Exegetical Gems from Biblical Hebrew

A Refreshing Guide to Grammar and Interpretation

Hardy, H. H.,II

• Publisher: Baker Academic
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781493418046
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Reference

After spending countless hours studying Hebrew vocabulary, paradigms, and grammar, students may wonder how they can begin to reap the rewards of their hard work. H.H. HardyII presents 30 grammatical concepts and their exegetical payoff to demonstrate the importance of learning Hebrew for interpreting the Old Testament. In the process, students will realize the practical value of what they have learned. This book is perfect for students looking to apply their Hebrew and for past students who wish to review the essentials of Hebrew grammar.

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Hebrew Language and Literature

Ezekiel 9:4

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהוָה֙ אֵלָ֔ו עֲבֹר֙ בְּת֣וֹךְ הָעִ֔יר בְּת֖וֹךְ יְרֽוּשָׁלִָ֑ם וְהִתְוִ֨יתָ תָּ֜ו עַל־מִצְח֣וֹת הָאֲנָשִׁ֗ים הַנֶּֽאֱנָחִים֙ וְהַנֶּ֣אֱנָקִ֔ים עַ֚ל כָּל־הַתּ֣וֹעֵב֔וֹת הַֽנַּעֲשׂ֖וֹת בְּתוֹכָֽהּ׃

Introduction

The challenge for the exegete and translator of the Hebrew Bible is to understand and communicate ideas from ancient literatures and cultures that are often vastly different than their own. To bridge this gap, interpreters must understand Hebrew grammar, that is, the shared linguistic standards of the ancient communities. Other aspects of communication must also be spanned in order to interpret the message of the OT. The exegetical task incorporates comparative studies of literature, archaeology, history, geography, anthropology, and language. Last, exegetes must consider how best to communicate the literature of a nonnative people into their own linguistic and cultural context.

A prime example of the multifaceted interpretive challenges is found in the oracle concerning the judgment of Jerusalem in Ezekiel 8–11. Prior to Yahweh’s departure from the temple, he commands a linen-clad man with a writing case to designate all those distressed by the abominations of Israel (Ezek. 9:1–11). These individuals alone would be saved from the impending slaughter. The scribe is instructed וְהִתְוִיתָ תָּו עַל־מִצְחֹות, which all major English translations render as “put a mark on the foreheads” (Ezek. 9:4). Before he finishes his task, the executioners begin their gruesome work. The details of what this scribe wrote are not entirely clear. What was the sign? How was it marked? To explore these particulars, we must account for the vast separation of time, location, and culture between the context of ancient Israel and our contemporary moment.

Overview of Hebrew Language and Literature

Let us begin to investigate these questions by considering some of the distinctive elements of Hebrew language and literature. Most English speakers communicate through electronic messages using Latin characters and emojis (text messages, emails, websites, ebooks), whereas ancient Hebrew speakers communicated primarily through spoken words in person or, at times, through messengers. Only rarely were scrolls (or other surfaces) written on using a linear Canaanite script and read aloud by professional scribes. The literature contained in the Bible is a collection of many different works written over a period of hundreds of years in Hebrew and to a lesser degree Aramaic. Our access to this material comes through written texts that were preserved for generations after they were composed.

During the time of composition and preservation, Hebrew language and writing went through significant changes. Although the genealogical ancestry of Israel was traced from the Aramaeans (Deut. 26:5) and the Amorites (Ezek. 16:3), Israel adopted a dialect similar to their neighbors (see Isa. 19:18). Biblical Hebrew is grouped with other Semitic languages and subcategorized as a Canaanite language. The Canaanite family includes Phoenician, Moabite, Ammonite, and Edomite. Speakers of these languages lived in the land of Canaan and interacted with Hebrew speakers (Num. 13:29; Deut. 1:7).

