So the situation is this: Jerry has shown that in pretty much all the occurrences of רקע, the forms of this root seem to indicate something tangible that can be beaten or hammered out. The question is: Does Gen 1 provide an exception?
Methinks not. The text itself suggests something tangible across which birds can fly. Rolf's insistence on me providing evidence is essentially asking me to prove that על פני must mean 'across the surface'. Having pointed to the usage of the phrase twice in the specific context under question, I don't know what other evidence he wants. If one cannot accept the evidence from the context, that is no longer my problem — we are dealing with different methods: contextual evidence versus tangential considerations. GEORGE ATHAS Dean of Research, Moore Theological College (moore.edu.au) Sydney, Australia _______________________________________________ b-hebrew mailing list [email protected] http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-hebrew
