To: George Athas <gathas AT mail.usyd.edu.au>, b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu
Subject: Re: Abel's birth
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 17:57:17 -0500
On 18 Nov 98, at 7:44, you wrote:
> Lewis Reich wrote:
>
> > What do you think of Genesis 38:5? Should we conclude that Onan and
> > Shelah
> > were twins?
>
> Point taken, Lewis. In the context, Onan and Shelah seem to be just
> brothers, not
> actually twins. So, I'll make the assumption that the use of the verb YSP
> in relation
> to childbearing is idiomatic for indicating continued fertility, not
> continued labor.
On rereading my post, it strikes me that it sounds rather brusque, which I
had
certainly not intended. Please accept my apologies for not phrasing my
comment
more carefully.