Hi Karl, In my last post I had requested that if we keep this conversation going, we should cut down on the length of the posts by only dealing with one or two passages. So, please, let's try to do that. It's just too hard and too time consuming to reply to what I consider to be your very untenable interpretations of the various passages. So, in this post, I'm only going to deal with two issues.
(1) I had said, when commenting on Isa 40:19, that RQ( in that verse, while correctly translated "overlay," was still referring to a process that included hammering, necessary for many reasons, among them making sure the pits and fissures were completely filled. You replied, "Not hammering. Hammered gilding on wood would dimple the wood, ruining its finish. Hammering stone images risks chipping the stone. Even hammered gilding on medal will dimple the metal. Since gold leaf with the same properties as what we have today was known even in ancient Egypt, there was no need for hammering." Again, in spite of your objections, just a very cursory search in my reference works, commentaries, lexicons, academic journal articles, and numerous websites confirms that in ancient times, overlaying, not in all cases, but in many cases, was done by a hammering process. Again, you cannot use your modern understanding of what's involved in these processes and project it backwards onto ancient times. Your resources informed you correctly with regard to the production of gold overlay, but no on the overlaying process itself. (2) With regard to Jer 10:9, your answer completely sidestepped the point I was making. You had originally said, "Again, the spreading of silver and gold leaf onto a statue. I then replied, very clearly, "No plating is talked about in this verse. RQ( here is used to refer to beaten out silver plates brought from Tarshish, and possibly, by ellipsis, the verb might apply to the gold as well. RQ( is not used here to refer to the plating process, but to the process of making the silver and gold plating. And this was done by beating and hammering out." Your reponse, completely ignoring the point, was, "This verse is talking about the making of idols, contrasted with the living God in verse 10." Yes, the verse goes on to talk about the finished product, but when RQ( is used in the verse it is not referring to plating, but to beating out the silver and gold overlay sheets. If we are going to conduct a conversation, you'll need to read more carefully. Blessings, Jerry Shepherd Taylor Seminary Edmonton, Alberta [email protected] _______________________________________________ b-hebrew mailing list [email protected] http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-hebrew
