dzheremi
Coptic Orthodox non-Egyptian
- Aug 27, 2014
- 13,545
- 13,698
- Country
- United States
- Faith
- Oriental Orthodox
- Marital Status
- Private
The Hebrew word that is translated as "thousands" is אֲלָפִ֑֔ים, which is a plural indefinite form -- this is why you see the same word used in contexts with no exact number attached (as in Deuteronomy 5:10) as you do with exact numbers attached, e.g., in Numbers 2:9 -- אֶ֛לֶף וְשֵֽׁשֶׁת־ אֲלָפִ֥ים וְאַרְבַּע־ מֵא֖וֹת "...six thousand and four hundred" (6,400). The definiteness of the number has to do with the digits attached to it (or not) in the phrase, not with whether or not the word "thousand" is plural. The "thousand(s)" is a place holder (like how the fourth place before the decimal point is the thousands, regardless of what if any specific number actually goes there: _ _ _ _._ _), or in the case of an indefinite plural a way of saying "an uncountable amount" (that's why it is indefinite in the first place; you can't count the actual number).
It is a quirk of English (well, not just English, but you're only basing your understanding on the English translation anyway, so let's just say English) that we don't usually pluralize our numbers in this way -- it wouldn't be correct to translate Numbers 2:9 as "six thousands and four hundred", because that's not how we say our numbers (though I'm sure you can find it in many very antiquated or overly literal translations). Other languages, however, even other languages that are genetically related to English, make other decisions. In Spanish, the relevant clause from Numbers 2:9 reads "seis mil y cuatrocientos", literally "six thousand and four hundreds". In Russian (which is also genetically related to English and Spanish), it is shesht tysyach chetyresta, literally "six thousands four hundred"; so kind of the opposite of the Spanish: the thousands is pluralized (sing. 'thousand' is tysyacha), while the word for 'hundred', sot, is not pluralized, but changes from sot to sta due to the numeral it is attached to (for number 2 it is sti, for number 3 and 4, it is sta, whereas 5 and above use sto). Plural 'hundreds' in Russian will change based on the exact construct you are using, but would be stoni, stonya, stoen, etc.
All of this is to say that maybe you shouldn't put too much emphasis on number in your reading of the Bible, because what exactly you're reading as the text has a lot more to do with how your language's number system works than with the soteriological truth found in the text itself. The Greek LXX (OT translation made c. 250 BC) uses χιλιάδας in Deuteronomy 5:10, which is the genitive singular form ('thousand'; the plural is χιλιάδες), yet the Greeks have never believed that only 1,000 people will be judged to be righteous.
Upvote
0
