Biblical Hebrew Forum

[George Athas <George.Athas AT moore.edu.au>]

Nunation in plural endings is standard in Moabite, as is demonstrated on the Mesha Stele (eg. שׁלשׁן, where Hebrew would have שׁלשׁים). So the phenomenon is not unheard of in the Iron Age, and is seen in languages more closely related to Hebrew than Aramaic.

However, given that Aramaic forms a good deal of the book of Daniel (MT), it seems more plausible to propose that the nunation of Dan 12.13 is, as Martin Shields mentioned, due to a scribe who is highly influenced by Aramaic. Also, since such nunation is quite standard in Mishnaic, which is highly influenced by Aramaic, and the tendency in Daniel to move away from the Standard Hebrew word order, this case is strengthened even further. It's reasonable, therefore, to suggest that the Hebrew author or transmitting scribe lived in a situation in which Aramaic was well known and at least starting to influence Hebrew linguistic shifts.

GEORGE ATHAS

Dean of Research,

Moore Theological College (moore.edu.au)

Sydney, Australia

From: Hedrick Gary <GaryH AT cjfm.org>
Date: Thursday, 27 June 2013 12:33 PM
To: B-Hebrew <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: [b-hebrew] Daniel 12:13

 לקץ הימין

Why does the Hebrew text of Daniel 12:13 have qetz hayamin (with a final nun) instead of qetz hayamim (with a mem at the end). Shouldn't "end of days" be qetz hayamim?

Gary Hedrick

San Antonio, Texas USA