The Meaning of the Phrase בַּעֲלִיל לָאָרֶץ in Ps 12:7b

Back to Psalm 12

Introduction

Psalm 12:7 says,

אִֽמֲר֣וֹת יְהוָה֮ אֲמָר֪וֹת טְהֹ֫ר֥וֹת

כֶּ֣סֶף צָ֭רוּף בַּעֲלִ֣יל לָאָ֑רֶץ

מְ֝זֻקָּ֗ק שִׁבְעָתָֽיִם׃

The phrase בַּעֲלִ֣יל לָאָ֑רֶץ in the second line is difficult to understand and has given rise to a variety of interpretive options. Consider, for example, the following modern translations:

• "in a furnace on the ground" (ESV, NRSV, NET)
• "in a furnace of earth" (KJV, cf. RVR95)
• "in an earthen crucible" (JPS1985, cf. TOB)
• "in a crucible, gold" (NEB/REB)
• "at the going into the earth" (cf. ELB, NJB)

There are three issues involved in the interpretation of this phrase:

1. The text to be interpreted and translated
   1. MT בַּעֲלִ֣יל לָאָ֑רֶץ
   2. Emend the text (e.g., בעליל / חרץ)
2. The meaning of בַּעֲלִיל
   1. "Furnace"
   2. "Crucible"
   3. "Entrance"
3. The meaning of the prepositional phrase לָאָרֶץ
   1. "made of earth"
   2. "towards the ground"
   3. "on the ground"

Argument Maps

The text of v. 7bc

The first issue concerns the text to be interpreted and translated. Is the MT reading preferable, or should it be emended?

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[MT בַּעֲלִיל לָאָרֶץ]: The MT has the earliest available form of the text: בַּעֲלִיל לָאָרֶץ (Barthélemy 2005:49 :M:).
 + <Secunda & Ancient Versions>: Origen's transliteration of the Hebrew text (secunda) corresponds precisely to the MT, and there is no reason to think that the ancient translators read anything else. They are only trying to make sense of a difficult text (Barthélemy 2005 :M:).
  + [Secunda]: βααλιλ λααρς
  + [Ancient versions]: LXX (δοκίμιον τῇ γῇ), Aquila (χωρουν τη γη), Peshitta (ܕܒܚܝܪ ܒܐܪܥܐ), Jerome (separatum a terra), Targum (בכורא על ארעא).
 - <Emendation>: בַּעֲלִיל לָאָרֶץ should be emended to בַּעֲלִיל / חָרוּץ (Brockington 1973:123 :M:; Craigie 2004:136 :C:; cf. NEB/REB). #dispreferred
  + <Disparity between versions>: "The disparity between the principal versions at this point indicates the possibility of early corruption in the text (the majority of the early translators do not appear to have worked from a consonantal text identical to that which is now MT)" (Craigie 2004:136). #dispreferred
   + [Ancient versions]
   - <Secunda & Ancient Versions>
  + <Scribal errors>: The MT reading is best explained as a result of three scribal errors. (1) A scribe wrote an extra lamed, (2) misread 'alef as ḥet, and (3) incorrectly divided the text. Thus, an original בעליל / חרץ ("...in a crucible / gold...") became בעליל לארץ. #dispreferred
   - <External evidence>: There is no evidence among the manuscripts and versions for this reading. Even granting that the versions read different consonantal texts, they all agree on dividing the text at the same point.

The meaning of עֲלִיל

If the MT's reading is preferred, then it must be interpreted. The first issue in the interpretation of the MT is the meaning of the noun עֲלִיל. Two options are discussed below.

"Furnace" or "Crucible"

The most popular view today is that עֲלִיל means either "furnace" or "crucible." The arguments for and against this view are as follows:

