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  • From: "Kevin W. Woodruff" <cierpke AT prodigy.net>
  • To: K Randolph <kwrandolph AT gmail.com>
  • Cc: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Exodus 21:8
  • Date: Wed, 1 May 2013 18:23:25 -0700 (PDT)

Karl:
 
I got the definition from Brown Driver & Briggs and Koehler & Baumgartner's HALOT
 
assign or designate as concubine Ex 21:8, 21:9 (JE).
 
1. to allocate a woman (female slave) Exodus 21:8,9 (Hoftijzer VT 7:388ff);
 
When he bought the girl, he designated her for himself, giving her and her family certain expectations.The deceit is in not making her his wife or concubine as the arrangement had stipulated. The hiphal means "to allow to be ransomed" (the daughter of an Israelite from slavery through debt) Exodus 21:8.Cassuto also say that that the hiphal may be translated "she may redeem herself."
 
Make sense to me
 
Kevin

--- On Wed, 5/1/13, K Randolph <kwrandolph AT gmail.com> wrote:

From: K Randolph <kwrandolph AT gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Exodus 21:8
To: "Kevin W. Woodruff" <cierpke AT prodigy.net>
Cc: "B-Hebrew" <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Date: Wednesday, May 1, 2013, 4:06 PM

Dear Kevin:

On Wed, May 1, 2013 at 12:08 PM, Kevin W. Woodruff <cierpke AT prodigy.net> wrote:

From: Kevin W. Woodruff <cierpke AT prodigy.net>
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Exodus 21:8
To: "K Randolph" <kwrandolph AT gmail.com>
Date: Wednesday, May 1, 2013, 3:00 PM


Karl:
 
We have two issues here:
 
One is the meaning of ya'ad which in the Qal means "to designate or assign", and in this case to assign a concubine

From where do you get this definition?

From uses within Tanakh, it appears to have the meaning “to call out to a meeting” whether small or large. Similar to the Greek εκκαλεω.
 
There is a variant reading here. One (the kethiv reading) is the negative lo which "not" and the other (the qere reading) is  the preposition and pronominal suffix lo' which means "to, or for him(self), which is the reading I choose here"

Yes I know about the Qere reading, but with my experience that about 90% of the time the Qere reading appears to be wrong (this is just counting the consonantal text, what about the vowels?), in an uncertain verse the odds say I should stay with the Kethiv.
 
It basically says that a man does not have the right/power/authority to sell a woman to foreigners but must redeem her, because of his faithlessness//treacherousness /deceitfulness with her by not marrying her. In an age when women were mostly chattel and goods, this legislation gave basic human rights to wives/concubines.

Even if we go with the Kethiv and the female slave has not been used sexually, doesn’t this verse give protection to such a female slave? That she’s not just goods that can be traded away?

But if we go with the Qere, how does the WHPDH fit in?
 
Kevin

Prof. Kevin W. Woodruff, M.Div., M.S.I.S.
Library Director/Reference Librarian, Assistant Professor of Bible, Greek, Theological Bibliography and Research
Tennessee Temple University/Temple Baptist Seminary, 1815 Union Ave.
Chattanooga, Tennessee 37404, United States of America
423/493-4252 (office) 812/821-4512 (cell) 423/493-4497 (FAX)
Cierpke AT prodigy.net

Karl W. Randolph. 




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