Monday, October 15, 2012

Psalm 7:16

בֹּור כָּרָה וַיַּחְפְּרֵהוּ וַיִּפֹּל בְּשַׁחַת יִפְעָל׃

Rough Word-by-word:
a pit he digged and he digged out it and he fell in the hole he makes

Smooth Translation:
He digged and digged out a pit, and has fallen in the hole he makes.

בֹּור noun masculine singular "a pit"

כָּרָה Qal perfect 3ms from כָּרָה (he dug, he digged) "he digged"

וַיַּחְפְּרֵהוּ Qal imperfect 3ms with a vav conversive and 3ms pronominal suffix from חָפַר (he digged out) "and he digged out [him] it"

וַיִּפֹּל Qal imperfect 3ms with a vav conversive from נָפַל (he fell) "and he fell"

בְּשַׁחַת preposition with noun fs "in [the] hole"

יִפְעָל Qal imperfect 3ms from פָּעַל (he did, he made) "he will make" or "he makes" (note the imperfect - incomplete)

4 comments:

  1. Is that a typo on the 2nd parsing? I'm thinking the root there should mean "he digged" or maybe "he dug," but not "he made."

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  2. Not really a typo, but my attempt to reconcile Owens' translation (he makes) with the context and the preterit form. "He dug" would be more proper as far as American English goes, but "he digged" is how Soncino's JPS renders it and the more active nuance, to me, is a little better.
    I also noted the numerous verbs for "doing." There may be a sermon in there...
    Thanks for pointing to this and keeping me honest.

    --- marty ---

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  3. Interesting. I looked it up in my BDB and I didn't see any reference to "he made" as a meaning. All the meanings point to actual digging, like to dig a grave or a pit. I wonder where Owens gets "he made" from?

    "He digged" sounds a little awkward to my modern ears, but it does work. :)

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    Replies
    1. I double checked BDB and Gesenius. Both indicate the only other uses are "to get by trade," or "to give a feast."
      Beall also says "dig."
      But Owens' Analytical key has "he makes."
      Perhaps he is just going from the context and noting the noun "pit" and saying, "he makes a pit."
      ...guess I'll change it.

      --- marty ---

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