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Textual and Linguistic Problems of the Book of Psalms

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 June 2012

G. R. Driver
Affiliation:
Magdalen College, Oxford

Extract

The present article contains notes and discussions designed to discover the sense of or to obtain sense from a number of difficult passages in the Hebrew Psalter.

12.8: אתה־יהןח תשמרם תצךנו. Only the Pesh. agree with the M. T. in its very difficult confusion of persons; the LXX and the Eth. Vs. both have the plural first person and the Targ. has the singular third person. As the first person comes in rather abruptly, the third person may be accepted; moreover, it involves the least alteration of the text, as תשמרם can then be taken as the remnant of an unmodernized תשמרמו ‘thou wilt keep him,’ since this suffix often has a singular sense. The antecedent is of course the man described as יפיח לו ‘him at whom one puffs' in v. 6, and the obscurity of this expression may be responsible for the half-hearted attempt to change the suffix from the third to the first person.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © President and Fellows of Harvard College 1936

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References

1 Cf. Ps. 11.7 (84.6).

2 For s. JTS, 31, 148.

3 Kraus, Phys. Om. Bab., 86.123; cf. Schroeder, Va. Sd. 16.12.7 (iltiḫunāti ‘he has prevailed over us’) and Chiera, JEN, 3.368.10 (iltêšunūti ‘he has prevailed over them’).

4 Ps. 119.138.

5 In Kittel's Bibl. Hebr., Lib. Psalm.,3 10.

6 In JTS, 23, 72–73; 25, 178; 32, 365.

7 Cf. Wutz, Die Psalmen, 313.

8 Brockelmann, Lex. Syr.,2 88.

9 Hava, Arab.-Engl. Dict.,2 26.

10 Brockelmann, Lex. Syr.,2 63.

11 Levy, Ch. Wtb., I, 86–7.

12 Hava, Arab.-Engl. Dict.,2 51.

13 Cf. Beer in Kittel's Bibl. Hebr., Lib. Psalm.,3 29.

14 Cf. ‘showed itself swift’ (Is. 30.16).

15 Like from (Dalman, Gramm. Jüd.-Pal. Aram.,2 317, 326); but forms from hollow verbs often come very close to those from geminate verbs, as in from beside from (Dalman, op. cit., 328, 334).

16 Like Targ. Aram. (Midr. on Deut. 1.1); cf. Job 1.21 for the use of in connection with God.

17 Hava, Arab.-Engl. Dict.,2 756.

18 Cf. Jer. 12.4 for fem. sing, verb preceding fern. plur. subject (s. Kautzsch-Cowley, Hebr. Gramm.,2 § 145k).

19 Cf. (Lev. 25.21), (II Ki. 9.37, Kt.).

20 Muss-Arnolt, CDAL, 982.

21 Brockelmann, Lex. Syr.,2 743.

22 Levy, Ch. Wtb., II, 436–7.

23 Freytag, Lex. Arab.-Lat., II, 177–8.

21 In Die Psalmen, 73.

25 It may be suspected that the Targ.'s is an inexact attempt to represent the same sense.

26 Cf. Wutz, Die Psalmen, 39.

27 Micah 7.17.

28 Streck, Assurb., 2, 32–3 (3), 127; cp. Knudtzon, AT, 75,19; 162, 23.

29 Cf. Deut. 29.22.

30 Cf. (Hos. 10.14), (II Sam. 19.5), (Zach. 14.10), (II Sam. 12.1), (Prov. 13.23).

31 Cf. Ass. uṭlātuš dalābiš Kûru ‘his privies were painfully hacked off’ (Langdon, Creation, 76–7, 1.66).

32 I.e. for (Ewald).

33 Obviously ‘dogs’ stands for ‘rogues,’ but several Vss. (Symm. θηραταί, Aq. and Theod. κυνηγέται, Jer. venatores) suggest ‘huntsmen (with hounds)’; they at any rate attest the existence of a Hebr. (cp. Syr. ) ‘huntsman.’

34 Cf. Kautzsch-Cowley, Hebr. Gr.,2 § 114 m–n, whence it appears that the omission of occurs only with the infinitive of certain verbs (, ).

