המם או הלם?

קוד: המם או הלם? בתנ"ך

סוג: פרטים1

מאת: אבנר רמו

אל:

In the Book of Judges we read about Jael:
ידה ליתד תשלחנה, וימינה להלמות עמלים; והלמה סיסרא
“Her hand she put to the tent-pin, and her right hand to the workmen's hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera” Jud 5:26; see also: Pro 18:6; 19:22).

Yet in the Book of Samuel we find:
ותהי יד-יהוה בעיר מהומה גדולה מאד, ויך את-אנשי העיר מקטן ועד-גדול;
“And the hand of YHWH was on the city [with] a very great discomfiture; and He smote the men of the city, both small and great” (1 Sam 5:9).

However, the comparison between these verses suggests that here מהומה (mehumah) is a letter-deletion error of מהלומה (mahalumah) - “blow.”

Similarly we read in the Book of Deuteronomy:
ונתנם יהוה אלהיך לפניך; והמם מהומה גדלה עד השמדם.
“And YHWH your God shall deliver them up before you, and shall discomfit them with a great discomfiture, until they be destroyed” (Deu 7:23).

However, the comparison with the previous verses suggests that והמם מהומה גדלה (vehamam mehumah gedolah) is a letter-deletion error of והלמם מהלומה גדלה (vehalamam mahalumah gedolah) - “and he will strike them with a great strike.”

On the other hand, we read in the Book of Proverbs:
והיית כשכב בלב-ים; וכשכב בראש חבל.
הכוני בל-חליתי-הלמוני בל-ידעתי מתי אקיץ;
“And you shall be as he that lies down in the midst of the sea, and as he that lies with an injured head.
They have struck me, and I felt it not, they have beaten me, and I knew not when shall I awake?” (Pro 23:35).

However, the content of these verses suggests the here הלמוני (halamuni) is a letter-substitution error of הממוני (hamamuni) - “they stunned me.