Subject: Re: tc-list (2 Sam 18:29): Sevirin

From: [email-masked] (Pedro Goncalves)
Date: Sat, 27 Jun 1998 12:14:08 +0100

Dave Washburn wrote:

>In 2 Sam 18:29, David asks "Is it well with the boy, with Absalom?"
>The problem is, there's no interrogative-he in the sentence.  BHS
>indicates that several manuscripts "Sebir" this passage to include
>it.  After re-reading Wurthwein, I understand what Sebir means (I
>think), basically indicating that this is an anomaly and showing what
>the "regular" form is.

[...]

__________________

The nature of the Sevirin notes vis-à-vis the Kethiv/Qere ones is something
that have been puzzling me for a while so I thank Dave for taking it up
(albeit indirectly).

As far as I have come to understand it one should understand the Sevirin
notes as meaning ''(some) suppose/think (that one should read) so-and-so
but err (in doing so)''. Often the part ''but err'' is left unwritten but
it occurs in the masoretic notes of some manuscripts.

It would seem then that whereas the Kethiv/Qere readings represent
acknowledged variants in the consonantal tradition or cases of accepted
deviations in the oral tradition from the written one, the Sevirin
represent readings that according to (one) masoretic tradition have no
grounds in the received tradition. Often Sevirin will be as in 2Sam 18:29
prompted by a feature in the text which may invite a ''correction''. Such
most unwelcome ''corrections'' the Sevirin wish to eliminate or preempt. As
to the latter, it seems to me that a Sevirin reading in some cases may have
never occurred in any manuscript but functions just as a caveat to the
reader/scribe to watch out his step.

I would welcome any comments/corrections to this understanding of Sevirin.

Pedro Axelsson Gonçalves
Uppsala University

---

From: "Maurice A. O'Sullivan" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 27 Jun 1998 16:00:13 +0100

>I would welcome any comments/corrections to this understanding of Sevirin.

Pedro:
You -- and others dealing with this question -- might like to know there is
an an excellent new publication:

"The Masorah of Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia: Introduction and Annotated
Glossary " by Kelley, Mynatt, and Crawford ( Eerdmans 1998)
ISBN  0-8028-4363-8

There are four good chapters in the Introduction, but the real meat is in
the Glossary.
Turning to samek-beth-yod-resh, I found this definition:
*************
Abbreviation for ......... [Aramaic snipped] ..... is the psssive
participle for the Aramaic  SBR meanign "supposed" 
It cites a possible emendation for a problem text, but warns that the
emendation, which might be 'supposed' to be superior, should nevertheless
be avoided. It insists that the text be left as it is, problems
nothwithstanding. 
*************

And as is usual with this glossary it deals with two examples in
considerable detail -- in this case with Gn 19:23 and Nb 13:22

I can thoroughly recommend this work -- it is a large format paperback with
which even my aging eyes can cope, and it is a very reasonable price.
When I bough it a couple of months ago, it was listed at USD 26.00 but was
available from Dove Booksellers at USD 18.00 -- try them at:
[email-masked]
or have a look at their website:
http://www.dovebook.com/menu.htm

Maurice A. O'Sullivan
[ Bray, Ireland ]
[email-masked]

Confucius said: "To study and not think is a waste. To think and not study
is dangerous."
Analects 2:15