Ecclesiastes - GA Barton - 1908.pdf
Ecclesiastes - GA Barton - 1908.pdf
Ecclesiastes - GA Barton - 1908.pdf
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68 ECCLESIASTES<br />
a meaning which is followed by Dat., De W., Kn., Heil., Del., Wr., K6.,<br />
Strack^ McN. and Ha. This meaning comes in the end to be practically<br />
synonymous with "Preacher." To pass by many fanciful explanations,<br />
see Ginsburg's Coheleth, p. $ff., Dod. took it to mean "Assembly" or<br />
"Academy," and compared German and French royal academies.<br />
Hit. interprets it "Narrator," PL renders it "Debater," while Che.<br />
(1893) thought it might mean "The ideal teacher." Margouliouth,<br />
Jewish Encyc., V, 32, takes it to mean "member of an assembly."<br />
The 05, 'E/ocXeo-iatmJs from 'E/c/cX^tr/a, "assembly," is an imitation of<br />
n|?np. It throws little light on the meaning, as we do not know the sig-<br />
nificance attached to it.<br />
1 - 2 - nSnp is found in the book t2<br />
as follows: ch. i<br />
7"<br />
8 - 9 - l i2 . It has<br />
the article (nVnpn) in i2 8 . In 7 37 it is construed with a fern, verb, unless,<br />
as is probable, we are to read there nSnpn IDN. Probably, therefore, it<br />
is an appellative. The verb Vnp, from which it comes, occurs in Hebrew<br />
only in Ni., "to be summoned" or "assembled" (cf.<br />
1 Ex. 32<br />
Ez. 38' Est. 8 11 o2 - 16 - 18 ), or Hi., "to collect" or "assemble" (cf. Ex.<br />
Je. 26"<br />
35 1 Lev. 8 3 Nu. 20* Dt. 4 10 13 Ez. 38 Job n 10 , etc.).<br />
The root Snp in Aram, is used in Ni. and Hi. in the same meanings<br />
asinHeb. = e<br />
(cf.Ja,. 1322), Syr. q hal=" congregate," "collect"; Sab. Snp<br />
nSnp=" assembly," "congregation" (D. H. Miiller, ZDMG., XXX, 685,<br />
and Hommel, Chrest., 127). The root also survives in Saho, a south<br />
Hamitic language, in which kahal="come together," "assemble"<br />
(Reinsch, Saho Sprache, 210).<br />
In Ar. qahala="be dry," "shrivelled,"<br />
"shrunk," the meaning of the root has developed in a different direction.<br />
In form nSnp is a fern, segholate part, of the Kal. The use of the fern,<br />
here has received different explanations. 1. Ra., AE., Ew., Hit.,<br />
Heng. and Kue. have explained the fern, on the ground that nSnp" agrees<br />
with or stands for wisdom (-"loan). 2. Ty. (<strong>Ecclesiastes</strong>, 57) suggests<br />
that it denotes "one who is an assembly," i.e., it is a personification of<br />
the assemblies of men. The fact that r^.?.P is usually construed with a<br />
masc. verb, renders both these explanations improbable. 3. Wm.<br />
Wright, Arab. Gram. 3d ed., 233, rem. c, explains it on the analogy of<br />
Ar. formations as an intensive fern, formation, an opinion with which<br />
Wr. (<strong>Ecclesiastes</strong>, 279) agrees. 4. Del., Che., No., Strack, McN. and others<br />
explain nSnp as the designation of an office, on the ground that the fern,<br />
ending is so used in rn.HD "scribe," Ezr. 2 55 ,<br />
and oo-xn rnp/a "binder of the<br />
gazelles," Ezr. 2". BDZJ. and Driver are undecided between 3 and 4.<br />
This last (4) is probably the right understanding of the form; r^np<br />
would mean, then, "an official speaker in an assembly." Another<br />
solution of the word should be noted. Re., L' <strong>Ecclesiastes</strong>, 13, suggests<br />
that it is a cryptogram, as Rambam is for Rabbi Moses Ben Maimon,<br />
or Rashi for Rabbi Solomon Isaac. This is not so probable.