In the “blessing” of Gen 49.3-4, Reuben is censured for having violated his father Jacob’s concubine Bilhah. In this rebuke, the Hebrew uses a rare word, פחז, in an additionally awkward comparison: “like water.” Over the centuries the word פחז appears to have been difficult to translate and therefore the simile “like water” is also difficult to understand. This is reflected in many Bible translations, but in the last decades a solution has been provided to solve this problem. In this contribution, the cultural significance of Reuben’s offence is discussed since it is not “just” a sexual offense. In addition, the meaning of the word פחז in the other biblical texts is analysed, followed by a discussion of the comparison “as water.” The discussion not only clarifies the text of Gen 49.4, but also the background of several other texts in the Bible.
BauerHansLeanderPontus. (1922) 1965. Historische Grammatik der hebräischen Sprache des Alten Testamentes. Halle a.S.: Verlag Max Niemeyer. Reprint, Hildesheim: Georg Olms.
2.
ClinesDavid J. A.1987. “The Parallelism of Greater Precision: Notes from Isaiah 40 for a Theory of Hebrew Poetry.” Pages 77–100 in New Directions in Hebrew Poetry. Edited by FollisElaine R. JSOTSup 40. Sheffield: JSOT Press.
3.
CrossFrank M.ParryDonald W.1997. “A Preliminary Edition of a Fragment of 4QSamb (4Q52).” Bulletin of the American School of Oriental Research306: 63–74.
4.
de HoopRaymond. 1997. “The Meaning of pḥz in Classical Hebrew.” Zeitschrift für Althebraistik10: 16–26.
5.
de HoopRaymond. 1998. Genesis 49 in Its Literary and Historical Context. Oudtestamentische Studiën 39. Leiden: Brill.
6.
de HoopRaymond. 2020. “1 Samuel 20:34a according to 4QSamb (4Q52): An Assessment.” Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft132: 121–26.
7.
de HoopRaymond. 2021. “Genesis 49:4: Verraderlijk als water: een nieuw inzicht in de NBV21.” Met Andere Woorden: Vakblad Bijbel en vertalen40: 16–25.
8.
DonnerHerbertet al., eds. 1987–2012. Wilhelm Gesenius’ Hebräisches und Aramäisches Handwörterbuch über das Alte Testament. 18th edition.Heidelberg: Springer Verlag.
9.
GeseniusWilhelmBuhlFrants. 1915. Hebräisches und aramäisches Handwörterbuch über das Alte Testament. 17th edition.Leipzig: Vogel.
10.
GordonRobert P.1976. “Targum Onkelos to Genesis 49:4 and a Common Semitic Idiom.” Jewish Quarterly Review66: 224–26.
11.
GreenfieldJonas C.1978. “The Meaning of פחז.” Pages 35–41 in Studies in Bible and Ancient Near East: Presented to Samuel E. Loewenstamm, on His Seventieth Birthday. Edited by AvishurY.BlauJ.Jerusalem: Magnes Press.
12.
HamiltonVictor P.1995. The Book of Genesis: Chapters 18–50. New International Commentary on the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
13.
Ibn ḠanâḥAbulwalīd M. (R. Jona). 1896. Sepher Hashoraschim: Wurzelwörterbuch der Hebräischen Sprache. Translated by TibbonJehuda Ibn. Edited by BacherWilhelm. Frankfurt a.M.: J. Kauffman.
14.
IshidaTomoo. 1999. “Solomon’s Succession to the Throne of David—A Political Analysis.” Pages 102–36 in History and Historical Writing in Ancient Israel: Studies in Biblical Historiography. Studies in the History and Culture of the Ancient Near East 16. Leiden: Brill.
15.
JagersmaHenk. 1996. Genesis 25:12–50:26. Verklaring van de Hebreeuwse Bijbel. Baarn: Callenbach.
16.
JastrowMarcus. 1886–1903. A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature. London: Luzac.
17.
KoehlerLudwigBaumgartnerWalterStammJohann J.2000. The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament. Translated and edited under the supervision of RichardsonMervyn E. J.5 vols.Leiden: Brill.
18.
LangeArmin. 2001. “Die Wurzel pḥz und ihre Konnotationen.” Vetus Testamentum51: 496–510.
19.
LewisCharlton T.ShortCharles. (1879) 2002. A Latin Dictionary. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
20.
LustJohanEynikelErikHauspieKatrin. 2015. A Greek–English Lexicon of the Septuagint. 3rd corrected edition. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft.
21.
MuraokaTakamitsu. 2009. A Greek–English Lexicon of the Septuagint. Louvain: Peeters.
22.
PietersmaAlbertWrightBenjamin G., eds. 2007. A New English Translation of the Septuagint. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
23.
RabinChaim. 1961. “Etymological Miscellanea.” Pages 384–400 in Studies in the Bible. Scripta Hierosolymitana 8. Jerusalem: Magnes Press.
24.
RendsburgGary. 2021. “Genesis 49:4—The Route of Facile Textual Emendation vs. Appreciation for Literary Brilliance.” Vetus Testamentum71: 673–86.
25.
ReymondPhillipe. 1958. L’eau, sa vie et sa signification dans l’Ancien Testament. Supplements to Vetus Testamentum 6. Leiden: Brill.
26.
RubinAaron D.2009. “Genesis 49:4 in Light of Arabic and Modern South Arabian.” Vetus Testamentum59: 499–502.
27.
Sáenz-BadillosAngel. 1987. Un diccionario Hebreo de Provenza (Siglo XIII): Edición del manuscrito Vaticano Ebr. 413 con Introducción, Granada: Universidad de Granada.
SkinnerJohn. 1930. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Genesis. 2nd edition. International Critical Commentary. Edinburgh: T&T Clark.
31.
SokoloffMichael. 2009. A Syriac Lexicon: A Translation from the Latin, Correction, Expansion, and Update of C. Brockelmann’sLexicon Syriacum. Piscataway: Gorgias Press.
32.
WestermannClaus. 1982. Genesis 3. Teilband: Genesis 37–50. Biblischer Kommentar zum Alten Testament I/3. Neukirchen: Neukirchener Verlag.
