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shebanq

פרק pāraq – to pull off, tear away

Semantic Fields: Deliverance   
Author(s): Graham I. Davies
First published: 2010-07-31
Last update: 2024-08-13
Citation: Graham I. Davies, פרק pāraq – to pull off, tear away,
               Semantics of Ancient Hebrew Database (sahd-online.com), 2010 (update: 2024)

For a discussion of the lexical field ‘Deliverance’ as a whole, see on this site the Overview of SAHD entries for ‘Deliverance’ words by Graham I. Davies.

Introduction

Grammatical Type: vb. qal, piel, hithp.
Occurrences: 10x HB (qal 1/0/3; piel 1/2/0; hithp. 2/1/0); 0x Sir; 1x Qum (qal); 0x inscr. (Total: 11).

  • Torah – qal: Gen 27:40.
  • Ketubim – qal: Pss 7:3; 136:24; Lam 5:8.
  • Qumran – qal: 4Q215 f1 3:2
  • Torah – piel: Exod 32:2.
  • Nebiim – piel: 1 Kgs 19:11; Zech 11:16.
  • Torah – hithp.: Exod 32:3, 24.
  • Nebiim – hithp.: Ezek 19:12.

Text doubtful:

B.1 Ps 7:3: On the basis of the Versions Graetz (1882-83:169-70) and others (cf. Briggs and Briggs 1907-09:52-53, 57) inserted אֵין before פרק of MT (cf. LXX, Pesh) and Gunkel (1926:25) read יִפְרֹק (cf. Tg, Vg). The former proposal, which was adopted by Kraus (1978:190-91; cf. BHS, HAL), is claimed to be required by the meaning of פרק elsewhere (esp. in Ps 136 and Lam 5). The latter proposal (which Anderson [1972:94] also mentions favourably) can point to a close parallel in Isa 5:29 (with פלט). But LXX may have been trying to make sense of a text like MT which it did not understand on the basis of the similar passages cited, and there do seem to be a number of places (see below) where פרק means something other than ‘save’. The other emendation is more attractive, but it is by no means certain (even unlikely) that Tg. and Vg were based on a different Vorlage from MT (compare modern translations which render similarly without departing from MT [EÜ, NRSV; cf. Seybold]). MT should probably be retained, with the participle being understood in the sense ‘rend’, either adjectivally (cf. KJV, RSV) or as a nominalised subject of יטרף (but the latter involves a less likely stichometry).

Qere/Ketiv: none.

1. Root and Comparative Material

A.1 For cognate nouns, see פֶּרֶק: Root and Comparative Material.

A.2 A verb prq is widely attested in Semitic, with meanings that are distinct (this is true even within particular languages) but close enough for it to be plausible to suggest a Grundbedeutung from which all the others are derived (see B.1 below).

A.3 In North-West Semitic the earliest occurrences are in Ugaritic, in a formulaic idiom yprq lṣb (KTU 1.4 iv:28; 1.6 iii:16; 1.17 ii:10), which was formerly understood to refer to the ‘opening’ of ‘the passage of the throat’ (see the earlier refs. in HAL, 916) but which is now known to mean ‘he unknitted (his) brow’, from a broader sense ‘release, slacken’ (DULAT 1, 681; for the newer understanding of lṣb see p. 505). In later Hebrew the most common meanings are ‘remove’, ‘separate’ and ‘take to pieces’ (for other meanings see Jastrow, DTT, 1238-39). In Aramaic there is one early occurrence in a fragmentary portion of the Sefire treaties (KAI 222B 34), for which DNWSI, 943, proposed ‘cut off (water-supply?)’, but the context is damaged and unclear (HAL, 916, has ‘zerstören’, Ges18, 1083, ‘auflösen, befreien’) and no secure conclusions can be drawn. In early Jewish Aramaic פרק is used of the ‘removal’ or ‘cancellation’ of sins (Deut 4:24) and as the rendering for Heb. נצל (4Q157=TgJob f1 ii 9, prob. Job 5:7), פדה (11Q10=TgJob 23:6, Job 33:28) and חלץ (ibid. 27:9; Job 36:15), implying the meaning ‘save, redeem’. The contexts in 4Q541 f24 ii:3 and 4Q546 f8 1 are badly damaged and unclear (but see DJD XXXI, 252-54, 360, which suggests ‘redeemed’ [i.e. ‘forgave (faults)’] for the former passage). In Nabataean the sense ‘redeem’ is attested,1 while in Jewish magical texts it means ‘loosen’ (a demon: better ‘remove’?) according to DNWSI, 943. In other Jewish Aramaic texts, especially the Targums, the meanings ‘redeem’ and ‘rescue’ are most common, but ‘remove’, ‘fall apart’, ‘untie’ and ‘divide’ are also attested.2 Samaritan Aramaic knows the meanings ‘redeem’, ‘go away’, ‘unload’, ‘dismantle’, ‘be discharged’ and (uniquely) ‘be specified’ (CAL, s.v.). In Syriac the meanings ‘remove’, ‘rescue, free’ and also ‘withdraw’ (intrans.) are widely recognised and Payne Smith (CSD, 464) also gives ‘break off’ (CAL adds ‘disown’, ‘chatter’, ‘borrow money’, ‘dismantle’, presumably from the larger Thesaurus). CAL offers ‘redeem, dismantle’ as the main senses in Aramaic, perhaps because they are in its analysis the most widely attested meanings. But ‘dismantle’ (i.e. ‘take to pieces’ [cf. above on MHeb.]) is likely to be a particular instance of the broader sense ‘separate, remove’, which can also be seen as the basis of the originally technical sense ‘redeem’.

