מאת: אבנר רמו
אל: avnerramu @ aol.com
In the Book of Kings we read:
וילך הנביא ויעמד למלך על-הדרך; ויתחפש באפר על-עיניו.
“So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with his headband over his eyes” (1 Ki 20:38).
When the word אפר appears in the Bible it is generally understood as “ashes” However, it appears that the Greek (and English) translators realized that sprinkling ashes over the eyes would not have been carried out even by a zealot Prophet. Therefore, while the meaning יתחפש is indeed “will disguise” the Greek translator wrote here: “bound” and it appears that he assumed that ויתחפש (vaithkhapes) is a misspelled ויתחבש (vaithkhabesh). Therefore he wrote: “and bound his eyes with a bandage.” It appears that the English translator “borrowed” from the Greek translator only the “headband.”
When we hear the Prophet Jeremiah saying: בת-עמי חגרי-שק, והתפלשי באפר - “O daughter of my people, gird you with sackcloth, and roll yourself in ashes” (Jer 6:26; see also: Eze 27:30), we may assume that ויתחפש באפר (vaithkhapes baepher) of verse 1 Ki 20:38 is a misspelled ויתפלש באפר (vaithplesh baepher) - “and he rolled in ashes.” Furthermore, we may also assume that על-עיניו (a’l-enav) is a misspelled לעיניו (lee’ynav) - “before his eyes” (e.g. Num 19:5; 2 Sam 13:8; 2 Ki 25:7; Jer 9:6; 52:10).
We then are told that after the king threatens the Prophet:
וימהר--ויסר את-האפר מעל (מעלי) עיניו; ויכר אתו מלך ישראל, כי מהנביאים הוא.
“And he hastened, and took the headband away from his eyes; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the Prophets” (1 Ki 20:41).
However, if מעל עיניו (mea’l e’ynav) is a misspelled מעליו (mea’lav) - “off himself” then we will get rid of the “headband” and read here: “and he removed the ashes of himself” (e.g. Ex 10:17; 1 Sam 28:15; Jer 32:40; Eze 6:9; Am 5:23; Ps 39:11; Job 9:34). Once he had done that the king recognized that he was one of the Prophets.