earticle

영어

Eli, Enemy of a Temple! Koowon Kim, Ph.D. Professor of Department of Theology Reformed Theological Seminary in Seoul This article will be devoted to studying the usage of !wO[m' in 1 Samuel vv. 29 and 32, especially the phrase !wO[m' rc in v. 32, which is often regarded as an interpretive conundrum in the oracle. Many scholars, who find MT’s readings in 1 Samuel 2:29, 32 unintelligible, have resorted to emendation, based on different readings in LXX and 4QSama. This paper will critically review previous suggestions and prove MT readings to be commendable in and of itself. Towards this end, the relevant texts will be analyzed both philologically and literarily. I will propose to translate rc in v. 29 and !wO[m' rc in v. 32 as “in a temple” and “Oh enemy of a temple!” respectively and attempt to show that MT’s readings are intelligible, and, if properly understood, provide a hermeneutical key to understanding of the judgment oracle against Eli in its broader context. LXX's reading of verses 29a and 32a in 1 Samuel 2 may appear to provide an explanation of the difficult MT readings, but in fact, LXX complicates it. There is no definite evidence that LXX is the original and MT is its corrupt variant. MT rc “in a temple” in v. 29a and !wO[m' rc “enemy of a temple” in v. 32 make sense as they stand, in the sense that the sins of Eli's two sons were committed either in the temple or against the temple. Moreover, such understanding of MT readings may provide a hermeneutical key to understanding the story of the Elides' degradation, in which Eli's family is deprived of the privilege serving at the temple because they turned themselves into enemies of the temple. Although God revealed himself to Eli's house in Egypt, chose him out of all the tribes to be his priest, and gave him all the privileges pertaining to a temple-servant, the Elides proved themselves to be evil and ungrateful servants by desacralizing the temple. What they did in the temple or against the temple earns them the title !wO[m' rc ‘enemy of a temple’.

한국어

이 논문은 삼상 2장 29-32절의 !wO[m'(마온)와 !wO[m' rc;(짜르 마온)의 용법을 탐구한다. 많은 학자들이 맛소라 본문을 훼손 본문으로 간주하고, LXX에 근거해 본문을 수정할 것을 제안하지만, 필자는 맛소라 본문이 그 자체로 이해 가능할 뿐 아니라 보다 큰 문맥에 대한 해석학적 열쇠를 제공함을 보이려 한다. 이를 위해 해당 본문에 대한 문헌학적 분석과 문학적 분석을 시도한다.