John T. Strong, «Verb Forms of sm( in Ezekiel and Lamentations», Vol. 88 (2007) 546-552
Verb forms from the root sm( are defined in the lexicons as 'to dim, darken,'
drawing upon Arabic for guidance. This definition, however, does not allow for
a consistent translation in the texts where these verb forms appear. It is proposed
here that the verb forms be understood as denominatives from the common noun
s(a and the preposition s(i, which are a part of the semantic family, indicating an
agnate relationship. This understanding is applied to the four instances in the
Hebrew Bible where these verb forms appear: Ezek 28,3; 31,8; Ezek 32,19; and
Lam 4,1. Each verse addresses a question of association or belonging. The
development of these denominative forms reflects concerns over the issue of
status for the Judean exiles in the sixth century BCE.
Verb Forms of µm[ in Ezekiel and Lamentations 551
the dead carried within the semantic range of µm[, this song, which condemns
Egypt to the far reaches of the netherworld, would be the ideal context in
which to expect the use of µm[ (29). The text of Ezek 32,19, then, is asking a
straightforward question as Egypt enters the Sheol: “With whom do you
belong?†a question that parallels the question of Ezek 31,8. The answer, of
course, is the uncircumcised former ally of Egypt, the dead nation Assyria.
II
This perspective, in addition to clarifying the four texts discussed here,
leads to another, slightly more nuanced picture of the intellectual circles of
Jerusalem at the time of Judah’s destruction in roughly the first half of the
sixth century BCE. The infrequent use of a verb from the root µm[ indicates that
this form represents a high use of Hebrew, perhaps even a playful use of the
language — the application of the language by someone comfortable and
skilled with the craft of writing. It points to Judah’s intelligentsia, a
conclusion confirmed by its threefold appearance in the book of Ezekiel,
which derived from a priest who was a part of the 597 deportation and widely
regarded as a well-read literatus (30). The same could be said for the later
tradents who carried forward the prophet’s work. Even in regard to
Lamentations, the fact that the poems have the character of being produced
as written texts, as is widely held (31), points to the domain of the intelligentsia
that remained in the land, and which would very likely have been associated
with the royal court (e.g., seen in the general picture of the reading,
destroying, and again writing of Jeremiah and Baruch’s scroll narrated in Jer
36). Although speculative, it seems reasonable to see in the mourners who
passed through Mizpah the day after the murder of Gedeliah, while on their
way to the temple (Jer 41,5), a circle of tradents like the ones that would have
produced the laments of Lamentations (32).
More precisely, the verbal forms of µm[ underscores once more the
concern over social order current at that time in the elite and priestly circles
of Judean and Jerusalemite society. This concern went beyond mere
egotistical interests in honor, but rather the development of this verbal use of
µm[ in the sixth century reveals theological, cosmic concerns raised by the
catastrophe of 587. The Judean and Jerusalemite elite held to the belief that
they served on God’s holy mountain, Mount Zion, and thereby the threshold
between heaven and earth. As the keepers of the threshold to heaven within
(29) Again, see LIPINSKI, µ[, TDOT, XI, 171.
´
(30) See D. BODI, The Book of Ezekiel and the Poem of Erra (OBO 104; Göttingen
1991). For an examination of Ezekiel as a writing prophet, see E. DAVIS, Swallowing the
Scroll. Textuality and the Dynamics of Discourse in Ezekiel’s Prophecy (JSOTSS 78;
Sheffield 1989).
(31) See the summary of the field in DOBBS-ALLSOPP, Lamentations, 4–5; and
WESTERMANN, Ezekiel, 61-633 and 100-101. Westermann, however, disputes the
conclusion that the laments were written texts, instead arguing that they were originally
composed and transmitted orally (pp. 100–4).
(32) See also Berlin’s comments on this issue in regard to Lamentations, which are
most reasonable. She also mentions Zech 7,5 and 8,19 in connection with the tradition of
mourning the destruction of the first temple (cf. BERLIN, Lamentations, 35-36).