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1 Kings 16:34
— On the Sons of Hiel
Most
translations, including the ISV, translate I Kings 16:34 to indicate that
Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho and his sons died in the process (as a
fulfillment of Joshua 6:26 presumably). However, a literal rendering of the
verse would be “He laid its foundation with the firstborn Abiram, and with
the youngest son Segub he set up the gates.” Wouldn’t the literal rendering
make as much sense as the ISV’s translation or most others?
The ISV is literal here. It's
just idiomatic, too. We don't think a rendering that's more of a concordant
literal (as you've suggested) than is the ISV's literal-idiomatic would be
as clear as is the ISV's rendering...that's why we wrote it that way!
Is there
something in the Hebrew (apart from the prophecy in Joshua) that indicates
that the sons died in the process and were not merely assisting in the
construction?
Yes. The text
absolutely does NOT say they were helping their father Hiel rebuild Jericho
by assisting in the construction, except perhaps to the extent that they
were cooperating in what God considered to be an act of rebellion against
himself, which is why they died during the construction of the city's
foundation and gates, respectively. The Hebrew literally reads "Hiel
the Bethelite built Jericho--through Abiram his first born he laid its
foundation and through Segub his younger brother he erected its gates,
consistent with the Lord's pronouncement through the hand of Nun's son
Joshua."
The Hebrew
grammatical structure of this verse consists of puns on the preposition
בַּ.
Whatever sense you make of the use of this preposition
בַּ
in this verse, it cannot connote mere accompaniment or assistance, since
בַּ
is used as a preposition of instrument with respect to Joshua's
pronouncement.
Just as God
used Joshua as a means to bring about the prophecy, so also God used Abiram
and Segub—as instruments, not as servants—to demonstrate His justice.
Everybody serves God...as a servant/son or as an instrument/enemy. Such is
the lesson learned from these two rebellious sons of Hiel.
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