Biblical Hebrew Forum

[lascelles James <lasgbjames AT gmail.com>]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: lascelles James <lasgbjames AT gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Mar 31, 2013 at 10:40 AM
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] שלם used to denote non-peaceful word(s) “requite/revenge, repay”?
To: Philip <philipengman AT yahoo.com>

Hi Philip:

These are my thoughts:

The saying that "there can be no peace without justice/recompense" may throw some light on the spectrum of meaning encompassed by these root consonants SLM. Peace is achieved through restoration, recompense, and reward which are members of a semantic set that that also includes revenge, repayment and reclamation. The performance of peace is action that is described by this semantic set in their verbal forms.

Viewed through another panel, peace is not just simply the "absence of war or hostility" but the act of ending hostility through reparation which sometimes presupposes retaliation. 

(I have gleaned my thoughts from the BDB and the American Heritage Dictionary)

Hope this will help.

Lascelles

On Sat, Mar 30, 2013 at 6:56 PM, Philip <philipengmann AT yahoo.com> wrote:

Dear Listees,

Deut 32:41 reads, אָשִׁיב נָקָם לְצָרָי, וְלִמְשַׂנְאַי אֲשַׁלֵּם 

This may not be new to many, but I find it interesting that see the last word in the stitch, i.e. אֲשַׁלֵּם , root,שלם  so often used to denote peace is being used here in totally non-peaceful terms as: “to requite/ revenge, repay”?

What are you thoughts on this please?

Many thanks,

Philip Engmann

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