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Monday, 6 June 2011

Third Week on Ruth and some random thoughts

The parable psalm 49 is up at PoC.

Last week the Bible Study group prepared a birthday cake for my wife's surprise birthday party. It was a surprise. She did not think I could deceive her so. 43 years of trust undone. I personally do not approve of surprises. But I went against my judgement. Let us all be Surprised by Joy though.

Tonight we return to Ruth - Return is an operative word in chapter 1. Our first two times on this book, we read it through in its entirety. This time I hope we will concentrate on chapter 1. This chapter is too long for my structural charts - but here it is anyway, a bit truncated since I removed several stems I would normally track to reduce the 56 recurring words in chapter 1 to the manageable number of 40. You can still see that return is an operative word. The most frequent - 12 times in this chapter, once in chapter 2, and twice in chapter 4. Other frequently recurring sounds (differing vowels but same consonants) are עם with and people, שׁם there and name, and שׁנה, two. This last one, two, raises the question for me as to why there are two sons, and two daughters-in-law. (Of course they match certain precursors in Scripture, the origins of Moab, the story of Tamar, and the wives of Jacob - all stories that are mentioned in Ruth.)

I am correcting roots and putting in the glosses a line at a time. Slow work, so I may or may not finish this book since it distracts me a little.  But it is a very good eyeball exercise for me to scan the Hebrew, both in block letters and in my transcriptions, and correct the results of my algorithm that finds roots.  It is teaching me word recognition beyond sounding out each letter. I have changed chapter 1 a little. I find I must recognize another frame word in the book - men, which occurs only in Ruth 1:11 and Ruth 4:2 - clearly an indication of what this word means functionally: men are for making children and making deals at the gate, and they belong to the women. (It may be a bit rash of me to think so and particularly to write so. Every other translation I see without exception renders this word as husbands. Oh well. Is it not possible to distinguish the plural of husband and the plural of men? This would take me far afield at the moment.)

Note the backbone of return. It's the 23rd recurring sound of the ones I chose to display. I have been curiously lucky with the colour calculations based on gematria. They are quite a good range. And The Sufficient comes out gold - as does call but a little lower. The overall frame word of the chapter is Bethlehem with its ironic pun on bread and the fields of Moab. Who goes to Moab for bread! Note also the closely doubled items - and how the chart reflects the very well-known rhetoric of verse 16.

If you think this is fun, you are right, but life is not without its difficulties. After all, Federer lost yesterday at the French Open, there was a terrible sermon at a neighbouring church that I heard about (ours was excellent), I broke a borrowed cake plate which became a parable of brokenness and redemption in the morning lesson on the Shema which the children will sing next week at Church, and while on a whim going into an open house, (selling preposterously at more than $1M), my wife's shoes were mistakenly exchanged with some other woman's! Truly vexing!  I got a nice replacement glass cake plate for $13 (on sale marked down from $40).  The full cost of my redemption is not being held to my account.  But I am not without responsibility. My curiosity as to house prices may well have cost me the price of a pair of shoes. Depends on how observant and how honest the other woman is.

