מאת: אבנר רמו
אל: avnerramu @ aol.com
The Prophet Jeremiah said: לכן כה אמר יהוה צבאות, הנני צורפם ובחנתים - “Therefore thus said YHWH of hosts: behold, I will smelt them, and try them” (Jer 9:6).
The Prophet Zechariah said:
והבאתי את-השלשית באש, וצרפתים כצרף את-הכסף, ובחנתים כבחן את-הזהב; הוא יקרא בשמי, ואני אענה אתו--אמרתי עמי הוא, והוא יאמר יהוה אלהי.
“And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried; they shall call on My name, and I will answer them; I will say: It is My people, and they shall say: YHWH is my God” (Zec 13:9).
The Psalmist wrote:
בחנת לבי, פקדת לילה-- צרפתני בל-תמצא; זמתי, בל-יעבר-פי.
“You had tried my heart, You had visited it in the night; You had tested me, and You find not that I had a thought which should not pass my mouth” (Ps 17:3).
בחנני יהוה ונסני; צרופה (צרפה) כליותי ולבי.
“Examine me, YHWH, and try me; test my reins and my heart” (Ps 26:2).
כי-בחנתנו אלהים; צרפתנו כצרף-כסף
“For You, O God, have tried us; You have refined us, as silver is refined” (Ps 66:10).
In the Book of Proverbs we read:
מצרף לכסף וכור לזהב; ובחן לבות יהוה.
“The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold; but YHWH trys the hearts” (Pro 17:3).
These verses indicate that the association between: צרף - “refine” and בחן - “try” is more than casual.
Yet in the Book of Isaiah we find: הנה צרפתיך, ולא בכסף; בחרתיך בכור עני -“Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction” (Is 48:10).
The comparison between these verses and the understanding of the English (but not the Greek) translator suggest that here בחרתיך (bekharthicha) is a misspelled בחנתיך (bekhanthicha) - “I have tried you.”
The common understanding of the word: עני (o’ni) is “poverty” (e.g. Deu 24:12, 14). However, as indicated by the Greek (and English) translators it can also mean (in particular when it is relates to Egypt): “affliction” (Ex 3:7, 17; Neh 9:9).
Egypt is also mentioned in regard to: כור הברזל - “the iron furnace” (Deu 4:20; see also: 1 Ki 8:51; Jer 11:4).
It appears that the association between the phrases of כור עני - “furnace of affliction” and
כור הברזל “iron furnace” was also noticed by the Psalmist who wrote: אסירי עני וברזל - “being bound in affliction and iron” (Ps 107:10).