Modern students of biblical Hebrew learn that the “pointing” (symbols for vowels) of the commonly used Masoretic text of the OT was added to the Hebrew consonants in the medieval period, and that the meaning of a passage can depend on the pointing used. Depending on the pointing chosen, Jeremiah 7:7 can be translated as, “I will let you dwell in this place,” or as, “I will dwell with you in this place.” Was the ambiguity of the unpointed text intentional? James Hoffmeier is Professor Emeritus of Old Testament and Near Eastern History and Archaeology at (former) Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. His publications include The Archaeology of the Bible and Akhenaten and the Origins of Monotheism.
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