Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Olivier Randrianjaka <rev_oli AT hotmail.com>]

Dear friends,
The term נִדָּה refers to women’s menstrual period, but in a particular verse (Zech 13:1):  בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֗וּא יִֽהְיֶה֙ מָק֣וֹר נִפְתָּ֔ח לְבֵ֥ית דָּוִ֖יד וּלְיֹשְׁבֵ֣י יְרֽוּשָׁלִָ֑ם לְחַטַּ֖את וּלְנִדָּֽה׃
 (Zec 13:1 WTT), "On that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity. (NRSV)"  it is used in parallel with חַטָּאת, “sin” which seems to me that they are synonymous, not because they are put next to each other but because the context would suggest that they both carry the meaning “impurity”, “unclenness”. My question is, is it possible that, at a certain period of time (probably Late Hebrew), נִדָּה and חַטָּאת are synonymous and mean “impure”?

Any thought?

Thanks in advance for your brilliant answers.

Olivier Randrianjaka