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Deut 21:7 — יָדֵ֫נוּ שָֽׁפְכָה or יָדֵ֫ינוּ שָֽׁפְכוּ?
Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2022 11:32 pm
by Jason Hare
The consonantal text of this verse reads:
וענו ואמרו ידינו לא שפכה את הדם הזה ועינינו לא ראו
As written, there is disagreement between the subject ידינו (feminine plural) and the verb שפכה (feminine singular). The Massoretes gave us the קרי to replace שפכה with שפכו, thus:
וְעָנ֖וּ וְאָֽמְר֑וּ יָדֵ֗ינוּ לֹ֤א שָֽׁפְכוּ֙ אֶת־הַדָּ֣ם הַזֶּ֔ה וְעֵינֵ֖ינוּ לֹ֥א רָאֽוּ׃
Would you consider the possibility of reading it as ידנו שפכה instead? Perhaps this is just a long tsere written with a vowel letter unintentionally? A couple of chapters earlier (Deut 15:14), we see העניק as an infinitive absolute, which is normally written without yod. On the other hand, it does make it fit well with the plural use of eyes in the second line (“our hands did not x” and “our eyes did not y”).
What do you guys think?
Re: Deut 21:7 — יָדֵ֫נוּ שָֽׁפְכָה or יָדֵ֫ינוּ שָֽׁפְכוּ?
Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2022 12:36 pm
by S_Walch
Well it's certainly possible this is just a copyist error of dittography (
ידי). The LXX goes with plural for both (
Αἱ χεῖρες ἡμῶν οὐκ
ἐξέχεαν), but whether this demonstrates a Hebrew text which had the plural, or whether it's just good translating is not able to determine either way.
Notwithstanding, the Dead Sea Scrolls manuscript 4QDeutf has the plural and not the singular here:
[וענו ואמרו י]דינו לא שפכו את הד[ם הזה ועינינו לא ראו]
(
link to online image of fragment. 3rd line down more or less in the centre)
So I would go with the singular being an error in the Masoretic text or an earlier ancestor.
Re: Deut 21:7 — יָדֵ֫נוּ שָֽׁפְכָה or יָדֵ֫ינוּ שָֽׁפְכוּ?
Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2022 3:53 pm
by Jason Hare
S_Walch wrote: ↑Sat Mar 12, 2022 12:36 pm
So I would go with the singular being an error in the Masoretic text or an earlier ancestor.
I can totally understand how someone could be copying and hear the singular instead of the plural (יָדֵ֫נוּ yāḏḗnû instead of יָדֵ֫ינוּ yāḏếnû), hold that form in their mind while moving forward, and then accidentally change the verb to match what they had in their mind. Thanks for providing the DSS image.
Re: Deut 21:7 — יָדֵ֫נוּ שָֽׁפְכָה or יָדֵ֫ינוּ שָֽׁפְכוּ?
Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2022 5:59 pm
by ducky
Hi,
Actually this form שפכה is the archaic form of the plural feminine perfect.
So there is no error or typo here.
later on, this form was lost (probably because the singular form "took" it) and then the feminine plural used the masculine form (as שפכו which is both masculine and feminine).
There are more verses that this archaic form is seen.