Thursday 7 April 2016

Vayikra

Grammar

Word: יקרא or ויקרא
Representation: YQRA

Transliteration: Yikra
Verb: "to call", "to call-out to", "to name" (with a vav-prefix, it reverts to past-tense)
Strong Concordance: H7121


Exposition

This verb has a lot of uses, and these can change depending on the connector that is associated with it. When it is a lamed (ל), it means to call-out-to, as in calling to a person by name. When the connector is an את base, it means to name something. Sometimes the differences between these may seem subtle, but they are significant.

Format 1: VYQRA LY bob
Format 2: VYQRA ATI bob

Using format 1, "And he called me Bob" with a lamed (L=ל) is an English translation for something that really means, "and he called out to me with the name Bob". 

Using format 2 with an alef-tav (את) connector, "And he called me Bob' really means, "and he named me Bob". 

There are many verbs where the meaning changes depending on the connector, such as one word that will change from "reading a story" to "getting a haircut" with the same change as those above.

Now given that, I also want to address Genesis 1:5

You see, when you call-out to someone or something (say, your dog), you are talking to something with some degree of intelligence. This relates to using the lamed (ל) as in format-1 above.

In Genesis 1:5, it says, "And the Elohim called-out-to the-light, "DAY!". Granted, it is indicating that to God, light is also known as "day". But it is also saying something else - that in the first chapter of Genesis, light is not a concept, nor simply photon particles, but a thing with substance. And it is for that reason that, in Genesis 1, that I use "tangible-light" when translating אור rather than simply "light". After Genesis 1, the expressions used that give this impression no longer exist. So in those cases, I appropriately use the term "light".

For those who only read the English, this nuance is completely lost. And that is why I felt the need to give a longer explanation than normal concerning it.

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