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[Furnace or Crucible]: The noun עֲלִיל means either "furnace" or "crucible" (BDB :L:, HALOT :L:, DCH :L:, SDBH :L:; cf. Targum בכורא).
 + <Targum>: The Aramaic Targum translates עֲלִיל as כורא, which means "furnace" (CAL :L:, Stec 2004).
  - <Assimilation>: The Targum has simply chosen a gloss that is appropriate to the context (Barthélemy 2005 :M:). #dispreferred
 + <Context>: This meaning works well in the metallurgical context of v. 7.
 + <בעלי in Prov. 27.22>: 'בעליל is like בעלי, with a mortar (as in Prov. 27:22): “among grain with a pestle,” which is the name of a utensil in which grain is crushed. Similarly, בעליל is the crucible in which gold and silver are smelted' (Rashi :C:).
  - <Pestle, not mortar>: 'However, this does not seem correct because he does not call עלי the mortar in which the grain is crushed, but the handle of the pestle with which they crush' (Rashi :C:, cf. BDB :L:, HALOT :L:). #dispreferred
 - <Etymology>: There is no etymological support for this interpretation (Briggs 1906:96 :C:; cf. Olshausen 1853:74 :C:). #dispreferred

"Entrance"

Another view is that the noun עֲלִיל refers to a "(point of) entrance." NJB footnote: "lit.: 'smelted at the going into the earth,' i.e., already refined when found."

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[Entrance]: The noun עֲלִיל means "(point of) entrance" (cf. ELB, NJB). #dispreferred
 + <Root>: עֲלִיל is a *qetil* noun from the root עלל, the polel of which means "to insert" (BDB :L:, HALOT :L:, DCH :L:). #dispreferred
  + [Job 16:15b]: וְעֹלַ֖לְתִּי בֶעָפָ֣ר קַרְנִֽי #dispreferred

The meaning of the prepositional phrase לָאָרֶץ

If בַּעֲלִיל means "in a furnace," then what is the meaning of the following prepositional phrase לָאָרֶץ? Three options are presented below:

1. "made of earth"
2. "towards the ground"
3. "on the ground"

"Furnace/crucible made of earth"

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["Made of earth"]:לָאָרֶץ describes the material from which the crucible/furnace is made: "earthen furnace" (CSB) or "earthen crucible" (JPS1985). #dispreferred
 + <Clay crucible>: Furnaces and crucibles were made of hardened clay (cf. Pritz 2009:77). #dispreferred
  + [Clay crucibles]:"Broken clay crucibles were found by Glueck in the ruins of the great metal refinery at Ezion-geber" (Kelso 1948 §93 :A:). #dispreferred
 - <Unattested usage>: The word ארץ never has this sense. If this were the intended meaning, one might have expected עפר or אדמה (Hupfeld 1855:259 :C:; Perowne 1870:170 :C:).

"Silver... (flowing) towards the ground"

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[Flowing towards the earth]: "לארץ is best considered as a pregnant construction: '(flowing) towards the earth'" (Baethgen 1904:34 :C:; cf. Olshuasen 1853 :C:). #dispreferred
 + <Observable>: "Silver that flows toward the earth... can be observed in every smelting works; the molten pure silver flows out of the smelting furnace where the ore is piled up" (Olshausen 1853:74 :C:). #dispreferred
 + <Lamed>: Lamed prepositional phrases can express spatial orientation, and the phrase לָאָרֶץ occurs often with this sense (Jenni 2000:257 :G:). #dispreferred
  + [Examples of לָאָרֶץ as spatial orientation]: Ps. 74:7 – לָ֝אָ֗רֶץ חִלְּל֥וּ מִֽשְׁכַּן־שְׁמֶֽךָ; Ps. 89:45 – וְ֝כִסְא֗וֹ לָאָ֥רֶץ מִגַּֽרְתָּה; Amos 3:14 וְנָפְל֖וּ לָאָֽרֶץ #dispreferred
 - <Syntactically difficult>: This view not only requires the elision of a participle ("flowing"), it also requires the PP לארץ to modify כסף, from which it is separated by two words. לארץ more likely modifies עליל with which it is bound prosodically according to the accents.

"Furnace/crucible in/on the ground" (preferred)

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[In/On the ground]: The phrase לָאָרֶץ means "belonging to the ground" > "fixed upon the ground" (Perowne 1970:170 :C:, cf. ESV, NET).
 + <Ancient iconography>: Ancient depictions of metal smelting show that the furnace was built onto/into the ground (cf. Keel 1997:184-5 :M:).
 + <Targum>: The Targum, from which we get the interpretation "furnace," understood the following prepositional phrase to mean "on the ground" (בכורא על ארעא).
 - <על or construct chain>: A different preposition (e.g., על) or a construct chain (בעליל ארץ) might have been expected if this meaning were intended. #dispreferred
  - <Definiteness mismatch>: The noun ארץ is definite ("the ground") and the noun בעליל is indefinite ("a furnace/crucible"). And "in order to express a possessive relationship between nouns which differ in definiteness, a construction with the preposition ל is used instead of the construct phrase" (BHRG §25.3.1 :G:).
   + "E.g., מזמור לדוד a psalm of David (lit. a psalm to David)" (BHRG §25.3.1 :G:).

