Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Nir cohen - Prof. Mat." <nir AT ccet.ufrn.br>]

karl,

i admit that "expand" and "hit repeatedly" are related ideas and it is easy 
to see which "came first".
but the etymology used in most of these citations is more directly related to 
"hit repeatedly".

in 2 sam 22:43 the idea is that of repeated beating/hammering/smiting and not 
of expanding:

(NIV) They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—
    to the Lord, but he did not answer.
43 I beat them as fine as the dust of the earth;
    I pounded and trampled them like mud in the streets.They cried for help, 
but there was no one to save them—
    to the Lord, but he did not answer.
43 I beat them as fine as the dust of the earth;
    I pounded and trampled them like mud in the streets.

in job 37:18 LEHARQY( is the verb associated with RAQI(, as e.g. in english 
combinations such as sky-rocketing or
sky-scraper. thus, i see this is a secondary use of the word, i.e. once RAQY( 
was fixed as "sky" then LEHARQY( means
to take off/fly/spacewalk/launch. again, i do not see that as indicating 
expansion.

in particular, with all the difficulties associated with the word $XQ, the 
expression in job TARQI( LA$XAQYM can hardly 
be translated as "expand to the skies". the way i see it, it simply means 
"travel with him to the sky so as to tell how he 
does these things".

the remaining of the citations agrees with craftsmanship and hammering, 
including "ROQE( H))RC in the first few citations you mentioned.

see also the related term RDD.

nir cohen
  
 On Thu, 30 Aug 2012 12:48:35 -0700, K Randolph wrote
> Nir:
> 
> On Thu, Aug 30, 2012 at 9:23 AM, Nir cohen - Prof. Mat. <nir AT ccet.ufrn.br> 
> wrote:
> karl,
> 
> > This is a mistranslation, otherwise known as medieval cosmology. רקיע RQY(
> is not a “solid vault-like structure” rather it’s from a root that referred
> also to expanding out unsolid things like mist and dust wafting in the wind.
> 
> --------------
> 
> what is the evidence for "expanding out unsolid things like
> mist and dust wafting in the wind"?
> 
> Even as I answer this question, I’m revising how best to state the meaning. 
> Basically, the idea of רקע RQ( seems to be to spread out. It is used of 
> spreading out the earth (Isaiah 42:5, 44:24, Psalm 136:6), spreading out 
> dust or mist (2 Samuel 22:43, Job 37:18) as well as spreading out metals, 
> like gold or silver leaf to cover idols (Isaiah 40:19, Jeremiah 10:9) or 
> thin pieces of bronze to protect the altar (Numbers 16:28–9). When a metal 
> smith spreads out metal, he uses a special hammer with a wide, flat face to 
> make the metal plates as smooth as possible, in English known as a chasing 
> hammer, which reminds people of stamping with their feet (Ezekiel 6:11, 
> 25:6).
> 
> Hence רקיע RQY( refers to a place that is spread out, expanded, not 
> necessarily to hard, flat plates, that is assuming that its meaning is 
> related to its root.
> 
> 
> nir cohen
> 
> 
> Karl W. Randolph. 

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