[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
31. The Hebrew word ynvh is usually connected with naveh, 'dwelling', and rendered 'and abides not
at home'. But our author evidently identified it with an homophonous nvh (=n'h), 'be comely, seemly'.
32. I.e., the netherworld.
33. King James Version: 'Woe to him that increaseth [that which is] not his! how long? and to him that
ladeth himself with thick clay!' (The 'thick clay' is here com-pounded out of ancient ignorance of what
the relevant Hebrew word meant. We now know that it signified 'pledge(s)'.)
34. Literally, 'who was called (renowned) for truth'. The assumption that this refers to his actual name,
which he subsequently changed, is quite erroneous and over looks a common Hebrew idiom.
35. See above, n. 13.
36. This colloquialism seems the only way of reproducing the effect of the Hebrew, which lies in the
fact that the word for 'creditor, usurer' derives from a verbal root meaning 'bite'!
37. The Hebrew word (yakisu), usually rendered 'awake', is fancifully construed by our author as if it
were the very similar ya'kisu, 'sting'. Once again, an English colloquialism best conveys the point.
38. A. Dupont-Sommer has suggested that the reference is to the wicked priest Aristobulus II who was
arrested and imprisoned and finally died of poison in prison at the hands of Pompey's supporters. But
to die of poison is not to die of loathsome diseases, and what our author is trying specifically to
interpret is Habak-kuk's reference to 'bites' and 'stings'. Besides, this whole business of looking for
precise historical allusions seems grossly overdone; the passages in question may have in mind typical
rather than actual cases. The use of the perfect tense is not against this; we may render: 'This refers to
the kind of wicked priest who, in the past, was invariably exposed to this and this suffering', etc.
39. Here again the reference may be typical rather than actual.
40. H. H. Rowley (The Zadokite Fragments and the Dead Sea Scrolls, [1952], p. 67) makes the
ingenious suggestion that this refers to the rebuilding of the city of David in the time of Antiochus
Epiphanes, mentioned in I Mace. 1.33. The wicked priest, he thinks, was Menelaus. But once again we
may be chary of precise identifications.
41. Literally, 'making them weary themselves in'.
42. The traditional (Masoretic) text reads, 'in order to gaze on their nakedness' (me'orehem). In the
ancient Hebrew script, the letters r and d are often barely distinguishable, and our author evidently
read me'ode-hem. However, he took this to mean 'their staggerings' (rtm-'-d) rather than 'their festivals'
(mo'ed), as usually understood. Hence, he interpreted the Scriptural text as referring to an occasion
when the congregation was made to totter (or stumble) in the observance of a holy day.
43. See General Introduction, p. 19. The Hebrew expression (ABYT GLUT0) has been read
differently (viz. ABOT GLUTO) and rendered 'desiring his exile', i.e., aiming to drive him into exile.
Other considerations apart, however, it should be observed that the verb A-B-H (from which ABoT
would derive) means properly 'assent to, comply with', rather than 'desire, aspire to, aim at'.
44. Cp. Lev. 16.31; 23.32.
45. The Scriptural text says: The violence of Lebanon (i.e., which lurks in the forests of Lebanon) and
the assault of beasts shall crush (or, affright) you. Our author, however, takes the words, of Lebanon
and of beasts, as objective rather than subjective genitives (a construction paralleled in Joel 4.19).
Substantially the same interpretation as is here given is to be found also in the Aramaic Targum in
loc., and is adopted in NEB.
46. The name Lebanon means 'white' (referring to the white cliffs). The point of the interpretation lies
in the fact that the members of the Brotherhood wore white—as do the modern Samaritans and
Mandaeans.
47. Heb. Judah.
=======
Psalm 37
1. The received (Masoretic) text reads: Though thou look'.
2. A word (Heb. 'ose) has dropped out.
3. In accordance with the common Jewish tradition that the 'Messianic' ministry will last for forty
years and then be followed by the Golden Age.
4. The Hebrew word is ebyonim, and this has inspired the theory that the Qumran Covenanters were
really the Ebiomtes, rather than the Essenes. But the inference is unnecessary, for it is difficult to see
what other word the writer could possibly have used in the normal sense of 'poor, needy'.
5. The interpretation is inspired by Ps. 78.9: The children of Ephraim were as archers handling the
bow'. The reference is to the Samaritans; see note 10 to The Commentary on Nahum.
6. The Hebrew word is usually rendered 'be shamed', but in Aramaic (and in Arabic) it has the sense of
'suffer misfortune' or even 'be ill', and the subsequent comment shows that the writer so understood it.
(The actual quotation from Scripture is missing in the manuscript; it was written at the foot of the
preceding column, which is now lost.)
7. To be understood metaphorically as well as literally; see Introduction, pp. 4, 27.
8. Restoring beyesh[a'] rather than beyosh[er], which is suggested by Allegro. Cp. Jer. 23.6.
9. In fulfillment of the Scriptural promise, Deut 7.9.
10. Cp. Gen. 12.7; 15.8; 17.7-8; 28.13; Deut. 1.8.
11. The received (Masoretic) text and all the Ancient Versions read 'But the enemies of the Lord'. In
the Hebrew, there is a difference of only one letter.
