Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Textcritic · 05-13-2007, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amedeo

...By the way, in translation the Bible says that it was made out of cypress. The translator says that "cypress" is an uncertain translation of the Hebrew term. So, when somebody is going to test the wood, he will never know if it is what the Hebrew term says that it is.

However, ask people who know Hebrew for the Hebrew word for OAK. This kind of wood does not rot in water and might withstand the rains between Noah and us. A cypress ark would have gone long ago -- something ark-fans have not seriously considered.

The best guesses as to what the Hebrew author was attempting to convey remain just that: guesses. YHWH commanded Noah to construct the ark out of "atze gofer", which has been translated in the KJV, RSV, ESV, and NAS as "gopher wood." More recent translations such as the NRSV, NIV, and NKJV have rendered this as "cypress".

The translators of both the Septuagint (LXX) and the Peshitta (Old Syriac version) were obviously confused by the term, and thus chose to supply an hypothetical equivalent: "xulown tertragownown" in the Greek, which is literally "four-sided beams".

According to the standard lexicon by Francis Brown, S.R. Driver, and Charles Briggs, the unusual atze gofer was probably a copiests error, and should probably be rendered to read atze gofrit. If this is indeed the case, then the mysterious "gopher wood" is actually "pitch-wood" or "resinous wood". Perhaps the phrase was intended to be descriptive of the procedure needed to make the vessel water-tight (cf. Marcus Jastrow, 262–63).

David B · 05-13-2007, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Textcritic

The best guesses as to what the Hebrew author was attempting to convey remain just that: guesses. YHWH commanded Noah to construct the ark out of "atze gofer", which has been translated in the KJV, RSV, ESV, and NAS as "gopher wood." More recent translations such as the NRSV, NIV, and NKJV have rendered this as "cypress".

The translators of both the Septuagint (LXX) and the Peshitta (Old Syriac version) were obviously confused by the term, and thus chose to supply an hypothetical equivalent: "xulown tertragownown" in the Greek, which is literally "four-sided beams".

According to the standard lexicon by Francis Brown, S.R. Driver, and Charles Briggs, the unusual atze gofer was probably a copiests error, and should probably be rendered to read atze gofrit. If this is indeed the case, then the mysterious "gopher wood" is actually "pitch-wood" or "resinous wood". Perhaps the phrase was intended to be descriptive of the procedure needed to make the vessel water-tight (cf. Marcus Jastrow, 262–63).

And there was me thinking that Noah must have spent years wandering around chasing horny gophers:devil1:

David B

Textcritic · 05-13-2007, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David B

And there was me thinking that Noah must have spent years wandering around chasing horny gophers:devil1:

David B

Hmmmmm. Maybe it was not so much a copiest's error as it was a copiest who shared your affinity for toilet humour.

Toto · 05-13-2007, 03:02 PM

That's copyist, not copiest. </spelling -grammar nitpick>

David B · 05-13-2007, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toto

That's copyist, not copiest. </spelling -grammar nitpick>

Despite my affinity for toilet humour, I was magnanimous enough to let that pass over in silence.

David B

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05-13-2007, 03:02 PM	#14
Toto Contributor Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Los Angeles area Posts: 40,549	That's copyist, not copiest. </spelling -grammar nitpick>

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