Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Ishnian" <ishinan AT comcast.net>]

[b-hebrew] skies in plural? (Rolf's response 3)



Dear George,

I have asked you to prove to things:

1) That the birds fly BELOW the RQY(.

Your transwlation of (L-PNY as "across" is fine. If RQY( is the atmosphere, 
the birds fly across (through) the atmosphere. Your translation does not 
prove the position "below." In 1:2 the spatial position expressed by (L-PNY 
is "above," and this is the natural understanding of the preposition in 1:20 
as well. The problem is that your mythological understanding implies that 
above the RQY( there is water, so the bird must fly threough water. 
Therefore, what is the linguitic basis for your claim that the text says that 
the birds fly UNDER the RQY(?

2) What is the linguistic basis for your claim that "RQY( "has a surface, it 
is perceived as something that could be touched. That's what the text says"?



Best regards,


Rolf Furuli
Stavern
Norway



Mandag 10. September 2012 05:56 CEST skrev George Athas 
<George.Athas AT moore.edu.au>:


  So the situation is this:

  Jerry has shown that in pretty much all the occurrences of רקע, the forms 
of this root seem to indicate something tangible that can be beaten or 
hammered out. The question is: Does Gen 1 provide an exception?

  Methinks not. The text itself suggests something tangible across which 
birds can fly. Rolf's insistence on me providing evidence is essentially 
asking me to prove that על פני must mean 'across the surface'. Having pointed 
to the usage of the phrase twice in the specific context under question, I 
don't know what other evidence he wants. If one cannot accept the evidence 
from the context, that is no longer my problem — we are dealing with 
different methods: contextual evidence versus tangential considerations.


  GEORGE ATHAS
  Dean of Research,
  Moore Theological College (moore.edu.au)
  Sydney, Australia