dear kenneth,
אֲשֶׁר יַרְשִׁיעֻן אֱלֹהִים, יְשַׁלֵּם שְׁנַיִם לְרֵעֵהוּ. 8
the problem with the literal text is that the paragogic N in YR$Y(N
refers to )LHYM in the plural, whereas the singular is used as a rule
(Ex 20:1,15, 21:13, 23:25 etc etc etc).
a non-literal minimal-pair alternative would be to replace
YR$Y(N ("will condemn (v, 3p, plural)") by YR$Y(W ("will
condemn (v, 3p, sing) him"), given that the letters N and W
are similar (in the later hebrew alphabet, and to some degree,
in the old too). this requires a tiny change in the text but is
more consistent with the singular tensing for )LHYM. and the
paragogic N disappears.
without having the statistics, i would add that the non-literal
hypothesis would benefit if the paragogic N is mostly preceded by
a W (as in Ex 20:11, 18:20,26).
nir cohen
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