Pinker, «On the Meaning of wy+m in Habakkuk 3,14a», Vol. 86 (2005) 376-386
In Hab 3,14a the minimal emendation
of wy+mb “with his staffs” into yw+mb “into the
spun of” is suggested. Hab 3,14 is perceived as describing God on His chariot
chasing the enemy’s fleeing horsemen, piercing the spun or braids at the back of
their head. These horsemen have previously much enjoyed the chase and the loot
when they attacked Judah.
On the Meaning of wyfm in Habakkuk 3,14a 381
wyfmb into Úyfmb, which has been adopted by most modern commentators. He
suggests an etymological connection between lzrb, lzrp, and ˆzrp, concluding
that wzrp may mean “weapons (?)â€(29). This etymology is questionable and the
derived meaning for wzrp contextually untenable. Japheth, interprets the phrase
wyzrp çar “fortified cities with wallsâ€(30). Hiebert accepts zrp in its usual
Hebrew sense, “villages/out of the way placesâ€, or a form of the verb rzp “to
scatter†in place of zrp, a reading which could have been lost from simple
metathesis. He adds, “In any event, this term should not be taken in construct
with çar as all of the versions do. V. 14a represents a complete poetic line
concluding with çar. The addition of another word would overload the
lineâ€(31). Such metrical arguments do not have much weight in a verse that is
so metrically unbalanced. Ward translates wzrp as “the oppressorâ€, but does
not provide a rationale (32).
Most commentators understand wzrp as referring to some kind of
“warriorâ€. Other Biblical derivatives of the root zrp contain the sense
“spreadingâ€(33). This would indicate that the warriors considered are those
that tend to spread out. Spreading out is also typical of the operation of light
cavalry in antiquity. Once the main body of the enemy’s army was shattered
and small elements started to flee, it was the responsibility of the light cavalry
to chase and eliminate them. Could wzrp mean “his horsemen� Mandelkern
notes the possibility that wzrp indeed means “his horsemen†(wyçrp) (34). Both
zrp and çrp have a sense of spreading, are to a significant degree
homophones, and have even been combined into one word zçrp (Job 26,9) (35).
It appears that the Septuagint has sensed a nuance of “horsemen†in wzrp
translating ynxyphl as “they shall tremble in it; they shall burst their bridlesâ€
(seisqhsontai ejn aujth'/ dianoivxousin calinou;" aujtw'n). Furthermore, God’s
v
horses tread Babylon in the following verse, lending credibility to an image
of pursuit in this verse. Moreover, by taking the meaning “horsemen†a
thematic link is formed with the attack by Chaldean horsemen, described in
1,7-9 as a frightening and devastating event. The Chaldean horsemen that led
the attack on Judah are now, in the theophany, subject to a chase by God. A
just tit-for-tat is meted out. It seems therefore that wzrp should be understood
as the unit of cavalry used for dispersal of enemy’s infantry, and subsequent
chase and elimination of fugitives.
(29) B. MARGULIS, “The Psalm of Habakkuk: A Reconstruction and Interpretationâ€,
ZAW 82 (1970) 427.
(30) LIVNEH-KAFRI, “Sepher Habakkukâ€, 111.
(31) HIEBERT, God of My Victory, 44.
(32) J.M. SMITH – W.H. WARD – J.A. BEWER, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary
on Micah, Zephaniah, Nahum, Habakuk, Obadiah and Joel (Edinburgh 1985) 27.
(33) HIEBERT, God of My Victory, 44.
(34) MANDELKERN, Veteris Testamenti Concordantiae, 970. Mowinckel says that for
çrp “the meaning ‘horse’ [horsespan] is the right one in the overwhelming number of
passages and probably in all of them†(S. MOWINCKEL, “Drive and/or Ride in O.T.â€, VT 12
[1962] 290). Perhaps, this is the reason for using zrp for cavalry.
(35) Indeed, all the roots obtained from the bi-radical rp by addition of another letter
contain the sense of “spreadingâ€: arp, drp, hrp, zrp, jrp, frp, Ëšrp, µrp, srp, [rp, ≈rp, qrp,
rrp, trp.