Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Jerry Shepherd <jshepherd53 AT gmail.com>]

Hi Rolf,



I’m sure George will have his own reply, but I’d like to chime in on this
as well.  Initially, let me observe that it doesn’t really help your case
when the verses you list in support of your position say the exact opposite
of what you summarize them as saying.



Rq( as a verb occurs 12x in the Hebrew Bible.  With 5 of those occurrences,
Exod 39:3; Num 17:3, 4; Isa 40:19; and Jer 10:9, there is no debate at all
as to what is being denoted by the verb: a process of hammering, beating,
and stamping out metal.  That leaves 7 passages.



2 Sam 22:43 refers to trampling out an at least semi-solid substance, the
mire or clay of the streets.



Job 37:18, as you noted,  refers to how Yahweh spreads out the clouds or
the dust.  But the verse goes on to say that the result is that the
clouds/dust become “hard as a mirror of cast bronze.”  As I said, it does
not help your case when your proof texts are more in line with your
opponents’ position than with yours.  The rq( is a process of making
something solid.



In Ps 136:6, Yahweh spreads out the earth, a solid substance, something
that can be walked on.



In Isa 42:5, again Yahweh spreads out the earth, a solid substance.



In Isa 44:24, again Yahweh spreads out the earth, a solid substance.



In Ezek 6:11, Ezekiel is told to stamp his feet (presumably on the ground,
a solid substance).



In Ezek 25:6, the Ammonites are rebuked for having stamped their feet (on
the ground) with malice against the Israelites.



So, we have 12 occurrences, none of which have to do with spreading out
some ethereal, airy, gaseous substance.  Rq( refers to hammering, stamping,
beating out.



The noun rqy( occurs 15x.  9 of those occurrences are in Gen 1 (not just
the3x you mentioned).  Since these are the ones in question, I’ll look at
the other occurrences first.



Nothing can really be told one way or the other from the occurrences in Ps
19:2; 150:1; and Dan 12:3.  But when you say “the parallels suggest a
non-solid state,” you are begging the question.



For the occurrences in Ezekiel (1:22-26), on the one hand, you try to
downplay the occurrences as being used in “visions where literal things of
three dimensions are used in a symbolic way to describe heavenly things.”  On
the other hand, you try to appeal to it later in some weird way to compare
the wings of the living creatures with the wings of the birds.  But there
is no comparison.  As we can easily tell from other ANE texts and artwork,
the wings of the living creatures are holding up the rqy(.  They are
sky-bearers.  And the throne of Yahweh is resting on the rqy(.   The rqy(
in Ezek 1 is a solid substance.



Of course, the occurrences in Gen 1 (vv. 6, 7 (3x), 8, 14, 15, 17, 20) are
the ones that are under dispute in this discussion.  If the occurrences of
the verb rq( and the noun rQy( are given their full weight, we should
expect that the the rqy( in Gen 1 is, indeed, a solid substance.  When you
add to this that this is reflective of the cosmosgraphy of the ancient
world (as well-demonstrated as it is, e.g., in the volume recommended to
you by Martin Shield), then I think George’s case is pretty well taken –
“That’s what the text says.”


Blessings,
Jerry Shepherd
Taylor Seminary
Edmonton, Alberta
jshepherd53 AT gmail.com