Discovery Box| (0.17) | (Neh 7:3) | 3 tn Presumably this would mean the gates were not to be opened until later in the morning and were to remain open until evening. Some, however, have understood Nehemiah’s instructions to mean that the gates were not to be left open during the hottest part of the day, but must be shut and locked while the guards are still on duty. See J. Barr, “Hebrew עַד, especially at Job i.18 and Neh vii.3, ” JJS 27 (1982): 177-88. |
| (0.17) | (Neh 5:11) | 1 tc The MT reads וּמְאַת (umeʾat, “and the hundredth”) which is somewhat enigmatic. The BHS editors suggest emending to וּמַשַּׁאת (umashaʾt, “and the debt”) which refers to the interest or collateral (pledge) seized by a creditor (Deut 24:10; Prov 22:26; see HALOT 641-42 s.v. מַשָּׁא). The term מַשַּׁאת (mashaʾt) is related to the noun מָשָּׁא (mashaʾ, “debt”) in 5:7, 10. |
| (0.17) | (Neh 1:5) | 2 tn Heb “keep.” The Hebrew verb שָׁמַר (shamar, “to observe; to keep”) is often used as an idiom that means “to obey” the commandments of God (e.g., Exod 20:6; Deut 5:16; 23:24; 29:8; Judg 2:22; 1 Kgs 2:43; 11:11; Ps 119:8, 17, 34; Jer 35:18; Ezek 17:14; Amos 2:4). See BDB 1036 s.v. 3.c. |
| (0.17) | (Ezr 2:69) | 2 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word דַּרְכְּמוֹנִים (darkemonim, cf. Neh 7:69, 70, 71) is uncertain. It may be a Greek loanword meaning “drachmas” (the view adopted here and followed also by NAB, NASB, NIV84) or a Persian loanword “daric,” referring to a Persian gold coin (BDB 204 s.v. דַּרְכְּמוֹן; HALOT 232 s.v. נִים(וֹ)דַּרְכְּמֹ; cf. ASV, NIV, NRSV). For further study, see R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 206-9. |
| (0.17) | (2Ch 33:6) | 2 tn Heb “and he set up a ritual pit, along with a conjurer.” Hebrew אוֹב (ʾov, “ritual pit”) refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits. In 1 Sam 28:7 the witch of Endor is called a בַּעֲלַת אוֹב (baʿalat ʾov, “owner of a ritual pit”). See H. Hoffner, “Second Millennium Antecedents to the Hebrew ʾÔḆ,” JBL 86 (1967): 385-401. |
| (0.17) | (2Ch 30:25) | 2 sn The term גֵּר (ger) refers to a foreign resident, but with different social implications in different settings. In Mosaic Law the resident foreigner was essentially a naturalized citizen and convert to worshiping the God of Israel (see Exod 12:19, 48; Deut 29:10-13). Here the term refers to those who had immigrated (or fled as refugees) from the conquered northern kingdom as well as those already residents of the southern kingdom of Judah. |
| (0.17) | (2Ch 20:23) | 4 tn Heb “they helped, each one his fellow, for destruction.” The verb עָזַר (ʿazar), traditionally understood as the well-attested verb meaning “to help,” is an odd fit in this context. It is possible that it is from a homonymic root, perhaps meaning to “attack.” This root is attested in Ugaritic in a nominal form meaning “young man, warrior, hero.” For a discussion of the proposed root, see HALOT 811 s.v. II עזר. |
| (0.17) | (2Ch 3:17) | 3 tn The meaning of the name “Boaz” is uncertain. For various proposals, see BDB 126-27 s.v. בֹּעַז. One attractive option is to revocalize the name as בְּעֹז (beʿoz, “in strength”) and to understand it as completing the verbal form on the first pillar. Taking the words together and reading from right to left, one can translate the sentence, “he establishes [it] in strength.” |
| (0.17) | (1Ch 29:7) | 1 tn See the note on the word “talents” in 19:6. Using the “light” standard talent of 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg) as the standard for calculation, the people donated 168.3 tons (153,000 kg) of gold, 336.5 tons (306,000 kg) of silver, 605.7 tons (550,800 kg) of bronze, and 3,365 tons (3,060,000 kg) of iron. |
| (0.17) | (1Ch 25:9) | 1 tc Heb “The first lot went to Asaph, to Joseph.” Apparently the recurring formula, “and his sons and his relatives, twelve” has been accidentally omitted from the Hebrew text at this point (see vv. 10-31; the formula is slightly different in v. 9b). If the number “twelve” is not supplied here, the total comes to only 276, not the 288 required by v. 7. |
