Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Harold Holmyard <hholmyard3 AT earthlink.net>]

Hi, Michael,

The Greek at Jer 17:9 does have the word "deep," but I think it is a 
weak translation. "Deep" or "complicated" are not necessarily negative 
ideas, but the context of Jer 17:1-6 can favor a negative idea, and the 
immediate context of verse 9 does so in the parallelism with the idea of 
the heart being incurably sick. See how Jeremiah uses the same root word 
in the verb form in Jer 9:4:

Jeremiah 9:4 Everyone has to be on guard against his friend. Don't trust 
any brother, for every brother will certainly deceive, and every friend 
spread slander. (Jer 9:4 CSB)

"Certainly deceive" is the infinitive absolute plus the Qal verb (QB.

Bibleworks indicates that this same word with "heart" (thus the same 
phrase as in Jer 17:9) occurs in the Hebrew of Sirach 36:25, where the 
Greek translates with "kardia strhblos." The lexicons define "strhblos" 
as suggesting what is twisted, crooked, or perverse (of the way of 
unrighteousness).

Yours,
Harold Holmyard


> Nir,
> Thank you.  I think what you said fits where I was heading but I was
> getting there more by gut feeling than anything else.
> Sincerely,
> Michael Abernathy
>
> On 10/10/2012 10:20 AM, Nir cohen - Prof. Mat. wrote:
> > michael,
> >
> > there is a fuzzy region which approximates each of the following quite
> > distinct words: "complicated, severe, deep, devious, pervert, sick,
> > not straight, entorted, entangled, without remedy, incurable." though
> > one word does not automatically translate for another.
> >
> > both )NW$ and (QWB fit this fuzzy zone. (QWB  is part of the BH
> > complex (QM-(QB-(QP-)KP that has to do with bending.
> >
> > in modern hebrew )NW$ means plainly "seriously bad/complicated"
> > (rather than sick/pervert/entorted) and restricted to the two
> > expressions XWLH )NW$ "severely ill" and MCB )NW$ "seriously
> > bad situation". now, "severely ill, incurable, without remedy" are similar
> > translations for XWLH )NW$, but not necessarily for the isolate )NW$.
> >
> > i do not know the origin of the noun )NW$ for "human" and
> > its connection with the same adjective. in other words,
> > do humans have to be so complicated?
> >    
> > nir cohen
> >
> >
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