Paul, Shalom M.

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NEHEMIAH 6:19 - COUNTER ESPIONAGE By SHALOM M. PAUL Hebrew University of Jerusalem THE PERICO PE OF Neh 6: 17-19 concludes the reports of the multiple plots against Nehemiah with the correspondence of Tobiah, one of Nehemiah's arch-enemies along with Sanballat and Geshem. Tobiah is reported to have maintained an active written contact with many of the prominent nobles of Judah who were bound to him by oath 1 through his marital relationships. Nehemiah, nevertheless, was not unaware of these intrigues, as is evident from the concluding verse 19. Though many com-mentators and translators still interpret this verse as though the nobles were singing the "praises" or "good deeds"' of Tobiah, 2 the correct understanding ofrn:::ii~ was noted long ago by Geiger (1857, p. 44, note) and subsequently by Low (1913, p. 154}, 1 who repointed the substantive i•r;:ii!IQ and derived it from Aramaic ~t;Q ("report, rumor"}. 4 Compare Aramaic/Syriac K:J~ (from :::i:::i~) with its cognates in Hebrew il~':I (from I. For Hebrew 11Y1:l1U '?Y:i, which is a hapax legomenon, cf. Akkad1an he/ ade (Oppen-heimer, 1964, p. 134). 2. Cf., e.g., Siegfried ( 190 I); Myers ( 1965), first translation and p. 139; rhe 1\e11 English Bible, translation as opposed to note. The pointing of the noun, however, may reflect a subtle paranomasia on Tobiah's name: :i•:iio ,1•ni:i10. Cf. Batten (1913). 3. See, too, Gordis {1955), who does not refer to Geiger or Low. Gordis adds that Hebrew :i:ii is rendered as (f111:l1') K:l'1' by Onkelos in Gen 37:2 and KJ1' in the Targum to Prov 10:18. He also accepts Seidel's suggestion (1923, pp. 32-33) that :iio means "speech" in Hos 14:3 and Ps 39:3. 4. Cf. Kohler-Baumgartner (1967, p. 352). So. too. Galling (1954) and Rudolph (1949). 177 178 SllAL0'.\1 M. PAUL ::i::ii) and Akkadian dibbu (from dababu).' Thus it becomes patently clear that they were repeating reports and rumors about Tobiah in the presence of Nehemiah and were not praising him. But the story does not end there. Nehemiah also had to reckon with double-agents, for that is precisely what the verse continues to describe: i? O'l.t'Jiil.:) ~·o 'J1/~. Though there is no difficulty attached to the under-standing or intent of this phrase, its exact linguistic nuance has been heretofore overlooked. The Hebrew expression i::ii N•:m17 takes on an additional overtone when it is compared to its Akkadian interdialectal semantic equivalent awiitam susu, which is a well-known idiom meaning "to betray, divulge secrets:' Cf. amtil alisu ultesi ("he has betrayed a secret of his town"), in Reiner ( 1958, p. 96); fa awat be/i<)a> ustenessi u be/i lifa/.funufi ("my lord should question those who always betray the secrets of my lord"), in Jean (1950, 124:21); sinni§tum awat pubrim u§tenessi ("a woman will betray the affairs of the assembly"), in Goetze (1947, 36:JY, 9).6 Thus here, too, the proper translation should be, "and they divulged my secrets to him." Thus as Rudolph (1949) comments, "es ist immer gut im Lager des Fein des seine Spione zu haben "; yet this, of course, can, and usually does, work both ways. 5. For the relationship between Akkadian dibbu ( .. word, talk, report, rumor"), Hebrew i"li!'l, and Syriac, Jewish Aramaic, and Mandaic ,,,\:1. see Kaufman (1974, pp. 42-43). 6. Examples cited from Oppenheim ( 1968, pp. 372-373, g). Cf. also p. 34, 2b; and Nougayrol. ( !945, pp. 681). NEHE:vlIAll 6: 19 179 BIBLIOGRAPHY Batten, L. W. 1913. Ezra and Nehemiah. Edinburg. Galling, K. 1954. Die Bucher der Chronik, Esra, Nehemia. Gottingen. Geiger, A. 1857. Urschnji und Ubersetzungen der Bibel. Breslau. Goetze, A. 1947. Old Babylonian Omen Texts = Yale Oriental Series 10. New Haven and London. Gordis, R. 1955. "The text and meaning of Hosea XIV 3." Vetus Testamentum 5:88-90. Jean, C.-F. 1950. Lettres diverses = Archives royales de Mari 2. Paris. Kaufman, S. A. 1974. The Akkadian Influences on Aramaic. Chicago and London. Kohler, L. and W. Baumgartner. 1967. Hebriiisches und Aramiiisches Lexikon zum A/ten Testament. Leiden. Low, I. 1913. "Miscelle." Zeitschriji fur Alttestamentliche Wissenschafi 33:154. Myers, J. M. 1965. Ezra-Nehemia. Garden City. Nougayrol, J. 1945. "Textes hepatoscopiques d'epoque ancienne." Revue d'Assyriologie 40:68f. Oppenheim, L. A. 1964. The Assyrian Dictionary. Part A/I. Chicago. ----. 1968. The Assyrian Dictionary. Part A/II. Chicago. Reiner, E. 1958. Surpu. Graz. Rudolph, W. 1949. Esra und Nehemia. Tubingen. Seidel, M. 1923. "Q.eqer millim." Debir 1:32-33. Siegfried, D. C. 1901. Esra, Nehemia, und Esther. Gottingen. The New English Bible. 1970. Oxford and Cambridge. 

Nehemiah 6:19 -- Counter Espionage

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Nehemiah 6:19 -- Counter Espionage

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