Chris Jacobs wrote:
[Dan. v. 8] "They were not able to read the writing, nor to make its
interpretation."
The waw which is here translated as "nor". Has it, in this verse, allways
meant "nor" ?
I don't know about "always in this verse," but it is true that the
conjunctive waw, though in general meaning "and," often is used to mean
"or." I can find some examples if you want. I dunno, how about Exodus
21:15? It is unlikely that this is pronouncing a penalty only for
someone who strikes *both* his parents. Rather, it's more "one who
strikes his father OR his mother..." There are many, many such examples.
Compare Daniel 5:7
Who can ((read this) â(explain it to me)) gets purple and gold and other
rewards, or something like that.
I would expect in Daniel 5:8 the logical negation of this, something like:
They  (were able to ((read the writing) â (make its interpretation)))
Natural-language conjunctions are rarely logical.
~mark
