Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Nir cohen - Prof. Mat." <nir AT ccet.ufrn.br>]

pere, carl,

the word XCYR refers nowadays to hay, not to grass. if this is also the
biblical term, it does suggest that hay was used to cover the roofs. 
anyway, the imagery used is of a dry material that catches fire. in fact, 
  וְיֹשְׁבֵיהֶן, קִצְרֵי-יָד--חַתּוּ, וַיֵּבֹשׁוּ
refers specifically to "being (figuratively) dry". in general i find very
strange the translations i find such as

 כו  וְיֹשְׁבֵיהֶן, קִצְרֵי-יָד--חַתּוּ, וַיֵּבֹשׁוּ; הָיוּ עֵשֶׂב שָׂדֶה, 
וִירַק דֶּשֶׁא, חֲצִיר גַּגּוֹת, וּשְׁדֵפָה
לִפְנֵי קָמָה.  26 
Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and
confounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the
grass on the housetops, and as corn blasted before it is grown up. 

nir cohen

>>> De: K Randolph <kwrandolph AT gmail.com>
Para: B-Hebrew <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Data: Mon, 25 Feb 2013 15:36:49 -0800
Assunto: [b-hebrew] grassy roof
Dear All:

This is just a little curiosity—what evidence from archaeology is there to
suggest that ancient Israel houses were built grass growing on the roofs? I’m
familiar with such construction from Scandinavian history, particularly
Norwegian, but was the same practice done in ancient Judea?

Linguistic reason for the question comes from 2 Kings 19:26, Isaiah 37:27 and
Psalm 129:6 where mention is made of the grass of the roofs. From other
contexts, this is not short grass, but the type found in pastures where cattle
graze.

Another possibility that these verses refer to thatch roofs, but the contexts
seems to say that these are living roofs with green grass. A very different
picture of houses than what I had pictured over the years.

Karl W. Randolph,