A.4 The verb is comparatively rare in East Semitic, with only a few examples, with the sense ‘separate’ being cited (AHw, 829).

A.5 In South Semitic, Arabic faraqa means ‘separate, divide’, while in Epigraphic South Arabian and Ethiopic the main sense is ‘set free’, with ‘decide’ (Soq.) and ‘perforate’ (Tigre) being noted in Ges18, 1083, as isolated further meanings.

B.1 It has been suggested that the basic meaning of prq is ‘split, divide’ (HAL, 916; cf. Reiterer 2003:111), because of the occurrences in Akkadian and Arabic. Certainly the appearance of these meanings in such widely separated parts of the Semitic-speaking region is noteworthy. But perhaps more weight should be given to the antiquity of the sense ‘set free’ in South Semitic and the rarity of the verb in Akkadian. The more extensive evidence in Aramaic especially, where ‘remove’ is more prevalent (as well as its likely specialised derivative ‘redeem’), should also be noted. The sense ‘loosen’, which probably lies behind the Ugaritic occurrences and also appears in Aramaic, may well derive from the same general idea. Be that as it may, it is not too difficult to see a relationship between the broad groups of meanings outlined so far, since all involve a basic idea of ‘coming apart’ by some kind of decisive action. There are a few isolated senses which occur in some languages, alongside the more widespread core of meanings, but their explanation is best left as a problem for specialists in those languages.

2. Formal Characteristics

A.1 פרק is a triliteral strong verb.

3. Syntagmatics

A.1 The subject of פרק in all forms is most often a human figure or group:

  • Esau: Gen 27:40 (qal);
  • Laban: 4Q215 f1 3:2 (qal);
  • a hostile or friendly individual: Ps 7:3; Lam 5:8: in both cases a (nominalised?) part. qal;
  • the Israelite people: Exod 32:2 (piel); 32:3, 24 (hithp.).

It may also be:

  • God: Ps 136:24 (qal);
  • a non-human entity: 1 Kgs 19:11 (piel, רוח); Ezek 19:12 (hithp., מטה, possibly symbolising a human opponent; see Exegesis A.2); Zech 11:16 (piel, רֵעֶה, ‘shepherd’).

A.2 The object of פרק, where specified (none explicit in Ps 7:3 and Lam 5:8, but in both cases the speaker[s] is/are implied), may be:

  • human: Ps 136:24 (qal, ‘us’ = Israel); 4Q215 f1 3:2 (qal, ‘him’ = Ahiyot, the father of Bilhah and Zilpah);
  • most often a thing: Gen 27:40 (qal); Exod 32:2 (piel); 32:3, 24 (hithp.); 1 Kgs 19:11 (piel, הרים); Ezek 19:12 (hithp. with פִּרְיָהּ as ‘logical object’); Zech 11:16 (piel).

A.3 In associated adverbial phrases the most common syntagm is מן, ‘from’, followed by an expression referring to (part of) a person: Gen 27:40 (מעל צוארך); Ps 136:24 (מצרינו); Lam 5:8 (מידם), all with qal: a similar separation is implied by phrases in the near context in Exod 32:2 (אשׁר באזני נשׁיכם), 3 (אשׁר באזניהם); 4Q215 f1 3:2 (וילך בשׁבי). In Ps 7:3 פֹּרֵק is associated with the expression כאריה and the verb טרף.

