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  • From: "Lewis Reich" <LBR AT sprynet.com>
  • To: b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu
  • Subject: Re: Aquirer v. possessor (Is 1:3)
  • Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 18:48:54 -0500


On 17 Nov 98, at 9:17, Paul Zellmer wrote:

> Our questions: Does our use of "toro" (picture a bull in the
> bullfights) go contrary to the normal usage of $oWR? Are we
> overplaying the acquisition as opposed to possession with the word
> QoN"HW.? Does the contrast that we result in coincide with what you
> see in these verses, or is it too strong?

It seems to me that part of the question is what other words are available in
a
particular language and culture to convey something like the desired meaning.

My sense is that the dominant image of $oWR in the Hebrew Bible is of a well-
domesticated working animal that nevertheless might on occasion prove
destructive (Exodus 21).

The root QNH appears to have other connotations relating to possession
besides
mere purchase - see Gen. 14:19 and 22, where God is described as QoNeH
$aMaYiM
Wa)aReC. I almost think that the root might in some contexts have the
connotation of "take possession of " rather than "buy". In the verse in
question, given the parallelism with B:(fLfW (it's owner, master, lord), it
seems to me that the possession aspect is more prominent than the acquisition.

Lewis Reich
LBR AT sprynet.com






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