John Makujina, «The Interpretation of Ps 144,14: Applying a Pluralistic Approach to a Manifold Difficulty», Vol. 92 (2011) 481-502
The interpretation of Ps 144,14 remains unsettled, due primarily to the difficulty of identifying an overall context for the colon. Of the two major positions dominating the debate, one contends that the topic of the entire verse is bovine fecundity, whereas the other considers part of the colon (v. 14b-c) to be about national security. The author finds both views to be problematic and proposes another solution, which retains attractive elements from each position: Ps 144,14 promises the prosperity of livestock, by assuring that they will not become the spoils of war.
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THE INTERPRETATION OF PS 144,14
in 14b to receive priority over its more familiar competitors (see
below) 33.
4. Rural Definition: wnytbxrb
Allen’s understanding of wnytbxrb as “in our broad meadowsâ€
presents a final, though less formidable, difficulty for any pastoral
interpretation of this verse 34. The combination of bxr and #wx is
common elsewhere, but is apparently limited to an urban setting
(Isa 15,3; Jer 5,1; 9,20; Amos 5,16; Nah 2,5; Prov 1,20; 5,16; 7,12;
22,13) 35. Allen, however, suggests that the same collocation in
Nah 2,5 may refer to something like “fields … expansesâ€; he pro-
vides additional support for a rural understanding of bxr through
its cognate bx'r>m,, “broad meadow†(Hos 4,16) 36. (Nevertheless,
another appeal to the exceptional, rather than the normal, does lit-
tle to instill confidence in the overall credibility of this proposal.)
Like Allen, L. Jacquet maintains a pastoral orientation through-
out v. 14 but bypasses this difficulty by emending Wnyteboxor>Bi to
WnytAan> bxor>Bi*, “dans l’enclos de nos parcsâ€, without, however, the
e
benefit of manuscript support 37.
As has been demonstrated, the miscarriage position is plagued
by a number of semantic uncertainties and deficiencies, which
overshadow its only real asset, a thematic affinity to v. 13. There-
fore, many have turned elsewhere to seek a solution.
33
Kraus and Allen choose “miscarriage†for tacwy but reject “heavy
with young†for ~ylbsm. KRAUS, Psalmen, II, 940, 944; ALLEN, Psalms 101-
150, 359, 360.
34
ALLEN, Psalms 101-150, 359, 360.
35
Cfr., Y. AVISHUR, Stylistic Studies of Word-Pairs in Biblical and An-
cient Semitic Literature (AOAT; Kevelaer 1984) 57. See also the variation
bxr and $rd (Prov 26,13; Ezek 16,31).
36
ALLEN, Psalms 101-150, 360. “Ranges†– HELD, “The Root Zbl/Sblâ€,
92, n. 49. For the rural connotation of twbxr in Nah 2,5 see NJPS; BDB 932.
37
His citation of Ps 23,2 and Zeph 2,6 verifies nothing more than the use
of hwn in a pastoral context. JACQUET, Psaumes 101 Ã 150, 675, 680. See F.
Wutz’s “und ohne Stössigkeit in unseren Ställenâ€, which is also based on
a corrected text. F. WUTZ, Die Psalmen des Breviers (München 1926)
LXVI, 505.
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