35 Ps. 18.36 = II Sam. 22.36 (s. JTS, 31, 282).

36 In Bibl. Polygl., 3, 116.

37 Ought it then to be ?

38 Ezek. 17.7 (s. Brockelmann, Lex. Syr.,2 269 under ).

39 Levy, Ch. Wtb., 1, 381.

40 Maclean, Dict, of Vern. Syr., 137.

41 Hava, Arab.-Engl. Dict.,2 660.

42 Freytag, Lex. Arab.-Lat., 2.7.

43 Cf. Hebr. = Syr. for the interchange of final r and n.

44 Ps. S6.7 (with acc. c), 119.95 (with ).

45 Cf. = (s. JTS, 36, 151–3).

46 Scheil in Maspero's Rec. de Trav., 19.61, (2) 3 (cf. Bezold, Bab.-Ass. Gloss., 240).

47 Cf. Ps. 102.3, which may be responsible for the combination.

48 Cf. JTS, 36, 1473.

49 Most of the Vss. (LXX's μάστιγϵς, Symm.'s πλῆκται, Targ.'s , Jer.'s percutientes) confirm the M. T.

50 Cf. II Sam. 4.9, 9.3.

51 Most of the Vss. (LXX's διϵσχίσθησαν, Aq.'s ἔρηξαν, Symm.'s ἀπορρήξαυτϵς, Targ.'s ) confirm the M. T.

52 Like and (Ezek. 30.21), (Jud. 18.20).

53 Freytag, Lex. Arab.-Lat., 1, 436.

54 In Thes. Ling. Hebr. et Chald. (1829), 997.

55 Juvenal, Sat., 2, 28; cf. Aristotle, Poetics, 5, 1449a, 84–35 for the proper sentiment ().

56 Cf. = and so on.

57 Hava, Arab.-Engl. Dict.,2 792–3.

58 Brockelmann, Lex. Syr.,2 448.

59 Literally ‘girt of (with) thy sword.’

60 Not ‘on thy thigh,’ as the suffix is otiose, especially after that in .

61 Literally ‘resplendent (in respect) of thy loins with thy pomp’ and so on.

62 Cf. Brown-Driver-Briggs, Hebr. Lex., 754, s.v. I, f, d for the final force in this preposition.

63 Cf. and .

64 In Die Psalmen, 231.

65 In Die Psalmen, 240–1.

66 Is. 10.3.

67 Is. 22.5.

68 In Die Psalmen, 241.

69 Gen. 36.5, 14, 18; I Chron. 1.35.

70 Cf. Hebr. ‘wild beast’ and ‘desert-dweller.’

71 Cf. Eisler, in JRAS, 1923, 179Google Scholar on (I Chron. 5.12).

72 In The Book of Psalms, 86.

73 Variant readings are and , revealing doubt about the text.

74 S. n. on 90, 4–6.

75 Cf. (from nawir) from the , and so on (s. Bauer, and Leander, , Hist. Gr. d. Hebr. Spr., 1, 464Google Scholar).

76 Brockelmann, , Lex. Syr.,2 80–1Google Scholar.

77 Targ. Is. 5.20 and Ps. 104.34 (cited by Levy, , Chald. Wtb., I, 102Google Scholar).

78 Ps. 90.3.

79 In JRAS, 1982, 883Google Scholar.

80 Cf. numeros memini si verba tenerem (Verg. Ecl., 9, 45Google Scholar).

81 Brockelmann, , Lex. Syr.,2 580Google Scholar.

82 Hava, , Arab.-Engl. Dict.,2 853854Google Scholar.

83 Ibid., 177.

84 Deut. 29.19; Ps. 74.1.

85 Targ. II Sam. 24.1; cf. Targ. Gen. 45.5 ‘be not angry with yourselves’).

86 Brockelmann, , Lex. Syr.,2 551–2Google Scholar.

87 Ibid., 535–6.

88 Lane, , Arab.-Engl. Lex.,2 I, 5, 2168–9Google Scholar.

89 Brown-Driver-Briggs, , Hebr. Lex., 88Google Scholar, s.v. I, 2b; cf. Jer. 12, 13 and Ezek. 22, 16. [Since writing this note I see that Wutz (in Transkriptionen 459) has anticipated me.]