4. Ancient Versions

a. Septuagint (LXX) and other Greek translations (αʹ, σʹ):3

Qal:

  • διασπάω/διασπαράσσω? (Syro-hex.: ܕܦܫܚ, dpšḥ), ‘to tear asunder’: Ps 7:3σʹ;
  • ἐκλύω, ‘to loosen’: Gen 27:40LXX,σʹ;
  • λυτρόω mid., ‘to release, redeem’: Pss 7:3LXX, 136:24; Lam 5:8.

Piel:

  • διαλύω, ‘to tear apart’: 1 Kgs 19:11;
  • ἐκστρέφω, ‘to put out of joint’ or ‘to twist’: Zech 11:16;
  • περιαιρέω mid., ‘to remove’: Exod 32:2.

Hithp.:

  • διαλύω pass., ‘to be torn apart’: Ezek 19:12αʹσʹ;
  • διαχέω/διαχύνω pass., ‘to be spread widely’: Ezek 19:12θʹ;
  • ἐκδικέω pass., ‘to suffer vengeance’: Ezek 19:12LXX;
  • περιαιρέω mid., ‘to remove’: Exod 32:3, 24.

b. Peshitta (Pesh):

Qal:

  • ܥܒܪ (ʿbr) peal, ‘to pass away’: Gen 27:40;
  • ܦܪܩ (prq) peal, ‘to save, liberate’: Pss 7:3; 136:24; Lam 5:8.

Piel:

  • ܥܪܩ (ʿrq) pael, ‘to gnaw’: Zech 11:16;
  • ܦܪܩ (prq) pael, ‘to tear apart’: Exod 32:2 (others: peal); 1 Kgs 19:11.

Hithp.:

  • ܐܬܐ (ʾtʾ ) aphel, ‘to bring’: Exod 32:24;
  • ܦܪܩ (prq) pael, ‘to tear apart’: Exod 32:3 (others: peal);
  • ܦܪܩ (prq) ithpeel, ‘to be saved, liberated’: Ezek 19:12.

c. Targum (Tg: O/N/PsJ/J/K):4

Qal:

  • עדי aphel, ‘to remove, take away’: Gen 27:40O;
  • פרק peal, ‘to redeem’: Gen 27:40N;
  • פרק pael, ‘to remove, take off’: Gen 27:40PsJ; Ps 136:24K; Lam 5:8K;
  • פשׁח peal, ‘to strip, tear off’: Ps 7:3K.

Piel:

  • גמר pael, ‘to destroy’: Zech 11:16J (obj. ‘remnant’);
  • פכר pael, ‘to split, break open’: Exod 32:2N;
  • פרק pael, ‘to remove, take off’: Exod 32:2O,PsJ; 1 Kgs 19:11J.

Hithp.:

  • טלטל ithpalp., ‘to be exiled, to wander’: Ezek 19:12J;
  • פרק pael, ‘to remove, take off’: Exod 32:3O,PsJ,N, 24O,PsJ,N.

d. Vulgate (Vg):

Qal:

  • lacero, ‘to tear to pieces’: Ps 7:3PsH;
  • redimo, ‘to redeem’: Pss 7:3PsG; 136:24; Lam 5:8;
  • solvo, ‘to loosen’: Gen 27:40.

Piel:

  • dissolvo, ‘to dissolve, smash’: Zech 11:16;
  • subverto, ‘to overthrow’: 1 Kgs 19:11;
  • tollo, ‘to take off’: Exod 32:2.

Hithp.:

  • facio, ‘to do’: Exod 32:3 (free rendering);
  • tulerunt (past tense of fero), ‘to take’: Exod 32:24;
  • marceo, ‘to wither’: Ezek 19:12.

A.1 In most LXX renderings verbs meaning ‘remove, take apart’ are used: only in Psalms and Lamentations does the middle of λυτρόω appear (for the qal), implying the meaning ‘redeem, ransom’. In Ezek 19:12 ἐξεδικηθήσαν (Ziegler’s reading) most likely means ‘were punished’ or ‘suffered vengeance’ (GELS, 160) in view of the context and Septuagintal usage elsewhere (esp. Zech 5:3): since ἐκδικέω often represents פקד (1 Kgdms 15:2; Hos 1:4, etc.; Zeph 1:8, etc.; Jer 15:3, etc.; cf. also ἐκδίκησις for פקדה in Ezek 9:1) the translator may well have had or assumed a slightly different Vorlage (metathesis) which would fit the underlying sense of the passage well.

