Hot answers tagged figure-of-speech
5
The reference to singing comes a few verses later:
4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast the understanding.
5 Who determined the measures thereof, if thou knowest? Or who stretched the line upon it?
6 Whereupon were the foundations thereof fastened? Or who laid the corner-stone thereof,
7 When the morning ...
4
Translators often point out these sorts of puns in footnotes and they are even more commonly mentioned in commentaries. For instance, here's one I found many years ago when I read the NIV Study Bible:
Genesis 40:12-13 (NIV)
“This is what it means, ” Joseph said to him. “The three branches are three days. Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your ...
1
Proper pun
The English word 'pun' is equivalent to the Hebrew 'al tiqre . . . ellaʾ (“do not read . . . but”) which allows the interpreter to exchange one vowel or consonant for another.
In practice:
The 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet divide into 5 phonetic groups, based on their origin in the mouth's vocal system:
the throat: א (alef) ח (chet) ה ...
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