On the “epiphany” in Genesis 35:13
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ShareExplaining how the conventions for labeling an agent are different in Biblical Hebrew than in English.
וַיַּ֥עַל מֵעָלָ֖יו אֱלֹהִ֑ים בַּמָּק֖וֹם אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּ֥ר אִתּֽוֹ׃
God* parted from him at the spot where he had been addressed;
*See note at v. 11.
(The above rendering—and footnote—come from the RJPS translation, an adaptation of the NJPS translation.)
Here the participant reference (the label אֱלֹהִים “God”) is probably not meant to be taken literally. Rather, the narrator seems to be employing a linguistic device that I call agency metonymy. On this device, see my comment at 17:22.
Here the participant reference (the label אֱלֹהִים “God”) is probably not meant to be taken literally. Rather, the narrator seems to be employing a linguistic device that I call agency metonymy. On this device, see my comment at 17:22.
