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  • From: "Ishnian" <ishinan AT comcast.net>
  • To: <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [b-hebrew] skies in plural? (Rolf's response 3)
  • Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2012 04:18:32 -0500

[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







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