A.2 The limited extant evidence from the Three points towards a tendency to replace the divergent renderings with ‘physical’ verbs: hence διαλυω or διαχέω/διαχύνω in Ezek 19:12 and whatever ܕܦܫܚ (dpšḥ) represents in Ps 7:3.

A.3 The Vulgate follows a similar tendency to give a physical rendering of פרק, probably following Symmachus (and Tg?) in the contextually appropriate use of lacero in Ps 7:3 (cf. dilaceratio in Nah 3:1 for the noun פֶּרֶק). But in Ps 136:24 and Lam 5:8 redimo retains the sense given to פרק by LXX. In Ezek 19:12 the use of marceo, ‘to wither’, is probably derived from the context.

A.4 In the Targumim Aram. פרק, with its wide range of meaning, is used in seven of the ten occurrences, though there is some variation in the Pentateuch between the different texts. The occasional use of other verbs may point to a recognition that BHeb. פרק had some senses not found in Aram., though it is hard to envisage this for עדי aph., ‘to remove’, in Gen 27:40. It is more probable with גמר pa., ‘destroy’, טלטל ith., ‘to be exiled’(?), and פשׁח, ‘to strip, tear off’. The use of פכר, ‘to split’ or ‘to break open’ (McNamara, Hayward and Maher 1994:128), in Neofiti in Exod 32:2 is very odd, not only because of the divergence from the other Targumim but because in the two following occurrences of Heb. פרק in Exod 32 Neofiti like them has the Aram. equivalent. The verb פכר occurs only here in Neofiti and never in Onkelos or Jonathan, but it is much more frequent in Pseudo-Jonathan, where it represents Heb. עקר, הרס, נתץ and כרת hiph., generally in relation to the destruction of buildings (cf. also Qoh 3:3 TgK for פרץ). But it is not used by TgPsJ here and it would be more appropriate to some other occurrences of Heb. פרק than to this one. It is most likely a scribal error.

A.5 In the Peshitta too ܦܪܩ (prq), with its wide range of meanings, was generally found adequate (again in seven cases out of ten). The exceptions are Gen 27:40 (ܥܒܪ), Exod 32:24 (ܐܬܐ aph.) and Zech 11:16 (ܥܪܩ pa.), but the sense given is similar.

5. Lexical/Semantic Fields

A.1 The varied uses of BHeb. פרק are reflected in the wide range of words which occur in parallel with it or in close proximity to it, as well as those which are used in similar contexts elsewhere in BHeb.

A.2 In Gen 27:40 רוד, ‘to be restless, stray’ (rather than ‘to break free’ [Gunkel, Westermann, NRSV]), occurs in the preceding clause. Synonyms for the ‘removal’ of a yoke are שׁבר (Jer 2:20), סור (Isa 14:25) and חתת (Isa 9:3; see further Reiterer 2003:113).

A.3 In Exod 32 פרק is followed by נתן (v. 24), while in comparable passages סור hiph. (Gen 35:2) and שׁית (neg.), ירד hiph. and נצל hithp. (all Exod 33:4-6) are used.

A.4 In 1 Kgs 19:11 שׁבר piel occurs in the following phrase, with a similar object (סלעים || הרים).

A.5 In both Ezek 19:12 and Zech 11:16 אכל occurs in an adjacent clause, although the contexts are otherwise somewhat different.

A.6 In Ps 7:3 as given by MT טרף is a parallel expression and נצל hiph. is an antonym.

A.7 By contrast in Lam 3:8 פרק occurs in a phrase very similar to אֵין מַצִּיל at the end of Ps 7:3 (cf. also, e.g., Judg 18:28 and other passages in BDB, 664; with מושׁיע Judg 12:3, etc.; BDB, 446). Likewise the context in Ps 136:24 is very similar to Ps 44:8, where ישׁע hiph. is used; cf. Deut 33:7 (עֵזֶר + היה).

6. Exegesis

A.1 The uses in Exod 32 are said to ‘assume strong resistance’, so that there is a need for violence in the removal of the jewellery by the men (v. 2: so Houtman 2000:636).

