From: "Walter R. Mattfeld" <mattfeld12 AT charter.net>
To: "b-hebrew List" <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: [b-hebrew] karu or ka'ari (Ps 22:16) ?
Date: Sun, 24 Apr 2005 18:13:28 -0400
I have a question of scholars on this list versed in Hebrew, is the
following information correct or incorrect, or "in dispute" as to meaning
regarding the word karu or ka'ari ?
Cf. the below quoted statement:
"On Psalm 22:16 "they pierced my hands and my feet" (King James Version),
Christians here found a famous example of an explicit prefiguration of
Jesus's sufferings. In the Gospel story, the Romans pierce his hands and
feet with nails in preparation for his being hung upon the cross. Nitzachon
Vetus answered that the word given in the Latin translation as "they
pierced" is written in the Hebrew original not as karu ("they pierced"), but
as ka'ari ("like a lion"). The entire verse is properly translated, "For
dogs have surrounded me; a pack of evildoers has enclosed me, like a lion
[at] my hands and my feet." In biblical poetry, such as in the book of
Psalms, the second half of a verse typically echoes the first. With this in
mind, we should expect the imagery of being torn by wild beasts to be
consistent from phrase to phrase -and it is. A modern update of the King
James Bible, the Revised Standard Version, now includes a footnote
acknowledging the more authentic translation of the verse." (p. 168. David
Klinghoffer. Why The Jews Rejected Jesus. New York. Doubleday. 2005. ISBN
0-385-51021-7)
Regards, Walter
Walter Reinhold Warttig Mattfeld y de la Torre, M.A. Ed.
mattfeld12 AT charter.net
www.bibleorigins.net
[b-hebrew] karu or ka'ari (Ps 22:16) ?,
Walter R. Mattfeld, 04/24/2005