Dan 9:25b תָּשׁוּב

[SteveMiller]

Dan 9:25b
תָּשׁוּב֙ וְנִבְנְתָה֙ רְח֣וֹב וְחָר֔וּץ וּבְצ֖וֹק הָעִתִּֽים

Why does every translation except LXX & Lamsa translate Dan 9:25 as something like:
The street and the moat shall be built again, even in troublous times.

It seems that they translated תָּשׁוּב֙ as "again" modifying the waw-consecutive verb וְנִבְנְתָה.
But the waw-consecutive signals the start of a clause.

It seems to me a straightforward translation would be:
She [Jerusalem] will return, and the street and the moat will be built, also in troublous times.

I have never seen a waw-consecutive violated like that, to take a word that is before the waw-consecutive and treat it as if it modified a word that follows the waw.

Can anyone tell me why all the English translations might have translated it as they do?

[R.J. Furuli]

Dear Steve,

Let us first look at Daniel 9:25a: The verb $wb has the basic meaning "to turn around; return." In the Hiphil stem, the idea may be "to cause to return," which, applied to a city, could mean to "restore." In Koehler/Baumgartner, the Hiphil meaning "restore" is given, and Daniel 9:25 is used as an example. In 9:25b, the verb $wb is in the Qal stem. Because the verb is feminine singular, the subject likely is the city. A literal translation would be: "she will return and be built, a public square and a moat." Because there is one active and one passive verb with the one subject "she," the active verb may—but need not—be taken in the adverbial sense, as "again." This is perfectly legitimate. So, "she will return and be built," "she will again be built," and "she will be rebuilt (=built again)" are possible renderings. Your suggestion, "and the street and the moat will be built" is not possible, because "street/public square" and "moat" are masculine and the verb bah is feminine.

The text of the LXX is different from the MT and cannot be used for comparison. The Syriac text of 25b can be translated this way: "he will return and build (Peal-active form) Jerusalem, her streets/marketplace and her open area." You can never trust Lamsa.


Best regards,


Rolf Furuli
Stavern
Norway

[kwrandolph]

Dear Steve,

… Your suggestion, "and the street and the moat will be built" is not possible, because "street/public square" and "moat" are masculine and the verb bah is feminine.

I don’t have a definite answer on this question, but one little correction—רחוב is found only once in plural, in Jeremiah 5:1, where it is feminine plural, רחונות.

Is there a difference between רצחובות and רחבות? Even though the second temple period saw the insertion of many waws and yods into the text, was there originally a difference so that an included waw originally made a difference in the meaning? I suspect so.

I have another question—is חרוץ in this verse used as a noun, or an adverb modifying “return” and “build” in this verse?

Karl W. Randolph.

[Isaac Fried]

As I see it the personal pronouns TA of TA-$UB, and NI of W-NI-BN-TAH, as both for the city. Hence the translation: "She will be rebuilt anew, street and trench, even in troublesome times".

XARUC is apparently a variant of חריץ XARIYC.

Isaac Fried, Boston University