12. RSV: The enemies of the Lord are as the glory of the pastures', i.e., as grass that quickly withers.
But the Hebrew word rendered 'pastures' (viz. karim), if derived from a different verbal root, can mean
'lambs', and this is how the ancient Jewish interpreters understood it. (The true meaning is in any case
obscure, and various emendations of the text have been suggested.)
13. The text is defective, and reads simply, '[ ] sheep'; I supply 'bellwethers' (Heb. ele) for the sense.
14. The traditional text reads, by a different vocalization of the same consonants, They shall vanish
like smoke, yea vanish'.
15. See Manual of Discipline, i.11-12.
16. The expression is borrowed from Ezek. 17.23.
17. Usually rendered 'delighteth', but the word is also used in the sense of 'be preoccupied', and it is
evident that the writer so understood it.
18. The expression usually rendered, Teacher of Righteousness'.
19. The word rendered 'congregation' came in Syriac to mean 'church'. It is extremely interesting to
find it associated here with the verb 'build', for this usage-foreign to the Old Testament—at once
recalls the New Testament's 'building the church'. Indeed, if one wishes to indulge fancy, one may
even suppose that the imperfectly preserved phrase actually spoke of 'building a church [congregation]
firmly on a rock', for the verb 'set firm', which is here employed, is actually used, in Ps. 40.3(2), of
'planting firmly on a rock'. In that case, we should have here a striking parallel to Jesus' famous words
to Peter (Mat. 16.18).
20. Cp. HabC., viii.8; ix.9; xi.4; xii.2, 8. An historical identification is at present premature.
21. The Hebrew word, mith'areh, is of uncertain meaning in this passage. Normally, the root '-r-h
means 'be naked', and our author may so have understood it, albeit in a figurative sense.
22. The traditional (Masoretic) text has, 'he passed by', but our author's reading agrees with that of the
Greek (Septuagint), Latin (Vulgate), and Syriac (Peshitta) Versions.
23. Cp. HabC., ii.2; v.11; 'Zadokite' Document, xx.15. An historical identification is at present
premature.
24. Restored ad sensum.
=======
Psalm 45
1. The identification of the Korahite choristers in the
Temple (cp. I Chron. 6.22) with the sons of the Korah who led the revolt against Moses in the wilder
ness (Num. 16) is in accord with standard rabbinie tradition. Moreover, because it is said in Num.
26.11 that the 'sons of Korah did not die' when the earth swallowed up the rebels, tradition asserted
that they repented their father's action and refused to make common cause with him when Moses [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl akte20.pev.pl
31. The Hebrew word ynvh is usually connected with naveh, 'dwelling', and rendered 'and abides not
at home'. But our author evidently identified it with an homophonous nvh (=n'h), 'be comely, seemly'.
32. I.e., the netherworld.
33. King James Version: 'Woe to him that increaseth [that which is] not his! how long? and to him that
ladeth himself with thick clay!' (The 'thick clay' is here com-pounded out of ancient ignorance of what
the relevant Hebrew word meant. We now know that it signified 'pledge(s)'.)
34. Literally, 'who was called (renowned) for truth'. The assumption that this refers to his actual name,
which he subsequently changed, is quite erroneous and over looks a common Hebrew idiom.
35. See above, n. 13.
36. This colloquialism seems the only way of reproducing the effect of the Hebrew, which lies in the
fact that the word for 'creditor, usurer' derives from a verbal root meaning 'bite'!
37. The Hebrew word (yakisu), usually rendered 'awake', is fancifully construed by our author as if it
were the very similar ya'kisu, 'sting'. Once again, an English colloquialism best conveys the point.
38. A. Dupont-Sommer has suggested that the reference is to the wicked priest Aristobulus II who was
arrested and imprisoned and finally died of poison in prison at the hands of Pompey's supporters. But
to die of poison is not to die of loathsome diseases, and what our author is trying specifically to
interpret is Habak-kuk's reference to 'bites' and 'stings'. Besides, this whole business of looking for
precise historical allusions seems grossly overdone; the passages in question may have in mind typical
rather than actual cases. The use of the perfect tense is not against this; we may render: 'This refers to
the kind of wicked priest who, in the past, was invariably exposed to this and this suffering', etc.
39. Here again the reference may be typical rather than actual.
40. H. H. Rowley (The Zadokite Fragments and the Dead Sea Scrolls, [1952], p. 67) makes the
ingenious suggestion that this refers to the rebuilding of the city of David in the time of Antiochus
Epiphanes, mentioned in I Mace. 1.33. The wicked priest, he thinks, was Menelaus. But once again we
may be chary of precise identifications.
41. Literally, 'making them weary themselves in'.
42. The traditional (Masoretic) text reads, 'in order to gaze on their nakedness' (me'orehem). In the
ancient Hebrew script, the letters r and d are often barely distinguishable, and our author evidently
read me'ode-hem. However, he took this to mean 'their staggerings' (rtm-'-d) rather than 'their festivals'
(mo'ed), as usually understood. Hence, he interpreted the Scriptural text as referring to an occasion
when the congregation was made to totter (or stumble) in the observance of a holy day.
