פגר = גויה כרותת ראש

קוד: פגר = גויה כרותת ראש בתנ"ך

סוג: הגדרה

מאת: אבנר רמו

אל: avnerramu @ aol.com

In the Book of Exodus we read:
ויאמר משה אל-יהושע בחר-לנו אנשים וצא הלחם בעמלק;
“And Moses said to Joshua: Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek” (Ex 17:9; see also: Num 17:20; Jos 8:3; 1 Sam 13:2; 2 Sam 10:9; 17:1; 1 Ch 19:10(.

Now we hear about Goliath:
ויעמד ויקרא אל-מערכת ישראל, ויאמר להם, למה תצאו לערך מלחמה: הלוא אנכי הפלשתי ואתם עבדים לשאול--ברו-לכם איש וירד אלי.
“And he stood and cried to the armies of Israel, and said to them: Why do you come out to set your battle in array? Am not I a Philistine, and you servants to Saul? Choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me” (1 Sam 17:8.

The comparison between these verses and the understanding of the Greek (and English) translators suggest that the Hapax legomenon ברו-לכם (beru-lachem) is a letter-deletion error of בחרו לכם (bakhru lachem) - “Choose you for yourselves” (e.g. Jos 24:22; 1 Sam 8:18; 1 Ki 18:25).

In the same chapter we read:
היום הזה יסגרך יהוה בידי והכיתך, והסרתי את-ראשך מעליך, ונתתי פגר מחנה פלשתים
“This day will YHWH deliver you into my hand; and I will smite you, and take your head from off you; and I will give the carcass[es of the] host of the Philistines” (1 Sam 17:46).

The Greeks do not support here the understanding of the English translator who does not follow the Hebrew version of this grammatically odd verse. However, if פגר (peger) here is a letter-deletion error of פגרך (pigrecha) - “your headless carcass” then this verse becomes logical and grammatically correct.

As indicated above the reading of verse 1 Sam 17:46, suggests that the meaning of the word פגר (peger) is a “headless carcass.”

Now we read in the Book of Leviticus:
ונתח אתו לנתחיו, ואת-ראשו ואת-פדרו; וערך הכהן אתם על-העצים אשר על-האש, אשר על-המזבח.
“And he shall cut it into its pieces; and the priest shall lay them, with its head and its suet, in order on the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar” (Lev 1:12; see also: Lev 1:8; 8:20).

It is not clear how the Greek (and English) translators determined that פדרו (pidro) means “its suet.” However, the comparison with verse 1 Sam 17:46 suggests that פדרו (pidro) is a letter-substitution error of פגרו (pigro) - “his headless carcass.”

This understanding also suggests that the order of the words in verse Lev 8:20 is incorrect and instead of the reading of:
ואת-האיל--נתח לנתחיו; ויקטר משה את-הראש, ואת-הנתחים ואת-הפדר.
“And when the ram was cut into its pieces, Moses made the head, and the pieces, and the suet smoke” (Lev 8:20), we should read:
ואת-האיל--נתח לנתחיו; ויקטר משה את הנתחים את-הראש ואת-הפגר
“And the ram was cut into its pieces; And Moses offered the pieces: the head and the headless carcass.”