Sedeq and Sedaqah in the Hebrew Bible.

• Author: Sperling, S. David

A number of Hebrew nouns occur in both masculine and feminine forms, with no apparent difference in meaning. Ho's book examines the Biblical attestations of esm and vesm and challenges N. Snaith's claim that the choice of one over the other "is a matter of style or caprice" (N. H. Snaith, The Distinctive Ideas of the Old Testament |London: Epworth, 1942~, 72).

The approach attempted here is the examination of two vocables "in their context according to genre, units and books, . . . to find historical development". An introduction precedes ten chapters, which are followed by endnotes, a "Bibliography" (pp. 199-208; only one non-English reference), and a "Hebrew Bibliography". The author divides her subject matter into three parts. There is, first, a summary of previous research, followed by "my research through a thorough contextual examination", and finally a summary and conclusions. The work is "organized chronologically". Ho divides the texts she examines according to genre: narrative, wisdom, and prophetic literature. Ho's commendable attempt is, unfortunately, marred in execution. There is first the matter of style, choppy and unclear. Given that the author is not a native writer of English, one wonders why no aid was provided to make her thoughts more intelligible. Examples abound and are damaging: it is even difficult to fathom some of the book's principal conclusions. esm is defined as: "a general term for justice, rightness, righteousness and blessing; vesm is broader in meaning and more specific than esm. It is a state of being, human and divine. It is self-fulfillment according to the ultimate code of ethics. It is a set of behavior and actions. . . . For Wisdom vesm is a way of life. It is a philosophy".

This reviewer does not understand how a word can be both "broader in meaning and more specific."

Secondly. in a book dedicated to precise philological distinctions, it is jarring to be introduced to such non-Biblical concepts as "self-fulfillment," "ultimate code of...