Conclusion

Silver refined in a furnace on the ground.

In light of Origen's transliteration (βααλιλ λααρς), the MT's בַּעֲלִ֣יל לָאָ֑רֶץ is probably the earliest available reading of the text (CTAT).

The meaning of the phrase בַּעֲלִ֣יל לָאָ֑רֶץ is difficult to understand. This is because (1) the word עֲלִיל occurs only in this one instance, (2) the ancient versions show no agreement on its interpretation, and (3) there are no clear cognates in other languages. In light of this uncertainty, we have simply followed the consensus of modern lexicons that עֲלִיל probably means "furnace" (BDB, SDBH) or "crucible" (HALOT, DCH). This is how the Targum understood the word (בכורא - "furnace"), and it works well in the metallurgical context of Ps. 12:7. (We have chosen "furnace" instead of "crucible" on the basis of the Targum's translation.)

If בַּעֲלִיל is taken to mean "furnace", then the prepositional phrase לָאָרֶץ may mean (1) "furnace made of earth", (2) "silver... (flowing) towards the ground," or (3) "furnace on the ground." The first option is unlikely, since ארץ never refers to the material with which something is made. Although the second option takes לָאָרֶץ (both the noun and the preposition) in a natural sense, it requires a difficult syntax that conflicts with the prosodic structure of the text. The third option is the most likely of the three. This is how the Targum understood the prepositional phrase, and if we think that Targum preserves the correct understanding of בַּעֲלִיל (as modern lexicons provisionally assume), then it seems wise to follow the Targum's understanding of the following phrase as well (בכורא על ארעא - "in a furnace on the ground"). This is supported by ancient iconographic depictions of metal smelting which show that furnaces were built into/onto the ground. The use of a lamed prepositional phrase instead of a construct chain may be explained by the fact that ארץ is definite and בַּעֲלִיל is indefinite.

Research

Translations

Ancient

• LXX: δοκίμιον τῇ γῇ
  • "tested for soil" (NETS)
• Sec.: βααλιλ λααρς
• Aq.: χωρουν τη γη
• Syr.: ܕܒܚܝܪ ܒܐܪܥܐ
• Jer.: separatum a terra
• Tg.:בכורא על ארעא
  • "in a furnace on the ground" (Stec 2004)

Modern

• Crucible
  • Crucible
    • in a crucible (NIV; cf. NEB/REB)
    • im Tiegel (LUT)
    • en el crisol (NVI)
    • au creuset (NFC)
    • par le feu dans un creuset (BDS)
  • Earthen crucible
    • in an earthen crucible (JPS85)
    • un creuset de terre (TOB)
  • Crucible, from earth
    • im Schmelztiegel geläutert, von Erde gereinigt (ZÜR)
  • Crucible, gold (emendation)
    • refined in a crucible, gold... (NEB/REB)
• Furnace
  • Furnace
    • in a furnace (NLT)
    • in the furnace (GNT)
    • in a fiery furnace (CEV)
    • im Schmelzofen (NGÜ, GNB)
    • en el horno (DHH)
  • Furnace on the ground
    • in a furnace on the ground (ESV, NRSV, NET)
  • Furnace of earth
    • in a furnace of earth (KJV)
    • en horno de barro (RVR95)
  • Furnace, from earth
    • im Ofen, von Schlacken gereinigt (EÜ)
• Entrance
  • which comes from the earth seven times refined (NJB)
  • am Eingang zur Erde (ELB)

Secondary Literature

Text Critical Resources

• Brockington 1973:123 – לָאָרֶץ > חָרוּץ
• Barthélemy 2005:49-51 – בַּעֲלִיל לָאָרֶץ {A} ... Les paroles du SEIGNEUR sont des paroles claires, / de l'argent affiné coulant dans le moule, / après avoir été sept fois épuré

