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b-hebrew - Re: [b-hebrew] b-hebrew Digest, Vol 126, Issue 30

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  • From: Chris Watts <dekruidnootjes AT eircom.net>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] b-hebrew Digest, Vol 126, Issue 30
  • Date: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 09:46:12 +0100

"""""Hitpael 1st pers plural bow down/worship"""""


Is there any justification for allowing the following possibilities to explain why the Seghol-Heh is suffixed as opposed to the expected pronominal suffixes?

1. In all the occaisions where I read the השתחוה I see a response to an approaching person or a direct response to God or a prohibition against bowing down to false gods.

2. From the incomplete experience that I have with my knowledge of Hebrew scriptures I have only seen the expected "normal" pronominal endings such as השתחו for example in language that involves telling others, direct requests and relating something that happened.

3. Although a very weak proposition, I can not help wonder whether something linguistically peculiar is happening here that can not be explained by a pure grammar approach; something akin to this: In Holland we have a peculiar situation regarding the word for Milk. It is spelled: Melk. And pronounced everywhere as MeLK; but in Den haag and the smaller Delft - just these two places alone, that is just one city and a little one, anyone from here pronounces it MeLeK. bearing in mind that people from Den Haag move to the other side of Holland and continue this pronounciation, might not this same linguistic peculiarity be playing here? I can not believe that Hebrew was uniformly spoken, maybe depending upon where you originated you had a certain kind of pronounciation that was applied ONLY when addressing the response to worship to God and/bowing down to others? But other hebrew speaking people would not pronounce this verb the same way uniformly.

Not having the benefit of any education in ancient texts or academic carreer, I am simply asking for other members thoughts here please, that, If I take all three of the above I feel there is some justification for all three of the above working together.


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