A.2 Violence is also implied in Gen 27:40, Ezek 19:12 and Zech 11:16, where פרק is used metaphorically of either the overthrow of political power or (in Zech 11:16, part of a passage that is based on Ezek 34:1-10) of the cruel use of political power.5

A.3 Cogan appropriately renders the verb ‘rending’ in 1 Kgs 19:11 and draws attention to comparable theophanic passages (2001:449, 453; on theophany cf. Jeremias 1965); the association in the verse with שׁבר - which Skinner (1910:373) notes to be an alternative to פרק in the image of Gen 27:40 - and the use of נתץ with הצרים in Nah 1:6 support such a rendering against the weaker ‘splitting’ of NRSV.

A.4 In Ps 7:3 too (see Text Doubtful) פרק is probably used as a continuation of the violent animal metaphor in the first part of the verse.6

A.5 There is good reason to carry over the idea of violent separation into the probably later (in the main) salvific use of the verb in Lam 5:8 and Ps 136:24 (a post-exilic psalm: cf. esp. v. 26), as Gunkel saw (1926:577-78, ‘entriss’; so also Kraus 1978:1078-81).

B.1 In view of the clear evidence of a violent meaning it is a mistake to interpret occurrences of פרק on the basis of a predominantly positive sense.7

B.2 There is also no need to see the salvific use of the verb as due to Aramaic influence (so BDB, 830, for Lam 5:8 and Ps 136:24), as it can be explained adequately from the idea of violent removal found elsewhere.

B.3 Zimmerli’s attribution of התפרקו (and ויבשׁו) in Ezek 19:12 to secondary redactional activity based on the symbolism of v. 11a (1979:391, 398) is improbable, as it does not explain the plural forms and the meanings of the verbs do not fit מטה as well as MT פריה (taken collectively) or the attractive emendation of it to בדיה (cf. LXXCatena and, e.g., Cooke 1936:210, 212).

B.4 NEB’s rendering of Zech 11:16 by ‘and throw away their [REB: ‘the’] broken bones’ (cf. Redditt 1995:127, though פרסיהם is the object of יפרק, not the ‘subject’) is based on Driver’s unnecessary proposal that פרס here means ‘fragment’, like pirsu in Akkadian (1934:381). Driver originally took פרק in its normal sense of violent removal, with פרסיהם representing the result of the action, hence ‘rend in pieces’. Dissatisfaction with the syntax presupposed may have led the NEB translators to adopt the unparalleled meaning ‘throw away’ for פרק. In fact ‘tear off their hooves’ is a perfectly acceptable sense and reflects the shepherd’s determination to consume every last piece of meat from the animal.8

7. Conclusion

A.1 In BHeb. פרק always refers to violent ‘removal’, with the presupposition that there is some resistance to the action: hence it may be translated ‘pull (off or away)’, ‘tear’ (off or away)’. In most cases the object is not a person but a thing.

A.2 Occasionally it is used with a personal object (Ps 136:24; Lam 5:8; 4Q215 f1 3:2), where it joins the lexical field of ‘deliverance’; but most likely even here it retains its sense of violent removal and is not simply a synonym of (any of) the other lexemes in the group.

A.3 It is probably only in the qal that this salvific use developed (no earlier than the Babylonian exile), though 4Q215 f1 3:2 could theoretically be a piel. It is difficult to see any distinction of meaning between the other occurrences of the qal and the piel, though the piel in 1 Kgs 19:11 accompanies the piel of another verb in a context of great upheavals in the natural world and it might therefore imply an intensification of the meaning there. The opposition between the piel and the hithp. in Exod 32 is probably due to the fact that the piel in v. 2 denotes the action of (male) Israelite family heads in relation to their dependants, whereas the hithp. in vv. 3 and 24 refers to the actions of these dependants themselves and so has a reflexive component in its meaning. In Ezek 19:12, by contrast, the hithp. must be used in a passive sense.

B.1 Suggestions, based on comparative philology, that the underlying meaning of BHeb. פרק is ‘break’ (Gesenius, TPC, 1131) or ‘split, divide’ (see Root and Comparative Material B.1) do not correspond to the majority of occurrences in BHeb. and should be discarded.

B.2 In a few places, where persons are the object, LXX and Vg render by verbs meaning ‘redeem’. This is probably due to a semantic development in Aramaic, perhaps combined with the theological interests of the translators. The more widespread use of Aram. פרק in Tgs and Pesh need not imply such an understanding of the Heb. in all cases, in view of the many other meanings that פרק could bear in Aram. (cf. Root and Comparative Material A.3 and van Zyl 1972). There is no reason to suppose that פרק ever had the technical sense ‘redeem’ in BHeb.

Bibliography

For the abbreviations see the List of Abbreviations.

