The root N)P in the Hebrew Bible in relation to ZNH

Abstract

This article analyses all passages in the Hebrew Bible where the root N)P is used in order to establish its exact meaning, in particular its relationship to the root ZNH. In a literal sense, their meanings are indiscriminately distinct. The root N)P refers to marital infidelity, to adultery, which is nowhere described with the root ZNH. Although figuratively the two roots are used side by side (including within parallelisms), there is no indication of their source domains overlapping. In the oldest passages where they appear next to each other in a figurative sense, i.e. in Hos, a clear distinction is made between their source domains. In the literature, therefore, it is erroneously assumed that the meaning of hnz encompasses that of adultery, believed to be an appropriate metaphor for the people’s religious or cultic infidelity to YHWH.