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  • From: Yigal Levin <Yigal.Levin AT biu.ac.il>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] TMR T)MR
  • Date: Sun, 19 Aug 2012 14:49:13 +0300

Sorry, Jim, I just don’t see what you're getting at. I've already agreed that
the multiple repetition of "watomer Tamar" may have been done on purpose, for
dramatic effect. I think that we both agree on the importance of the whole
story in the larger narrative. But what's your point? That Judah's
daughter-in-law was NOT named Tamar? I know of at least two more women with
that name in the Bible. So what?



Yigal Levin



From: jimstinehart AT aol.com [mailto:jimstinehart AT aol.com]
Sent: Sunday, August 19, 2012 2:30 PM
To: Yigal.Levin AT biu.ac.il; b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] TMR T)MR



Dear Prof. Yigal Levin:



You wrote: “I don't think that there is any reason to doubt that the name
Tamar means ‘date palm’. Why this particular woman was given this name is
irrelevant. And ‘watomer’ is the regular way to say ‘(she) said’. It is
possible that the writer of this particular text juxtaposed the two words so
many times for dramatic effect, but I doubt that this could be proven.”



In the e-n-t-i-r-e Bible, there is only one instance in which the KJV
translation reports “she said” in three consecutive verses: Genesis 38:
16-18. In all three verses, “she said” in context effectively means “Tamar
said”. It’s spelled T-)MR, and as such looks suspiciously like the name TMR.



At Genesis 38: 16, T-)MR means TMR T-)MR, that is, Tamar [impersonating a
prostitute] said/she said: What will you give me?



At Genesis 38: 17, T-)MR means TMR T-)MR, that is, Tamar [impersonating a
prostitute] said/she said: Will you give me a pledge?



At Genesis 38: 18, T-)MR again means TMR T-)MR, that is, Tamar [impersonating
a prostitute] said/she said: The pledge is to be your signets, bracelet and
staff.



Three times in a row, T-)MR, referring to TMR.



Then just when Tamar is about to be burned alive, at Genesis 38: 25, once
again: T-)MR means TMR T-)MR, that is, Tamar [impersonating a prostitute]
said/she said: The pledge I have are your signets, bracelet and staff.



A fourth time, T-)MR, referring to TMR.



T-)MR translated as “she said” occurs in three consecutive verses in only one
place in the entire Bible, and in that once instance, in context it means TMR
T-)MR: Tamar said.



Yet you assert: “It is possible that the writer of this particular text
juxtaposed the two words so many times for dramatic effect, but I doubt that
this could be proven.”



As the proof that TMR is a shortened version of T-)MR, with the name TMR
meaning “she said”/T-)MR, please consider the following:



(1) All four critical moments in the text that determine whether or not
Tamar/TMR will be burned alive feature the phrase T-)MR: “she said”, in
context meaning TMR T-)MR: “Tamar said”.



(2) In the entire Bible, the o-n-l-y time when T-)MR appears in three
consecutive verses is Genesis 38: 16-18, and in those three verses T-)MR in
context means TMR T-)MR: “Tamar said”.



The Hebrew author wants his audience to realize that TMR as a name is
intentionally a shortened form of T-)MR, so that the name TMR means “she
said”. The phrase T-)MR appears in the text all four times when everything
is on the line as to whether TMR will or will not be burned alive. T-)MR
three consecutive times to get that critical pledge, and then T-)MR a fourth
time referencing that pledge to avoid getting burned alive. TMR T-)MR, in
three consecutive verses, uniquely in the entire Bible. Otherwise Tamar
would have been burned alive, there would have been no “younger” twin son
Perez [Judah’s twin son/grandson, who is borne before his “older” twin
brother Zerah], and no line of descendants of Judah leading to King David.



The entire Bible falls apart at the seams absent TMR T-)MR three times in
quick succession. Because absent that thrice-said T-)MR, there’s no TMR! In
chapter 38 of Genesis, the name TMR has been deliberately and brilliantly
designed by the Hebrew author to recall T-)MR. TMR : T-)MR.



Jim Stinehart

Evanston, Illinois





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