Anderson 1972
Arnold A. Anderson, The Book of Psalms (NCBC), London: Oliphants.
Briggs and Briggs 1907–09
Charles A. Briggs and Emilie G. Briggs, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Psalms (ICC), Edinburgh: T&T Clark.
Cogan 2001
Mordechai Cogan, 1 Kings: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (AB, 10) New York: Doubleday.
Cooke 1936
George A. Cooke A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Ezekiel (ICC), Edinburgh: T&T Clark.
Driver 1934
Godfrey R. Driver, ‘Studies in the Vocabulary of the Old Testament, 7’, JThS 35:380-93.
Fitzmyer and Harrington 1978
Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Daniel J. Harrington, A Manual of Palestinian Aramaic Texts (BibOr, 34) Rome: Biblical Institute Press.
Graetz 1882-83
H. Hirsch Graetz, Kritischer Commentar zu den Psalmen: nebst Text und Uebersetzung, Breslau: Schottlaender.
Gunkel 1910
Hermann Gunkel, Genesis, 3rd. ed. (HKAT), Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
Gunkel 1926
Hermann Gunkel, Die Psalmen (HKAT), Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
Houtman 2000
Cornelis Houtman, Exodus, 3: Chapters 20-40, transl. Sierd Woudstra (HCOT), Kampen: Kok; Leuven: Peeters.
Jeremias 1965
Jörg Jeremias, Theophanie: Die Geschichte einer alttestamentlichen Gattung (WMANT, 10), Neukirchen: Neukirchener.
Kraus 1978
Hans-Joachim Kraus, Psalmen (BKAT, X) Neukirchen: Neukirchener.
McNamara, Hayward, and Maher 1994
Martin McNamara, Robert Hayward, and Michael Maher Exodus: Targum Neofiti 1 and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan: Translated with a Critical Introduction, Apparatus and Notes (ArBib, 2) Edinburgh: T&T Clark.
Petersen 1995
David L. Petersen, Zechariah 9-14 and Malachi (OTL), London: SCM Press.
Propp 2006
William H. C. Propp, Exodus 19–40: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (AB, 2A) New York: Doubleday.
Provan 1991
Iain W. Provan, Lamentations (NCBC), London: Pickering; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
Redditt 1995
Paul L. Redditt, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi (NCBC), London: Pickering; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
Reiterer 2003
Friedrich Reiterer, ‘פָּרַק’, TDOT 12:111-14.
Rudolph 1976
Wilhelm Rudolph, Haggai, Sacharja 1-8, Sacharja 9-14, Maleachi (KAT), Gütersloh: Mohn.
Skinner 1910
John Skinner, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Genesis (ICC), Edinburgh: T&T Clark.
Westermann 1981
Claus Westermann, Genesis 12-36 (BKAT, I/2), Neukirchen: Neukirchener.
Zimmerli 1979
Walter Zimmerli, Ezekiel 1: Chapters 1-24, transl. Ronald E. Clements (Hermeneia), Philadelphia: Fortress.
van Zyl 1972
Jan B. van Zyl, ‘The Root פרק in Targum Isaiah’, JNSL 2:60-73.

Notes

  1. DNWSI, 943, curiously distinguishing this lexeme from its other Aram. examples; the occurrence cited is the legal text presented in Fitzmyer and Harrington 1978:164-69 (64 i:10). ↩

  2. Examples of the latter in Jastrow, DTT, 1239; cf. CAL, s.v., and van Zyl 1972. ↩

  3. Aquila (αʹ) and Symmachus (σʹ) are given according to Field I and II. ↩

  4. See also the useful review of all the occurrences of Aram. פרק in TgJ of Isa by van Zyl 1972. ↩

  5. See Gunkel 1910:314; Westermann 1981:540 (with a comparison to 2 Kgs 8:20-22); Cooke 1936:210, 212, Zimmerli 1979:398; Rudolph 1976:201, 203; Petersen 1995:98-99. ↩

  6. So Gunkel 1926:25; and even Briggs and Briggs 1907-09:52-53, 57, who prefer to emend with LXX. ↩

  7. So Propp 2006:549, who sees the sense in Exod 32 as ironic; Provan 1991:129, who cites parallels in Judges (using ישׁע hiph.) without noting the difference; Kraus 1978:190-91, 194, who cites this as a reason for emending with LXX. ↩

  8. So Rudolph 1976:201, 203, citing Dalman, AuS, 6:230; Petersen 1995:86, 88. ↩

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