על זקנה ושורשים

מאת: אבנר רמו

אל: avnerramu @ aol.com

In the Book of Job we read: וימת איוב, זקן ושבע ימים - “So Job died, being old and full of days” (Job 42:17; see also: Gen 18:11; 24:1; 35:29; Jos 13:1; 23:1, 2; 24:31; Jud 2:7; 1 Ki 1:1; Job 32:4; 1 Ch 23:1; 2 Ch 24:15).

Yet we also find in the Book of Job: ימי עברו זמתי נתקו-- מורשי לבבי - “My days are past, my purposes are broken off, even the thoughts of my heart” (Job 17:11).

The understanding of the English translator is not supported by the Greek translation. However, the comparison between these verses suggests that זמתי (zimothai) is a misspelled זקנתי (zaqanthi) - “I became old.”

Now we also read in the Book of Job: אם-יזקין בארץ שרשו - “Though the root thereof wax old in the earth” (Job 14:8), and in the Book of Ezekiel: הלוא את-שרשיה ינתק - “shall he not pull up the roots thereof” (Eze 17:9). These verses suggest that מורשי (morashei) in Job 17:11 is a misspelled שורשי (shorashei) - “the roots of.”

With these suggested corrections we should replace ימי עברו זמתי נתקו-- מורשי לבבי with
ימי עברו זקנתי נתקו שורשי לבבי - “My days have passed, I aged, the roots of my soul became disconnected.”