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  • From: Chris Watts <dekruidnootjes AT eircom.net>
  • To: b-hebrew <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [b-hebrew] when fighting with/against בּ and עם
  • Date: Sun, 14 Jul 2013 21:37:02 +0100

Does anyone have suggestions as to why we read sometimes עִם before the name of the army or nation that Israel goes into battle against and sometimes בּ ? My understanding of the different uses of these two prepositional prefixes before the noun after the verb ילחם is that there must be a difference, and believe that there is a subtle nuance which is lost perhaps? They can both mean with, both mean against, but the עִם denotes something more personal (although BDB disagrees and claims that את (not the accusative marker) is more intimate, though the rabbis disagree with BDB); nevertheless I feel that the בּ would carry the straightforwardness of a full battle attack, whereas perhaps the עִם would carry a more of a mingled in running around here and there scattered array of smaller battles and skirmishes.

Chris Watts
Ireland






  • [b-hebrew] when fighting with/against בּ and עם, Chris Watts, 07/14/2013

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