Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Jerry Shepherd <jshepherd53 AT gmail.com>]

Hi Karl,

In my last post I had requested that if we keep this conversation going, we
should cut down on the length of the posts by only dealing with one or two
passages.  So, please, let's try to do that.  It's just too hard and too
time consuming to reply to what I consider to be your very untenable
interpretations of the various passages.  So, in this post, I'm only going
to deal with two issues.

(1) I had said, when commenting on Isa 40:19, that RQ( in that verse, while
correctly translated "overlay," was still referring to a process that
included hammering, necessary for many reasons, among them making sure the
pits and fissures were completely filled.  You replied, "Not hammering.
Hammered gilding on wood would dimple the wood, ruining its finish.
Hammering stone images risks chipping the stone. Even hammered gilding on
medal will dimple the metal. Since gold leaf with the same properties as
what we have today was known even in ancient Egypt, there was no need for
hammering."

Again, in spite of your objections, just a very cursory search in my
reference works, commentaries, lexicons, academic journal articles, and
numerous websites confirms that in ancient times, overlaying, not in all
cases, but in many cases, was done by a hammering process.  Again, you
cannot use your modern understanding of what's involved in these processes
and project it backwards onto ancient times.  Your resources informed you
correctly with regard to the production of gold overlay, but no on the
overlaying process itself.

(2) With regard to Jer 10:9, your answer completely sidestepped the point I
was making. You had originally said, "Again, the spreading of silver and
gold leaf onto a statue.  I then replied, very clearly, "No plating is
talked about in this verse.  RQ( here is used to refer to beaten out silver
plates brought from Tarshish, and possibly, by ellipsis, the verb might
apply to the gold as well.  RQ( is not used here to refer to the plating
process, but to the process of making the silver and gold plating.  And
this was done by beating and hammering out."  Your reponse, completely
ignoring the point, was, "This verse is talking about the making of idols,
contrasted with the living God in verse 10."  Yes, the verse goes on to
talk about the finished product, but when RQ( is used in the verse it is
not referring to plating, but to beating out the silver and gold overlay
sheets.  If we are going to conduct a conversation, you'll need to read
more carefully.

Blessings,

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