90 Cf. I Chron. 26.16 (?), 18 (?), II Chron. 9.11.

91 Cf. Ps. 11.17 (12.8).

92 Ps. 68.5 (cf. Pesh. and Targ.).

93 Prov. 4.8.

94 In Lese-u. Schreibfehler, 73 (s. Meissner in SPrAW, ph.-h. Kl., 1934, 28, 71).

95 The Arab. Vs.'s ‘met’ or ‘kissed one another’ is equivocal.

96 From ; cf. Jo. 2.9, and Nah. 2.5 (s. JTS, 35, 387–8Google Scholar).

97 In Die Psalmen, 400–1.

98 Hava, , Arab.-Engl. Dict.,2 288Google Scholar. (The Ass. zarāmu ‘to overwhelm’ appears to be a doubtful verb).

99 Both the LXX's σκληρυνθεἰη and the Pesh.'s support ‘withers away’ for (cf Arab. ‘was weary’); moreover, the Targ.-Aram. means not ‘was cut off, plucked away’ (Levy, Chald. Wtb., 2.15) but ‘withered’ wherever it occurs (s. n. on 58.8).

100 Apparently ‘we shall be chastised’ or ‘chastened’ from Arab. ‘was chaste.’

101 Brockelmann, , Lex. Syr.,2 538Google Scholar.

102 Hava, , Arab.-Engl. Dict.,2 484–5Google Scholar.

103 In Die Psalmen, 438.

104 Cf. Ps. 109.24.

105 Brockelmann, , Lex. Syr.,2 294Google Scholar.

106 In Die Psalmen, 440.

107 In Die Psalmen, 508.

108 Hava, , Arab.-Engl. Dict.,2 207Google Scholar; cf. Freytag, , Lex. Arab.-Lat., II, 34Google Scholar, Dozy, , SDA, I, 444Google Scholar.

109 Brown-Driver-Briggs, , Hebr. Lex., 963Google Scholar s.v. Q, 2b.

110 Brockelmann, , Lex. Syr.,2 792–3Google Scholar.

111 Ibid., 732–3.

112 Thompson, , Gilg., xi. 9Google Scholar.

113 Cf. Ps. 144.14 (s. JTS, 36, 147Google Scholar); s. n. on 144, 14.

114 Jensen, in KB, VI, 1, 426Google Scholar.

115 Usually ‘sailors’ (Ezek. 27.8, 27, 28, 29; Jon. 1.6).

116 Brockelmann, , Lex. Syr.,2 211Google Scholar.

117 In Die Psalmen, 594.

118 Cf. Arab. ‘occupied himself with’ (Hava, , Arab.-Engl. Dict.,2 492Google Scholar).

119 Cp. Prov. 13.23; 28.3 (s. JTS, 31, 278Google Scholar).

120 In Die Psalmen, 598.

121 Cf. Arab. Aram. = Hebr. ; thus will be an apocopated jussive form of the Hi. .

122 Cf. .

123 I Ki. 21.29 (K.); Mic. 1.15.

124 Cf. from nawir (or from ) for the vocalization.

125 Cf. Ps. 123.4 (s. n. on 123, 4).

126 Only in Jer. 11.19 ().

127 Cp. Cowley, Aram. Pap., 43, 4; Ah. 74, 205. The Acc. šūbultu ‘what is sent’ means also ‘provisions’ (s. Driver, and Miles, , AL, 478Google Scholar) with š < s (s. ibid., 472).

128 Eccl. 12.5, where the LXX and Pesh. have respectively παχυνθῇ and (s. Hertzberg, , Der Prediger, 182–3Google Scholar).

129 Hava, , Arab.-Engl. Dict.,2 873Google Scholar (especially of garments).

130 Cf. and so on.

131 Cf. and so on.

132 Cf. ‘oppression,’ ‘ruin,’ and ‘error’ (s. Barth, , Nominalbildung, I, 149–51Google Scholar).

133 Is. 9.4. (s. Anal. Or., 12, 60).