Psalm 82:8

[Jedster]

@Harel13 @Deeje @lymus and anyone else

"Arise, O God, judge the earth, for You inherit all the nations. חקוּמָ֣ה אֱ֖לֹהִים שָׁפְטָ֣ה הָאָ֑רֶץ כִּֽי־אַתָּ֥ה תִ֜נְחַ֗ל בְּכָל־הַגּוֹיִֽם"
In another thread, Psalm 82:8 was being discussed,
So, I looked up the Hebrew and was curious that God(called elohim) is referred to in the feminine tense.
Comments, please.

 

[Harel13]

I think קומה is a variant of קום while the feminine version would be קומי.

 

[Jedster]

I think קומה is a variant of קום while the feminine version would be קומי.

Thanks.


ETS @Harel13
What about שָׁפְטָ֣ה? is that not feminine?

Does not שָׁפְטָ֣ה mean 'she judged'? That's how I would use it in modern Hebrew.

 

[Harel13]

Thanks.


ETS @Harel13
What about שָׁפְטָ֣ה? is that not feminine?

Does not שָׁפְטָ֣ה mean 'she judged'? That's how I would use it in modern Hebrew.

True. According to the concordance, it's also for masculine form, depending on the context, which changes also the nikkud (vowelization):

 

[Jedster]

True. According to the concordance, it's also for masculine form, depending on the context, which changes also the nikkud (vowelization):
View attachment 42185 View attachment 42186

Thanks.
Language can be so confusing sometimes.

ETA @Harel13
EG:
Me is who
Who is He
He is She

 

[eik]

So how would you explain biblehub's morphology of קוּמָ֣ה below?

V-Qal-Imp-ms | 3fs

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

I think קומה is a variant of קום while the feminine version would be קומי.

ּThat would make it an atypical variant. And, if so, how might we explain the use of the feminine תִנְחַל?

 

[Harel13]

ּThat would make it an atypical variant.

Why atypical? Here are similar words in the Tanach:
שׁוּבָה instead of שוב
אָסֻרָה instead of אסר (אסור(
סוּרָה instead of סור
הַגִּידָה instead of הגיד
נֵלְכָה, וְאֵלְכָה, לֵכָה instead of נלך, ואלך, לך
אָשִׁירָה instead of אשיר
אֲהַלְלָה instead of אהלל
וַאֲבָרְכָה instead of ואברך
אָשִׂיחָה instead of אשיח
אֲסַפְּרָה instead of אספר
שִׂימָה instead of שים
בֹּאָה instead of בא
שְׁבָה, וְיָשַׁבְתָּה instead of שב, וישבת

קומה itself, along with variants אקומה, נקומה, ואקומה, ונקומה, וקומה appears 23 times in the Tanach, ranging from Genesis to Chronicles.

It seems that these types of variants are used either as second-person commands or first-person action/commands (I don't know what's the proper word).

And, if so, how might we explain the use of the feminine תִנְחַל?

Similar, I'd say: תנחל is a third-person feminine word but also a second-person masculine word. The third-person masculine is ינחל while the second-person feminine is תנחלי.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

Why atypical? Here are similar words in the Tanach: ...

Yes, thank you. After posting the above I came across an article titled

The Lengthened Imperative קָמְלָה in Biblical Hebrew
Steven E. Fassberg; Hebrew Studies, 1999, Vol. 40​

Fassberg quotes Jonah ibn Jana; "It is possible that this he [ה] has a function besides marking the feminine, and it is for emphasis and stress." Fassberg also notes that M. Lambert characterizes this extended imperative as "a polite form marking respect as evidenced by its use when addressing God, a father, a prophet, or a priest." He writes further: "S. A. Kaufman* argues that the lengthened imperative and נא both mean 'please'."

Finally, he writes: "An examination of the Old Testament yields 288 certain examples of קָמְלָה as against approximately 1700 examples of קְמֹל ..."

Finally - in a feeble effort to restore some semblance of dignity - allow me to offer that

288/(288+1700) = 14.5%​

which might reasonably be considered by some as "atypical."


*S. A. Kaufman, "An Emphatic Plea for Please," Maarav 7 (1991) 198.

 

[Harel13]

Finally - in a feeble effort to restore some semblance of dignity - allow me to offer that
288/(288+1700) = 14.5%which might reasonably be considered by some as "atypical."

Want to compromise with "somewhat atypical"?

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

It seems that these types of variants are used either as second-person commands or first-person action/commands (I don't know what's the proper word).

A related question is this: Has the frequency of use changed over time and, if so, can it presence aid in the linguistic dating of biblical texts?

 

[Harel13]

A related question is this: Has the frequency of use changed over time and, if so, can it presence aid in the linguistic dating of biblical texts?

I believe so, though I'd have to look into it more to say for sure.