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Re: Isaiah 52:7(LXX)


>From: Perry Wiles <pwiles@mail.usyd.edu.au>

>A friend has asked me about the use of hWS in the LXX of Isaiah 52:7.
>The usage seems unusual to me. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
>
>The passage is: hWS hWRA EPI TWN OREWN hWS PODES EUAGGELIZOMENOU
>AKOHN EIRHNHS hWS
>EUAGGELIZOMENOS AGAQA hOTI AKOUSTHN POIHSW THN SWTHRIAN SOU
>LEGWN
>SIWN
>BASILEUSEI SOU hO QEOS
>
>Thanks in advance for any help.

Randy Leedy replied:

>Since nobody seems to have commented on this one, I'll jump in. BAGD
>has the following information in its entry on hWS: section IV.
>("Other uses"), point 6.
>
>"in exclamations 'how!'" 
>
>Biblical citations include Ps. 8:2, 72:1; Rom. 10:15 (cf. Isa 52:7),
>11:33.
>
>The usage seems unusual to me as well, but it doesn't "feel TOO bad."
>Perhaps someone else with greater expertise in extrabiblical Greek as
>well as in Hebrew can comment on whether this is a natural Greek
>sense of the word or whether we have a Semitism here. If it's not
>natural Greek, I wonder what the ordinary Greek expression would be?
>PWS doesn't feel right to me; would the expression have to be recast
>along the lines of "O the beauty of the feet...!"?
>
>Hope the BAGD citation helps a little, at least.

        I'll just make a couple of quick comments on the Greek of this
passage.  I haven't looked at the Hebrew, so can't comment now from that angle.

        The sentence as Perry has quoted it lacks its initial word.  The
versification has left PAREIMI dangling at the end of v. 6; it should be
included as part of the sentence.  

        We may translate "I come as Spring upon the mountains, as feet that
bring goodnew of a message of peace, as someone who brings news of good
things; for I will make the message of your salvation to be heard, saying to
Zion, 'Your God reigns.'"

        So hWS has its usual meaning here of "as" or "like" and is used as a
comparative particle.

        I hope this is helpful.

Regards,
David Moore

David L. Moore
Miami, Florida, USA
Southeastern Spanish District of the A/G Dept. of Education
E-mail: dvdmoore@ix.netcom.com
Home Page: http://members.aol.com/dvdmoore
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