Biblical Hebrew Forum

[David Kolinsky <hadeesh AT sbcglobal.net>]

Dear Hebrew list members,

As far as I can find, there are only two uses for the hiphil of QDM in the TaNaKh :

Amos 9:10: בחרב ימותו כל חטאי עמי האמרים לא תגיש ותקדים בעדינו הרעה
which I translate as : "By the sword, all those who sin of my people shall die, those saying 'the evil shall not approach closer nor shall it come before (all about) us.'"

and

Job 41:3 :  מי הקדימני ואשלם תחת כל השמים לי הוא

translated in

Judaic Classics as: Who has claim on me from before, that I should repay him?  Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.
((all of the Christian translations seem to be on a different verse???????????????))

I understand that the hiphil of QDM is often translated as "precede in time." (especially those I saw in the Talmud).  However, it can and I believe does mean "to precede in space" in both Amos 9:10 and Job 41:3, so I translate the latter as :

"Who has preceded me that I shall submit myself, everything under the sky=heaven, it is mine.  (I shall not silence his boasts...... [boasts as in Is16:6; Jer48:30])"

So I suggest that here the piel of $LM means "to submit oneself" as it does in Arabic and not "to repay, pay, compensate, reward" as it almost always seems to in the TaNaKh.

I would greatly appreciate any comments,
David Kolinsky
Monterey CA