יְבַקֵּר YBAQER, Lev. 27:33

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Isaac Fried
Posts: 1783
Joined: Sat Sep 28, 2013 8:32 pm

יְבַקֵּר YBAQER, Lev. 27:33

Post by Isaac Fried »

We read there
לֹא יְבַקֵּר בֵּין טוֹב לָרַע וְלֹא יְמִירֶנּוּ
KJV: "He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it"
NIV: "No one may pick out the good from the bad or make any substitution"
יְבַקֵּר is from the root בקר which is a member of the root family
בגר, בהר, בחר, בכר, בקר
פגר, פכר, פקר
'differentiate, dichotomize, dissect, discern, distinguish, clarify, prefer, select, choose, favor'
Hence יְבַקֵּר is, the three in one: 'choose'-יְבַחֵר, 'clarify'-יְבַהֵר, 'prefer'-יְבַכֵּר, as in Deut. 21:16
וְהָיָה בְּיוֹם הַנְחִילוֹ אֶת בָּנָיו אֵת אֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה לוֹ לֹא יוּכַל לְבַכֵּר אֶת בֶּן הָאֲהוּבָה עַל פְּנֵי בֶן הַשְּׂנוּאָה הַבְּכֹר
NIV: "when he wills his property to his sons, he must not give the rights of the firstborn to the son of the wife he loves in preference to his actual firstborn, the son of the wife he does not love."

Isaac Fried, Boston University
Isaac Fried
Posts: 1783
Joined: Sat Sep 28, 2013 8:32 pm

Re: יְבַקֵּר YBAQER, Lev. 27:33

Post by Isaac Fried »

It seems to me that the לְבַקֵּר of Ps. 27:4
אַחַת שָׁאַלְתִּי מֵאֵת יהוה אוֹתָהּ אֲבַקֵּשׁ שִׁבְתִּי בְּבֵית יהוה כָּל-יְמֵי חַיַּי לַחֲזוֹת בְּנֹעַם יהוה וּלְבַקֵּר בְּהֵיכָלוֹ
NIV: "One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord  all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord  and to seek him in his temple."
KJV: "One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple."
is of a root rather related to פגר and the post-biblical פקר (הִפְקִיר), 'abandon, lose, loose, unrestrained', or as spoken Hebrew has it 'to visit'.

Isaac Fried, Boston University
Isaac Fried
Posts: 1783
Joined: Sat Sep 28, 2013 8:32 pm

Re: יְבַקֵּר YBAQER, Lev. 27:33

Post by Isaac Fried »

Other words that come to mind for לְבַקֵּר - לפגר, לפקר are 'relax, tarry, linger'.

Isaac Fried, Boston University
Isaac Fried
Posts: 1783
Joined: Sat Sep 28, 2013 8:32 pm

Re: יְבַקֵּר YBAQER, Lev. 27:33

Post by Isaac Fried »

Another example where a ב-פ B-P interchange helps explain an abstract verb in terms of a concrete one is provided us by the pair ברר-פרר BRR-PRR. פרר is 'to crumble, to fragment' (in post-biblical Hebrew פֵּרוּר PERUR is 'crumb'), as in Isaiah 24:19
רֹעָה הִתְרֹעֲעָה הָאָרֶץ פּוֹר הִתְפּוֹרְרָה אֶרֶץ מוֹט הִתְמוֹטְטָה אָרֶץ
NIV: "he earth is broken up, the earth is split asunder, the earth is violently shaken."
KJV: "The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly."

לברר or לברור, 'to separate, to array, to select, to choose, to cull, to glean, to clarify, to sort out the possibilities, to consider the details, to resolve a problem, to find out', is possible only on something that is inherently splintered, fragmented, consisting of parts, namely on something that is מפורר.
See Daniel 11:35
וּמִן הַמַּשְׂכִּילִים יִכָּשְׁלוּ לִצְרוֹף בָּהֶם וּלְבָרֵר וְלַלְבֵּן עַד עֵת קֵץ כִּי עוֹד לַמּוֹעֵד
KJV: "And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed"
and Nehemiah 5:18
וַאֲשֶׁר הָיָה נַעֲשֶׂה לְיוֹם אֶחָד שׁוֹר אֶחָד צֹאן שֵׁשׁ בְּרֻרוֹת וְצִפֳּרִים נַעֲשׂוּ לִי
NIV: "Each day one ox, six choice sheep and some poultry were prepared for me"

Isaac Fried, Boston University
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