Biblical Hebrew is commonly separated into three temporal stages—Early Biblical Hebrew, Standard Biblical Hebrew, and Late Biblical Hebrew. These phases are roughly contemporaneous with the premonarchy, the Israelite/Judahite monarchies, and the postmonarchy periods. But they should be considered as overlapping rather than consecutive stages.1 This time frame provides for some of the differences between the later period works, like Esther or Chronicles, and the earlier works, such as the Song of Deborah. Various regional dialects of Hebrew are also reflected in the biblical material.2 The dialects of the northern Israelites and Judeans diverged because of their cultural and political separation, with the former assimilating somewhat to Phoenician.3 And a distinct Ephraimite dialect is even mentioned in Judges 12! Just as with any living language, linguistic variation occurs through time, particularly when populations interact closely, split apart, or are segregated.

Written Hebrew changed constantly. Hebrew speakers initially adopted their writing system from other Canaanite speakers. The linear script was invented more than a millennium before its use in the Hebrew monarchy. It was principally adapted to inscribe scrolls and papyrus but could be engraved or inked on a number of other harder mediums, such as stone, clay, and precious materials.4 The twenty-two characters of the alphabet were polyphonic; that is, each symbol could represent multiple sounds. The script accounted primarily for consonantal values, but some vowels were differentiated by the time of the earliest known Hebrew inscriptions.5 Following the Babylonian exile, a new script based on Aramaic was implemented. This shift occurred in conjunction with the increasing prominence of Aramaic as an international language of correspondence in the Persian period and later. While some communities continued using the older Hebrew writing, the Aramaic square script was authorized by the rabbis as the only means of copying the Hebrew Bible.6 Along with this script change, scribes increased the number and frequency of their use of matres lectionis, the designation of vowels using the letters heh, waw, yod, and sometimes alef. This practice is evidenced in the famous Great Isaiah Scroll found near the site of Khirbet Qumran.7 Around the middle of the first millennium CE, several vocalization traditions provided a supra- and/or sub-linear system of designating Hebrew vowels more fully. This culminated with the Tiberian tradition, which also employs the elaborate system of cantillation marks seen in most modern editions of the Hebrew Bible.

Interpretation

An awareness of the history of the changes in Hebrew allows for a more thorough examination of Ezekiel 9:4. Yahweh’s instructions hinge on the second part of the command. The hiphil wəqatal form וְהִתְוִיתָ (see chap. 10, “Verb Conjugations 2”) is followed by its cognate object תָּו (taw). Most Hebrew dictionaries designate the noun as a generic “sign, mark,” but it is likewise the name of the final letter of the alphabet. The denominative verb וְהִתְוִיתָ indicates the writing of the taw.

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהוָה֙ אֵלָ֔ו עֲבֹר֙ בְּתֹ֣וךְ הָעִ֔יר בְּתֹ֖וךְ יְרֽוּשָׁלִָ֑ם וְהִתְוִ֨יתָ תָּ֜ו עַל־מִצְחֹ֣ות הָאֲנָשִׁ֗ים הַנֶּֽאֱנָחִים֙ וְהַנֶּ֣אֱנָקִ֔ים עַ֚ל כָּל־הַתֹּ֣ועֵבֹ֔ות הַֽנַּעֲשֹׂ֖ות בְּתֹוכָֽהּ׃

Yahweh said to him, “Go throughout the city, Jerusalem, and mark a taw on the foreheads of anyone who groans and sighs over all the abominations being done within it.” (Ezek. 9:4)

While it is tempting to end the analysis here, a follow-up query is important. Which taw is being written? Is it the three-sided character of the Aramaic square script (ת) or the cross-like shape of the old Hebrew script (X). Since Ezekiel’s vision preceded the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem, the taw would have originally been written in the old Hebrew script.8 But this solution does not entirely resolve what was intended by this sign. The only other use of the letter name תָּו is in the book of Job. In this context (Job 31:35), the noun is found with the first-person personal pronoun indicating a guarantee or authenticating designation. As such, the intended connotation is closer to that of an authenticating seal than a particular shape. It is a guarantee of what is contained in the missive, like the signature line on a document or email. If this is so, Ezekiel 9:4 may explain an intriguing aspect of the tradition of marking the forehead known from the NT and other Jewish texts from late antiquity.

In the book of Revelation, two contrasting marks indicate those who belong to Yahweh (7:2–3; 9:4; 14:1; 22:4) and those aligned with the beast (13:16–17; 14:9, 11; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4). The origin of the seal has often baffled commentators—in particular, how it connects with the m...