so maybe אֲנָךְ was used
only as a technical term, if we suppose it is a tool). Or to put it another
way: if annaku means "tin" I don't think it would give name to this tool,
unless it through "usage mistakes" came to mean "lead" when entering Hebrew:
1. Lead is special because it has a high density (tin is similar to iron in
this regard). You want as much inertia as possible for this tool – if it is
not stable it does not work properly.
2. According to Landsberger lead is way cheaper than tin.

Regards,
Daniel Lundsgaard Skovenborg



----- Original Message -----
> From: Yigal Levin <Yigal.Levin AT biu.ac.il>
> To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
> Cc:
> Sent: Friday, March 23, 2012 4:25 PM
> Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] When did )NK in Amos 7:7f become interpreted as
> "plumb line"?
>
> 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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