Pere Porta:
1. You wrote: “Remark: every girl in this world is a "daughter of a man";
there is no exception! That's why you assumption makes no sense (to my mind).”
I see your Western logic. But is that the way Hebrew grammar works?
2. You wrote: “[L]ook at every context where the word dealt with is inserted
and it will tell you the answer.”
The word KN(NY, or in one case the feminine form of that word, appears 9 times
in the Patriarchal narratives. But in only two cases, at Genesis 34: 30 and
here at Genesis 38: 2, is the definite article he/H absent. Do you see the
presence or absence of the definite article as being important? KN(NY at
Genesis 34: 30 is a noun with a plural meaning, whereas at Genesis 38: 2, KN(NY
is singular in meaning, and either is an adjective or, if an appositional
phrase is seen, a noun. But does the absence of the definite article preclude
an analysis that KN(NY is a noun with a singular meaning, thereby requiring
Genesis 38: 2 to be viewed as being an adjectival phrase? Or does it all
depend on context?
To phrase the question differently, we famously see H-KN(NY at both Genesis 12:
6 and 13: 7, being 2 of the 7 cases where the definite article is present. Out
of context, is there a very strong presumption that the meaning there is
plural, or, rather, does the question of whether that phrase is singular or
plural in meaning in those two verses rely almost entirely on the individual
context, that is, on how one interprets those two verses overall?
Jim
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