Psalm 78/Notes/Lexical.V. 29.39767

v. 30 – The verb זָר֥וּ could be understood a number of ways. The two primary senses are "become estranged" and "turn away," both of which occur with the preposition מִן of separation as here. The first sense may be intended by the Jerome's (quite unique) take: non indiguerunt de cupiditate sua "they were not in need of/lacking their desire." These two interpretations are similar, however, and supported by the following clause: ע֝֗וֹד אָכְלָ֥ם בְּפִיהֶֽם "their food was still in their mouth." ^[1]

↑ Greenstein (1990, 206) has suggested the sense of "be loathsome," as only clearly attested in Job 19:17: ר֭וּחִֽי זָ֣רָה לְאִשְׁתִּ֑י ("My breath is offensive to my wife," NIV). The nominal form in Num 11:20 (זָרָא), could plausibly be related to this root and provide wordplay from the wilderness sickening of the people's gluttony: "You shall not eat just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, but a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you." Although this intertextual connection and possible word play is interesting, the syntax (particularly the plural verb and preposition מִן) of our present verse requires one of the two, previously discussed, senses.

[1] Greenstein (1990, 206) has suggested the sense of "be loathsome," as only clearly attested in Job 19:17: ר֭וּחִֽי זָ֣רָה לְאִשְׁתִּ֑י ("My breath is offensive to my wife," NIV). The nominal form in Num 11:20 (זָרָא), could plausibly be related to this root and provide wordplay from the wilderness sickening of the people's gluttony: "You shall not eat just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, but a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you." Although this intertextual connection and possible word play is interesting, the syntax (particularly the plural verb and preposition מִן) of our present verse requires one of the two, previously discussed, senses.

[1]