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Not necessarily. The relevant part in the text reads >> [...] טעונין בר ולחם ומזון ויין להחזיק יד עני ואביון ולכל איש אשר יחסר לו [...] לְהַחֲזִיק literally m
by litre 3y ago
Not necessarily. The relevant part in the text reads
>> [...] טעונין בר ולחם ומזון ויין להחזיק יד עני ואביון ולכל איש אשר יחסר לו [...]
לְהַחֲזִיק literally means "to hold", though in some contexts (especially in older texts like this) it also means "to maintain" or "to support". While it's close to לְחַזֵּק, which means "to strengthen", להחזיק isn't usually used in that meaning (apart from lyrical contexts, perhaps).
- foolswisdom 3y agoIn "rabbinc" Hebrew להחזיק is used that way in a number of places though. Just do a search for להחזיק יד. And I think it's quite clear for the sentence that this is the meaning used here. Edit: to clarify, my search found results mainly in later, medieval texts.
- litre 3y agoI just did a search (using https://tablet.otzar.org https://tablet.otzar.org, as I don't currently have access to my academic resources), and I couldn't find an instance where this specific phrase (להחזיק יד, and its variants. My search query was `&??חזיק{0}יד`, without the backticks) is used in the meaning "to strengthen the hand". All I could find was of the "to support" meaning. Can you point to specific references where this isn't the case?
- foolswisdom 3y agoI apologize for being more clear. I thought you were arguing against the usage of "support", so I was pointing out that there is such usage. I read again and see that I was mistaken. My apologies.
- noam_k 3y agoI agree with all your points except the last. This phrase originates from Ezekiel 16:49, where it specifically refers to supporting the poor. (Which also by strange happenstance is relevant to the portions of the bible read this week.) So yes, "support" would be the more correct translation. </nitpick>
- litre 3y agoCan you elaborate which "last point" you're referring to? I'm not sure how the Ezekiel reference contradicts anything I wrote.