Psalm 39:12 any thoughts?

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kwrandolph
Posts: 1531
Joined: Sun Sep 29, 2013 12:51 am

Psalm 39:12 any thoughts?

Post by kwrandolph »

Dear Fellow Students:

Psalm 39:12 reads:
בתוכחות על-עון יסרת איש   ותמס כעש חמודו אך הבל כל-אדם

The middle phrase has “you melt as a caterpillar …” which makes no sense. The LXX has “spiderweb” which does make sense as the object of the verb. If that were the original reading, then the Hebrew would have been ותמס כקור עכביש חמודו which also fits the meter of the verse.

Is there anything in the DSS?

What do you all think?

Karl W. Randolph.
Isaac Fried
Posts: 1783
Joined: Sat Sep 28, 2013 8:32 pm

Re: Psalm 39:12 any thoughts?

Post by Isaac Fried »

It is rather: “you melt as a caterpillar (does) …”

Isaac Fried, Boston University
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Ken M. Penner
Posts: 83
Joined: Wed Sep 11, 2013 12:31 pm

Re: Psalm 39:12 any thoughts?

Post by Ken M. Penner »

It's not in the DSS.
Ken M. Penner, Ph.D.
St. Francis Xavier University
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