Apr 21 2006
Genesis 18:1-5
וַיֵּרָ֤א אֵלָיו֙ יְהוָ֔ה בְּאֵלֹנֵ֖י מַמְרֵ֑א וְה֛וּא יֹשֵׁ֥ב פֶּֽתַח־הָאֹ֖הֶל כְּחֹ֥ם הַיּֽוֹם׃ 2 וַיִּשָּׂ֤א עֵינָיו֙ וַיַּ֔רְא וְהִנֵּה֙ שְׁלֹשָׁ֣ה אֲנָשִׁ֔ים נִצָּבִ֖ים עָלָ֑יו וַיַּ֗רְא וַיָּ֤רָץ לִקְרָאתָם֙ מִפֶּ֣תַח הָאֹ֔הֶל וַיִּשְׁתַּ֖חוּ אָֽרְצָה׃ 3 וַיֹּאמַ֑ר אֲדֹנָ֗י אִם־נָ֨א מָצָ֤אתִי חֵן֙ בְּעֵינֶ֔יךָ אַל־נָ֥א תַעֲבֹ֖ר מֵעַ֥ל עַבְדֶּֽךָ׃ 4 יֻקַּֽח־נָ֣א מְעַט־מַ֔יִם וְרַחֲצ֖וּ רַגְלֵיכֶ֑ם וְהִֽשָּׁעֲנ֖וּ תַּ֥חַת הָעֵֽץ׃ 5 וְאֶקְחָ֨ה פַת־לֶ֜חֶם וְסַעֲד֤וּ לִבְּכֶם֙ אַחַ֣ר תַּעֲבֹ֔רוּ כִּֽי־עַל־כֵּ֥ן עֲבַרְתֶּ֖ם עַֽל־עַבְדְּכֶ֑ם וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ כֵּ֥ן תַּעֲשֶׂ֖ה כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר דִּבַּֽרְתָּ׃
Vocabulary
Verse 1
אלון “terebinth” (BDB, 18)
מרא name: “Mamre”
חם “heat” (BDB, 328)
Syntax & Miscellaneous
- The periphrastic construction of the second clause implies the copula, היה.
- The phrase, פֶּֽתַח־הָאֹ֖הֶל, is adverbial “by the door of the tent.”
- The kaf preposition is temporal “when”; however, in idiomatic English one might say “in the heat of the day.”
Vocabulary
Verse 2
נצב verb (Niphal participle mpl): “stand, take one’s stand”
רוץ verb: “run”
Verse 3
חן “favor, grace”
Verse 4
שׁען verb (Niphal imperative mpl): “support oneself” (BDB, 1043)
Verse 5
פת “bit” (BDB, 837)
סעד “sustain” (BDB, 703)
Syntax & Misc.
Verse 2
- The first verb, וַיִּשָּׂ֤א, is a waw-consecutive imperfect derived from נשֹא. The first root radical (nun) has assimilated.
- The participle, נִצָּבִ֖ים, is a substantive functioning as the predicate of a verbless clause.
- The sequencing of waw-consecutive verbs, וַיַּ֗רְא וַיָּ֤רָץ, is best understood as an ordered arraignment, “When he saw, he ran.”
- Because of stress retraction with a waw-consecutive imperfect form, the final he has apocopated causing the root letter waw to shift to a sureq—ו + ישׁתחוה à וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ.
- The final he of אָֽרְצָה is a directional he, signaling that he fell “to the ground.”
Verse 3
- The first word of the quotation is a vocative, אֲדֹנָ֗י “O my lord.”
- The negation, אַל, marks a jussive even though morphologically תַעֲבֹ֖ר is not marked as such.
Verse 4
- The lack of a clause connector connects the first phrase to the previous one.
- The final clause, וְהִֽשָּׁעֲנ֖וּ תַּ֥חַת הָעֵֽץ, is idiomatic for “rest yourself under the tree.”
Verse 5
- GKC 158b (n1) states: “כִּֽי־עַל־כֵּ֥ן prop. for therefore, Genesis 18:5, 19:8, 33:10, 38:26; Numbers 10:31, 14:43; 2 Samuel 18:20.”
Can you comment any further on the pointing of ???????? in verse 3? Doesn’t this pointing usually mean the 1csg suffix on the plural (my lords) or the intensive plural (my Lord)? This is an intriguing aspect of this passage (given the appearance of YHWH, then of the three men, then this seemingly ambiguous address).
Lord Adonai ???????
The MT designates the generic word, ???? “lord,” from the divine appellation, ??????? “Lord,” by the addition of a qames-yod suffix (BDB, p. 10 suggests the latter is a plural noun form, possibly honorific or intensive). I do not know of any example where the suffixed form, ???????, is used of anyone but God; however, ???? can refer to God (Exodus 23:17, 34:23; Joshua 3:11; Psalm 114:7) or humans (Psalm 105:21; Jeremiah 22:18).
Other forms of the word are very similar. The first person plural pronominal suffix form (??????? “my lords,” Genesis 19:2) is only differentiated from the divine title by a final patah instead of a qames. The first person pronominal suffix, ??????? “my lord,” is used exclusively of human masters, for example my lord Abraham in Genesis 24:12.
I guess I was curious as to why many translations (NRSV, NIV, RSV) translate it as ‘my lord’, rather than ‘my Lord’ which seems to be indicated by the pointing. Is this a text critical issue, or can the text be read either way as it stands in the MT?
There is not a textual variant listed in the apparatus of BHS. The variation in the translations has to do with the choice of the translating committee not a problem with the text. My guess is that the RSV, NIV, NRSV and JPS versions use the lower case “lord” so as not to necessitate the addressee as God. The problem is that the lower case usage is not ambiguous (English does not have a way to mark such ambiguity; whereas in Greek one could by using an anarthrous noun, κυριος); that is to say, the translating committee has interpreted the usage as not being divine by using the lower case.
The textual support for such an interpretation is scant at best. Out of 420 occurrences of ??????? in the MT, the only instance in which the text may not be referring to God is Ezra 10:3. In fact, the NRSV only translates ??????? with the lower case in two verses—Genesis 18:3 and Ezra 10:3. Thus, the translation was altered from demanding a divine “Lord” to imposing an earthly “lord” based on a theological preference and not solid textual evidence.
Other Evidence for “my Lord” versus “Lord”:
NASV translates ???? as "my Lord" three times (Genesis 18:3; Ezra 10:3; Psalm 16:2). In each occurrence a note tells the reader that the Hebrew says only "Lord." The reason for this change is not clear to me; however, in the Genesis passage the use is clearly a vocative (stylistically "my Lord" is more common than "O Lord" in colloquial English).
RSV translates it “my Lord” seven times (Genesis 18:3; Exodus 4:10, 13; Ezra 10:3; Ps. 16:2, 109:21;,140:8).
NRSV translates “my Lord” eight times (Genesis 18:3; Exodus 4:10, 13; Ezra 10:3; Psalms 16:2, 109:21, 140:8, 141:8)
ESV uses “my Lord” seven times (Exodus 4:10, 13; Ezra 10:3; Psalms 16:2, 109:21, 140:8, 141:8). Most of these are vocatives; however notice that Genesis 18:3 is not in the list.
NIV uses “my Lord” only four times (Genesis 18:3; Ezra 10:3; Psalm 16:2; Isaiah 21:8)