Lexicons

• BDB - עֲלִיל S5948 TWOT1628b GK6612 appar. n.[m.], only כֶּסֶף צָרוּף בַּע׳ לָאָרֶץ ψ 12:7, usually (after T כּוּרָא) furnace, crucible (Hup from III. עלל; De al. workshop, from I. עלל), but wholly dub
• HALOT - II עלל, Bauer-L. Heb. 471s: Sept. δοκίμιον τῇ γῇ, Pesh. ḥabbārā pit, Tg. כּוּרָא smelting-kiln: crucible (Kelso §94), with לָאָֽרֶץ in a crucible on the ground, or in the ground (Brockelmann Heb. Syn. §107a) Ps 12:7 (rather a gloss on כֶּסֶף צָרוּף).
• DCH -
  • עֲלִיל I 1 n.[m.] crucible, of clay, for refining silver and other precious metals, less prob. furnace... <CSTR> עֲלִיל אֶרֶץ crucible of earth Ps 12:7 (if em.; see Prep.)... be refined Ps 12:7 (unless עֲלִיל II manifest; or em. בֶּעֱלִי in a crucible; or em. בַּעֲלִיל לָאָ֑רֶץ in a crucible on the ground to בַּעֲלִיל אֶרֶץ in a crucible of earth* or בַּעֲלִיל חָרִיץ in a crucible of, i.e. for, gold*).
  • עֲלִיל II 1 adj. manifest (unless עֲלִיל crucible), used attributively of כֶּסֶף silver Ps 12:7 (כֶּסֶף צָרוּף בַּעֲלִיל לָאָרֶץ refined silver, manifest to the world).
• SDBH - meaning unsure; possibly: = a construction ◄ made of hardened clay or of bricks ► and used for the smelting of ore; ≈ associated with purity and uprightness -- smelting furnace; kiln
• NIDOTTE – עֲלִיל (ʿalîl), clay furnace (hapleg.; #6612); < עָלַל (ʿālal II), thrust (#6619)... The words of God are flawless (טָהֵר), like silver refined (צָרַף) in a clay furnace (Ps 12:6 [7]).

Grammars

• Bauer & Leander 1922 §61sα on qetil nouns
• JM §88Eg on qetil nouns. "Hardly anything but substantives are found in this form, and most of them seem to be of foreign origin..."
• Jenni 2000:257-259 - "Adverb of orientation," ‘zu Boden / auf die Erde.’ Die adverbialen Ausdrücke für Orientierung ordnen sich als polare Bedeutungspaare auf räumlich-geometrischen oder auf allgemeine Lebensbereiche bezogenen Achsen durch den Standpunkt des Subjkets (deiktisches Zentrum)...In der Anordnung nach Häufigkeit folgen die Orientierungen auf der vertikalen Achse (257). Cf. Isa 3:26; Jer 14:2; Ezek 19:12; Amos 3:14; Psa 74:7; 89:40,45; Lam 2:2, 10, 11, 21.

Articles

• James Kelso and William F. Albright, “The Ceramic Vocabulary of the Old Testament,” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research. Supplementary Studies 5/6 (1948): 1–48.
  • 93. Metallurgy offers another use for clay. Certain varieties of clays are known as fire clays because they have a high resistance to heat and thus make ideal crucibles in which to smelt or to refine metals. Broken clay crucibles were found by Glueck in the ruins of the great metal refinery at Ezion-geber, but unfortunately no ceramic analysis of them have been made. Heb. עליל, כור, and מצרף are all terms used for such clay crucibles.
  • 94. עליל – a clay crucible for the refining of precious metals; כור – a clay crucible for the refining of precious metals; מצרף – a clay crucible for the refining of precious metals. Heb. עליל in Ps. 12: 7 (6) is most likely a jeweler's clay crucible, for the metal is refined seven times. The full phrase is עליל לארץ (an earthenware crucible). This is an excellent descriptive phrase although ארץ is only used twice in the sense of a clay. The ל of לארץ is apparently a case of dittography. The use of the verb בחן in Prov. 17:3 favors the sense of a refiner's crucible for both כור and מצרף.