| (0.17) | (1Ch 18:3) | 2 tn Heb “when he went to set up his hand at the Euphrates River.” The Hebrew word יָד (yad, “hand”) is usually understood to mean “control” or “dominion” here. However, since יָד does occasionally refer to a monument, perhaps one could translate, “to set up his monument at the Euphrates River” (i.e., as a visible marker of the limits of his dominion). For another example of the Hiphil of נָצַב (natsav) used with יָד (“monument”), see 1 Sam 15:12. |
| (0.17) | (1Ch 16:43) | 1 tn Heb “to bless his house.” Elsewhere when “house” is the object of “bless,” it refers to a household or family. See, for example, 1 Chr 13:14; 17:27. However, since בֵּית (bet, “house”) refers to a literal house or home earlier in the verse and to David’s palace in 17:1, one might translate here, “David went to pronounce a blessing on [i.e., dedicate] his house [i.e., palace].” |
| (0.17) | (2Ki 25:16) | 1 tc The MT lacks “the twelve bronze bulls under ‘the Sea,’” but these words have probably been accidentally omitted by homoioarcton. The scribe’s eye may have jumped from the וְהָ (veha) on וְהַבָּקָר (vehabbaqar), “and the bulls,” to the וְהָ on וְהַמְּכֹנוֹת (vehammekhonot), “and the movable stands,” causing him to leave out the intervening words. See the parallel passage in Jer 52:20. |
| (0.17) | (2Ki 22:19) | 2 tn Heb “how I said concerning this place and its residents to become [an object of] horror and [an example of] a curse.” The final phrase (“horror and a curse”) refers to Judah becoming a prime example of an accursed people. In curse formulations they would be held up as a prime example of divine judgment. For an example of such a curse, see Jer 29:22. |
| (0.17) | (2Ki 22:4) | 1 tc The MT has וְיַתֵּם (veyattem), “and let them add up” (Hiphil of תָּמָם [tammam], “be complete”), but the appearance of הִתִּיכוּ (hittikhu), “they melted down” (Hiphil of נָתַךְ [natakh], “pour out”) in v. 9 suggests that the verb form should be emended to וְיַתֵּךְ (veyattekh), “and let him melt down” (a Hiphil of נָתַךְ [natakh]). For a discussion of this and other options see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 281. |
| (0.17) | (2Ki 21:6) | 3 tn Heb “and he set up a ritual pit, along with conjurers.” The Hebrew אוֹב (ʾov), “ritual pit,” refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits. In 1 Sam 28:7 the witch of Endor is called a בַעֲלַת אוֹב (baʿalat ʾov), “owner of a ritual pit.” See H. Hoffner, “Second millennium Antecedents to the Hebrew, ʾÔḆ” JBL 86 (1967), 385-401. |
| (0.17) | (2Ki 8:27) | 2 tn Heb “and he walked in the way of the house of Ahab and did evil in the eyes of the Lord like the house of Ahab, for he was a relative by marriage of the house of Ahab.” For this use of חֲתַן (khatan), normally “son-in-law,” see HALOT 365 s.v. חָתָן. Ahab was Ahaziah’s grandfather on his mother’s side. |
| (0.17) | (2Ki 6:8) | 1 tc The verb form used here is difficult to analyze. On the basis of the form נְחִתִּים (nekhittim) in v. 9 from the root נָחַת (nakhat), it is probably best to emend the verb to תִּנְחְתוּ (tinkhetu; a Qal imperfect form from the same root). The verb נָחַת in at least two other instances carries the nuance “go down, descend” in a military context. For a defense of this view, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 72. |
| (0.17) | (2Ki 1:2) | 4 sn Apparently Baal Zebub refers to a local manifestation of the god Baal at the Philistine city of Ekron. The name appears to mean “Lord of the Flies,” but it may be a deliberate scribal change of Baal Zebul, “Baal, the Prince,” a title known from the Ugaritic texts. For further discussion and bibliography, see HALOT 261 s.v. זְבוּב בַּעַל and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 25. |
| (0.17) | (2Ki 1:8) | 2 tn Heb “an owner of hair.” This idiomatic expression indicates that Elijah was very hairy. For other examples where the idiom “owner of” is used to describe a characteristic of someone, see HALOT 143 s.v. בַּעַל. For example, an “owner of dreams” is one who frequently has dreams (Gen 37:19) and an “owner of anger” is a hot-tempered individual (Prov 22:24). |