Word12345678910123456789201234567893012345678940StemVs
ויהי So it was
░
היה 01
שׁפט the judgement of
░
שׁפט 01
השׁפטים the judges
░
שׁפט 01
ויהי and there was
░
היה 01
וילך and went
░
ילך01
אישׁ a man
░
אישׁ 01
לחם -lehem of
░
לחם01
בשׂדי in the fields of
░
שׂדה 01
מואב Moab
░
מואב 01
ואשׁתו and his wife
░
אשׁה 01
ושׁני and two
░
שׁנה 01
בניו his sons
░
בן01
ושׁם and the name of
░
שׁם02
האישׁ the man was
░
אישׁ 02
ושׁם and the name of
░
שׁם02
אשׁתו his wife
░
אשׁה 02
ושׁם and the name of
░
שׁם02
שׁני two
░
שׁנה 02
בניו his sons
░
בן02
לחם -lehem of
░
לחם02
ויבאו and they came
░
בוא 02
שׂדי to the fields of
░
שׂדה 02
מואב Moab
░
מואב 02
ויהיו and they were
░
היה 02
שׁם there
░
שׁם02
וימת and died
░
מות 03
אישׁ the husband of
░
אישׁ 03
ותשׁאר and bereft
░
שׁאר 03
היא she was
░
היא 03
ושׁני and two
░
שׁנה 03
וישׂאו and they took
░
נשׂא 04
להם for themselves
░
להם04
נשׁים wives
░
אשׁה 04
מאביות Moabite
░
מואב 04
שׁם the name of
░
שׁם04
ערפה Orpah
░
ערף04
ושׁם and the name of
░
שׁם04
השׁנית the second
░
שׁנה 04
שׁם there
░
שׁם04
וימתו and they died
░
מות 05
גם even
░
גם05
שׁניהם the two of them
░
שׁנה 05
ותשׁאר and she was bereft
░
שׁאר 05
האשׁה the woman
░
אשׁה 05
משׁני of her two
░
שׁנה 05
ילדיה children
░
ילד 05
ומאישׁה and of her husband
░
אישׁ 05
ותקם and she arose
░
קום06
היא she
░
היא 06
וכלתיה and her daughter-in-laws
░
כלה 06
ותשׁב to return
░
שׁוב 06
משׂדי from the fields of
░
שׂדה 06
מואב Moab
░
מואב 06
בשׂדה in the fields of
░
שׂדה 06
מואב Moab
░
מואב 06
עמו his people
░
עם06
לתת to give
░
נתן06
להם them
░
להם06
לחם bread
░
לחם06
ותצא and she came out
░
יצא 07
המקום the place
░
קום07
היתה she was
░
היה 07
שׁמה where
░
שׁם07
ושׁתי and two
░
שׁנה 07
עמה with her
░
עם07
ותלכנה and they went
░
ילך07
לשׁוב to return
░
שׁוב 07
לשׁתי to two
░
שׁנה 08
כלתיה her daughters-in-law
░
כלה 08
לכנה go
░
ילך08
שׁבנה return
░
שׁוב 08
אשׁה each
░
אשׁה 08
עמכם with you
░
עם08
עם with
░
עם08
המתים those who died
░
מות 08
יתן may give
░
נתן09
לכם to you
░
כם09
אשׁה each
░
אשׁה 09
אישׁה her husband
░
אישׁ 09
ותשׁק and she kissed
░
נשׁק 09
ותשׂאנה and they lifted up
░
נשׂא 09
קולן their voice
░
קול 09
ותבכינה and wept
░
בכה 09
נשׁוב we will return
░
שׁוב 10
לעמך to your people
░
עם10
שׁבנה turn back
░
שׁוב 11
בנתי my daughters
░
בת 11
למה why
░
למה 11
תלכנה would you go
░
ילך11
עמי with me
░
עם11
בנים sons
░
בן11
והיו that they might become
░
היה 11
לכם for you
░
כם11
שׁבנה turn back
░
שׁוב 12
בנתי my daughters
░
בת 12
לכן go
░
ילך12
מהיות too to have
░
היה 12
לאישׁ a husband
░
אישׁ 12
גם even
░
גם12
הייתי if there was
░
היה 12
לאישׁ a husband
░
אישׁ 12
וגם and even if
░
גם12
ילדתי I bore
░
ילד 12
בנים sons
░
בן12
היות there being
░
היה 13
לאישׁ a husband
░
אישׁ 13
בנתי my daughters
░
בת 13
מר bitterness
░
מר 13
מאד is great
░
מאד 13
מכם on your account
░
כם13
יצאה has come out
░
יצא 13
יד the hand of
░
יד 13
יד 14
░
יד 14
ותשׂנה and they lifted up
░
נשׂא 14
קולן their voice
░
קול 14
ותבכינה and wept
░
בכה 14
ותשׁק and kissed
░
נשׁק 14
ערפה Orpah
░
ערף14
שׁבה returns
░
שׁוב 15
יבמתך your sister-in-law
░
יבם15
עמה her people
░
עם15
שׁובי you return also
░
שׁוב 15
אחרי after
░
אחר 15
יבמתך your sister-in-law
░
יבם15
לשׁוב to turn back
░
שׁוב 16
מאחריך from following you
░
אחר 16
תלכי you go
░
ילך16
אלך I go
░
ילך16
תליני you stop over
░
לון16
אלין I stop over
░
לון16
עמך your people
░
עם16
עמי my people
░
עם16
תמותי you die
░
מות 17
אמות I die
░
מות 17
ושׁם and there
░
שׁם17
המות death
░
מות 17
היא she
░
היא 18
ללכת to go
░
ילך18
ותלכנה and went
░
ילך19
שׁתיהם the two of them
░
שׁנה 19
בואנה they came to
░
בוא 19
לחם lehem
░
לחם19
ויהי and it was
░
היה 19
כבואנה as they came to
░
בוא 19
לחם lehem
░
לחם19
תקראנה do call
░
קרא 20
קראן call
░
קרא 20
המר bitter
░
מר 20
שׁדי is the Sufficient
░
שׁד 20
מאד greatly so
░
מאד 20
השׁיבני has returned me
░
שׁוב 21
למה why
░
למה 21
תקראנה call
░
קרא 21
ושׁדי and the Sufficient
░
שׁד 21
ותשׁב so returned
░
שׁוב 22
המואביה the Moabitess
░
מואב 22
כלתה her daughter-in-law
░
כלה 22
עמה with her
░
עם22
השׁבה she returned
░
שׁוב 22
משׂדי from the fields of
░
שׂדה 22
מואב Moab
░
מואב 22
באו they came to
░
בוא 22
לחם lehem
░
לחם22

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