Special Issue IOSOT 2013 - Books and Journals
Special Issue IOSOT 2013 - Books and Journals
Special Issue IOSOT 2013 - Books and Journals
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
102 D. Pardee / Vetus Testamentum <strong>IOSOT</strong> (<strong>2013</strong>) 99-108<br />
his translations he uses expressions such as “wer . . . aussagt” (p. 58), “es atmet”<br />
(p. 66), <strong>and</strong> “wer Lügen aushaucht” (pp. 66, 76 bis) revealing a strong attachment<br />
to the analysis which sees yāpīaḥ as at best a verbal adjective meaning<br />
“who blows” (this in spite of his citation of Ugaritic ypḥ). McKane is, to my<br />
knowledge, the first general commentator on Proverbs to use consistently “witness”<br />
(or its negative counterpart “perjurer”) to translate yāpīaḥ in Proverbs. He<br />
analyzes the word as a verb only in Prov. xiv 5.13<br />
The Hebrew texts, in order of difficulty, are as follows:<br />
Prov. xii 17 yāpîaḥ ʾḝmûnâ yaggîd ṣedeq a 2 (= x + y) b c<br />
wĕʿēd šĕqārîm mirmâ a′ 2 (= x′ + z) c′<br />
“A truthful witness says what is correct,<br />
A perjuring witness (says what is) deceitful”.<br />
The parallelism leaves little doubt that yāpîaḥ is a substantive, probably in a<br />
genitive relationship with ʾĕmûnâ. This latter point is at least rendered likely<br />
by ʿēd šĕqārîm “a witness of falsehoods” = “one who when a witness tells<br />
falshoods”.<br />
Prov. xix 5 ʿēd šĕqārîm lōʾ yinnaqeh a 2 (= x + y) b 2<br />
wĕyāpîaḥ kĕzābîm lōʾ yimmālēṭ a′ 2 (= x′ + y′) b′ 2<br />
Prov. xix 9 ʿēd šĕqārîm lōʾ yinnaqeh a 2 (= x + y) b 2<br />
wĕyāpîaḥ kĕzābîm yōʾbēd a′ 2 (= x′ + y′) b′<br />
“A perjuring witness will not go unpunished,<br />
A false witness will not get off scot free/will perish”.<br />
The precise parallelism of ʿēd šĕqārîm <strong>and</strong> yāpîaḥ kĕzābîm in both these verses<br />
indicates the functionel identity of ʿēd <strong>and</strong> yāpîaḥ.<br />
Prov. xiv 5 ʿēd ʾḝmûnîm lōʾ yĕkazzēb a 2 (= x + y) b 2<br />
wĕyāpîaḥ kĕzābîm ʿēd šāqer a′ 2 (= x′ + z) a″ 2<br />
(= x + z′)<br />
“A truthful witness does not lie<br />
But a false witness (is) a perjuring witness”.<br />
13) Proverbs, pp. 219, 229, 231, 232, 240, 326, 445, 469.