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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Shamayim - why heavens, not two heavens | Gen 1:1 | pomegranate | 6773 | ||
For the Hebrew buffs out there: Gen1:1-"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." The Hebrew word for heavens is "shamayim," a dual Hebrew word...My question: Why is it translated into English as "heavens" plural, instead of TWO heavens since that is what dual means, TWO? Would it be wrong to say "In the beginning God created TWO heavens and the earth?" | ||||||
2 | Shamayim - why heavens, not two heavens | Gen 1:1 | Morant61 | 6774 | ||
Greetings, My Hebrew is very rusty, but from the grammars I consulted I was able to find the following information about dual nouns. Dual nouns usually refer to things like body parts that naturally occur in pairs, and are normally simply translated as plurals. However, there are some nouns which have a dual form without having a dual meaning. For instance, the Hebrew word for 'water' has a dual form, but does not have a dual meaning. The word for 'heavens' seems to be the same kind of word. It has a dual form, but can be translated as either a singular or a plural. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
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3 | Shamayim - why heavens, not two heavens | Gen 1:1 | pomegranate | 6787 | ||
Hi Tim, Thanks for the reply... I was also aware of hamayim (water) being a dual noun. The nature of the dual with water seems very apparent to me as literal, because in "day" two, God seperates waters. Two waters to be exact, the waters above and the waters below... Obviously what makes the noun "dual" is the suffix transliterated as "im" (Yod, Mem)... Now what about Elohim, that is obviously a dual noun correct? Personally, I am beginning to believe that dual nouns are a very important part of understanding... Thanks again. pom |
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4 | Shamayim - why heavens, not two heavens | Gen 1:1 | Morant61 | 6791 | ||
Greetings Pom! I don't know. Most of the sources I counslted didn't attach a lot of significance to dual nouns. Although, they also admitted that they didn't know why some nouns were dual. At this point, I would guess that it is just a quirk of the language. In Christ, Tim Moran |
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