Commentaries

• Radak - בעליל לארץ כמו בעל הארץ... לארץ כלמ"ד הרגו לאבנר
• Rashi – exposed Heb. בעליל, an expression of revealing; in the language of the Mishna (Rosh Hashanah 21b, see Gemara): “whether it was plainly (בעליל) visible or whether it was not plainly (בעליל) visible, etc.” Others explain בעליל as an expression of elevation, and this is its explanation: silver refined with the best earth. That is to say, like silver that is refined with the best earth and its upper layer, because a person makes a crucible to refine the silver from the best earth. Another explanation: בעליל is like בעלי, with a mortar (as in Prov. 27:22): “among grain with a pestle,” which is the name of a utensil in which [grain] is crushed. Similarly, בעליל is the crucible in which gold and silver are smelted. However, this does not seem correct because he does not call עלי the mortar in which [the grain] is crushed, but the handle of the pestle with which they crush. This is called pilon in French, pestle. Another explanation: בעליל is an expression of the master of a hand, i.e., the master of the earth, and the praise of the word applies to God. Targum Jonathan, too, renders it as an expression of lordship. He says that His sayings are like silver, refined by the Lord of the earth, Who is God, for He refined and clarified them.
• Calvin – "The word בעליל, baälil, which we have translated crucible, is interpreted by many prince, or lord, as if it were a simple word. According to them, the meaning would be, that the word of God is like the purest silver, from which the dross has been completely removed with the greatest art and care, not for common use, but for the service of a great lord or prince of some country. I, however, rather agree with others who consider that בעליל, baälil, is a word compounded of the letter ב, beth, which signifies in, and the noun עליל, alil, which signifies a clean or well polished vessel or crucible."
• Hupfeld 1855:248, 257-259 – Silber geläutert im Tiegel in der Erde
• Baethgen 1904:33-34 – Silber, geläutert im Tiegel (?) zur Erde... Alle (die Versionen) betrachten das ב als Stammbuchstaben. Dagegen Arg. בכורא d. i. 'im Tiegel'. So die meisten Neueren. לארץ betrachtet man dann am besten als prägnante Konstruktion: 'zur Erde hin(fliessend)'. 'Aus dem Schmelzofen, worin das Erz aufgehäuft ist, fliesst unten das ausgeschmolzene reine Silber ab'. Olsh. Jedoch lässt sich die Bedeutung anderweitig nicht nachweisen. Im nachbiblischen Hebr. heisst בעליל העיר 'im Anblick der Stadt', und vom Monde hasst es, dass er sichtbar oder nicht sichtbar sei בעליל (s. Levy, Neuer. Wörterbuch s. v.), was Levy übersetzt 'im Glanze (am heitern Himmel)'. Der Glanz würde bei dem Silber gut passen; aber Bedeutung und Etymologie des neuhebr. Worts sind selbst nicht klar. Heyne hält בעליל für eine Glosse, ל in ארץ für eine Dittographie, und ארץ für eine Korruption aus חרץ; er übersetzt: 'Silber, geläutert; gold, gereinigt sieben Mal'. Aber בעליל sieht nicht aus wie eine Glosse; viel eher ist das auch in das Metrum nicht passende מזקק שבעתים eine solche.
• Briggs 1906:96 – When thrust down to earth, referring to the afflicted among the people, continuing the words of Yahweh... The usual interpretation, referring this clause to the silver, is difficult in every respect. The translations: 'As tried in a furnace of earth' AV; or 'on earth' RV.; 'refined in an earthen furnace' JPSV., are not sustained by etymology or syntax. The Verse. and interpreters differ greatly, without in any case finding the sentence appropriate to the context.
• Craigie 2004:136 – silver refined in a furnace, gold purified seven times... The latter part of the verse (v 7b–c) poses a variety of problems, and the disparity between the principal versions at this point indicates the possibility of early corruption in the text (the majority of the early translators do not appear to have worked from a consonantal text identical to that which is now MT). The solution adopted above involves only two small changes with respect to לארץ “to the land”: (i) the introductory lamedh is removed (on the basis of dittography; see the preceding word); (ii) the initial aleph is emended to ח, giving חרֻץ “gold” (cf. L. H. Brockington, The Hebrew Text of the Old Testament, p. 123). This minor emendation provides good sense and good parallelism: כספ//חרץ, “silver//gold” (on this parallel word pair in Hebrew and Ugaritic poetry, see Dahood in RSP I, p. 234–35); צרופ//מזקק, “refined//purified.”

References

12:7 Approved