To: "Biblical Hebrew" <b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
Subject: Psalm 2:12 and Proverbs 31 ben/bar
Date: Mon, 1 Apr 2002 10:23:25 -0500
GfSomel wrote: "Maintaining the consonantal text is always preferable. In
the oldest
manuscripts the letters were not always separated (in fact, as I recall, they
usually
weren't)."
In fact, the epigraphic evidence is consistently against scripto
continuo (for a
well-researched popular discussion, see A. Millard in Bible Review (or BAR) a
few
years ago--I can dig out the bib. ref. if anyone wants it). This seems to
raise questions
about the validity of that step of Prof. Krahmolkov's method. The rest is
compelling,
Liz, and certainly to be preferred to the divisions in BHS, which seem to
reflect
Bardtke's views of Hebrew poetry more than anything else.
Sorry to be so late chiming on this--our e-mail service and my health
have not
been conducive to quick replies. :-)