43. See General Introduction, p. 19. The Hebrew expression (ABYT GLUT0) has been read
differently (viz. ABOT GLUTO) and rendered 'desiring his exile', i.e., aiming to drive him into exile.
Other considerations apart, however, it should be observed that the verb A-B-H (from which ABoT
would derive) means properly 'assent to, comply with', rather than 'desire, aspire to, aim at'.
44. Cp. Lev. 16.31; 23.32.
45. The Scriptural text says: The violence of Lebanon (i.e., which lurks in the forests of Lebanon) and
the assault of beasts shall crush (or, affright) you. Our author, however, takes the words, of Lebanon
and of beasts, as objective rather than subjective genitives (a construction paralleled in Joel 4.19).
Substantially the same interpretation as is here given is to be found also in the Aramaic Targum in
loc., and is adopted in NEB.
46. The name Lebanon means 'white' (referring to the white cliffs). The point of the interpretation lies
in the fact that the members of the Brotherhood wore white—as do the modern Samaritans and
Mandaeans.
47. Heb. Judah.
=======
Psalm 37
1. The received (Masoretic) text reads: Though thou look'.
2. A word (Heb. 'ose) has dropped out.
3. In accordance with the common Jewish tradition that the 'Messianic' ministry will last for forty
years and then be followed by the Golden Age.
4. The Hebrew word is ebyonim, and this has inspired the theory that the Qumran Covenanters were
really the Ebiomtes, rather than the Essenes. But the inference is unnecessary, for it is difficult to see
what other word the writer could possibly have used in the normal sense of 'poor, needy'.
5. The interpretation is inspired by Ps. 78.9: The children of Ephraim were as archers handling the
bow'. The reference is to the Samaritans; see note 10 to The Commentary on Nahum.
6. The Hebrew word is usually rendered 'be shamed', but in Aramaic (and in Arabic) it has the sense of
'suffer misfortune' or even 'be ill', and the subsequent comment shows that the writer so understood it.
(The actual quotation from Scripture is missing in the manuscript; it was written at the foot of the
preceding column, which is now lost.)
7. To be understood metaphorically as well as literally; see Introduction, pp. 4, 27.
8. Restoring beyesh[a'] rather than beyosh[er], which is suggested by Allegro. Cp. Jer. 23.6.
9. In fulfillment of the Scriptural promise, Deut 7.9.
10. Cp. Gen. 12.7; 15.8; 17.7-8; 28.13; Deut. 1.8.
11. The received (Masoretic) text and all the Ancient Versions read 'But the enemies of the Lord'. In
the Hebrew, there is a difference of only one letter.
12. RSV: The enemies of the Lord are as the glory of the pastures', i.e., as grass that quickly withers.
But the Hebrew word rendered 'pastures' (viz. karim), if derived from a different verbal root, can mean
'lambs', and this is how the ancient Jewish interpreters understood it. (The true meaning is in any case
obscure, and various emendations of the text have been suggested.)
13. The text is defective, and reads simply, '[ ] sheep'; I supply 'bellwethers' (Heb. ele) for the sense.
14. The traditional text reads, by a different vocalization of the same consonants, They shall vanish
like smoke, yea vanish'.
15. See Manual of Discipline, i.11-12.
16. The expression is borrowed from Ezek. 17.23.
17. Usually rendered 'delighteth', but the word is also used in the sense of 'be preoccupied', and it is
evident that the writer so understood it.
18. The expression usually rendered, Teacher of Righteousness'.
19. The word rendered 'congregation' came in Syriac to mean 'church'. It is extremely interesting to
find it associated here with the verb 'build', for this usage-foreign to the Old Testament—at once
recalls the New Testament's 'building the church'. Indeed, if one wishes to indulge fancy, one may
even suppose that the imperfectly preserved phrase actually spoke of 'building a church [congregation]
firmly on a rock', for the verb 'set firm', which is here employed, is actually used, in Ps. 40.3(2), of
'planting firmly on a rock'. In that case, we should have here a striking parallel to Jesus' famous words
to Peter (Mat. 16.18).
20. Cp. HabC., viii.8; ix.9; xi.4; xii.2, 8. An historical identification is at present premature.
21. The Hebrew word, mith'areh, is of uncertain meaning in this passage. Normally, the root '-r-h
means 'be naked', and our author may so have understood it, albeit in a figurative sense.
22. The traditional (Masoretic) text has, 'he passed by', but our author's reading agrees with that of the
Greek (Septuagint), Latin (Vulgate), and Syriac (Peshitta) Versions.
23. Cp. HabC., ii.2; v.11; 'Zadokite' Document, xx.15. An historical identification is at present
premature.
24. Restored ad sensum.
=======
Psalm 45
1. The identification of the Korahite choristers in the
Temple (cp. I Chron. 6.22) with the sons of the Korah who led the revolt against Moses in the wilder
ness (Num. 16) is in accord with standard rabbinie tradition. Moreover, because it is said in Num.
26.11 that the 'sons of Korah did not die' when the earth swallowed up the rebels, tradition asserted
that they repented their father's action and refused to make common cause with him when Moses [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]