Was God After Jacob's Penis?

Discussion about the Hebrew Bible, Septuagint, pseudepigrapha, Philo, Josephus, Talmud, Dead Sea Scrolls, archaeology, etc.
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Secret Alias
Posts: 18362
Joined: Sun Apr 19, 2015 8:47 am

Was God After Jacob's Penis?

Post by Secret Alias »

I know this sounds like a stupid thread but I've often wondered this based on the strange set of circumstances from Genesis 32. There is some deliberate play on words here. The Jordan is here called by a different name (יַבֹּֽק). The verb that is twice used to describe what God was doing to Jacob is extremely obscure (וַיֵּאָבֵ֥ק, בְּהֵֽאָבְק֖וֹ). All I know is that Jacob walks away with a limp and he can't eat the sinew of the thigh a custom that was passed on to his sons.
But 'thigh' is a sexual euphemism either meaning 'thigh' or 'buttocks'
yrk, yrkˀ n.f. thigh or buttocks
pl. ירכן ‏,ירכתא ‏

1 thigh or buttocks BADan, Qumran, JLAtg, Gal, PTA, Sam, JBA, LJLA. Dan2:32 : מְעוֹהִי וְיַרְכָתֵהּ דִּי נְחָשׁ ‏ its loins and thighs were of bronze. 4Q534.1.3 : ושומן זועירן על ירכתה ‏ with small moles on his thighs. TgO Gen32:26 : וְזָע פְתֵי יִרכָא דיעקב בְאִשתַדָלוּתֵיה עִמֵיה ‏ the wide part of Jacob's buttocks dislocated from wrestling with him. BR 923:2(1) : אשכחיה טלע על רגליה/ירכיה ‏ †. TN Gen32:32 : הווה מטלע על ירכיה ‏ he was limping on his thigh. FTV Gen24:2 : ירך קימיי ‏ the thigh of my oath. HM(1) 84:(1)19 : ואחית ביני ירכתיה ‏ place a (silver strip) between its [i.e. the rooster's] thighs. TgSong3:8 : כגבר דחרבא חגירא על ירכיה ‏ like a fighter with sword girded on his thigh. (a) נפקין דירכי ‏ : descendants ‏ JBAg.

2 fig.: base course of stones (?) [or emend to אורבי ‏] ‏ JBA.

See Genesis 46:26 מִצְרַ֙יְמָה֙ יֹצְאֵ֣י יְרֵכ֔וֹ מִלְּבַ֖ד נְשֵׁ֣י "all the souls that came from Jacob's loins" and Exodus 1:5 נֶ֛פֶשׁ יֹצְאֵ֥י יֶֽרֶךְ־ יַעֲקֹ֖ב שִׁבְעִ֣ים "out from the loins of Jacob" etc - a euphemism that continues in English and most other languages. https://books.google.com/books?id=dYYx- ... is&f=false
“Finally, from so little sleeping and so much reading, his brain dried up and he went completely out of his mind.”
― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote
austendw
Posts: 140
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2014 11:10 pm

Re: Was God After Jacob's Penis?

Post by austendw »

Certainly gives a new twist to the name Peniel...
Call me Ishmael...
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