# meaning of ועתה הנה in the Old Testament



## Sharjeel72

Hi again

Verses in the Old Testament often begin with ועתה הנה. What does this mean? Here are some examples:

ועתה הנה אדניה מלך ועתה אדני המלך לא ידעת

ועתה הנה הבאתי את ראשית פרי האדמה אשר נתתה לי יהוה והנחתו לפני יהוה אלהיך והשתחוית לפני יהוה אלהיך

ועתה הנה החיה יהוה אותי כאשר דבר זה ארבעים וחמש שנה מאז דבר יהוה את הדבר הזה אל משה אשר הלך ישראל במדבר ועתה הנה אנכי היום בן חמש ושמונים שנה

ועתה הנה המלך אשר בחרתם אשר שאלתם והנה נתן יהוה עליכם מלך

ועתה הנה נתן יהוה רוח שקר בפי כל נביאיך אלה ויהוה דבר עליך רעה


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## Drink

These words do not form any special phrase. It is just ועתה followed by הנה.


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## Abaye

Although there's no significant additional depth in the combination, I think it is used as a phrase (idiom?, expression?, whatever the English term is), like "here and now".


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## Ali Smith

Note, however, the following:

וְעַתָּ֕ה הִנֵּ֛ה צַעֲקַ֥ת בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בָּ֣אָה אֵלָ֑י וְגַם־רָאִ֙יתִי֙ אֶת־הַלַּ֔חַץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר מִצְרַ֖יִם לֹחֲצִ֥ים אֹתָֽם׃
(שמות ג ט)

Because therefore the cry of the sons of Israel has now come to me, and also, I have seen how heavily the Egyptians are suppressing them.


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## Abaye

Ali Smith said:


> וְעַתָּ֕ה הִנֵּ֛ה צַעֲקַ֥ת בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בָּ֣אָה אֵלָ֑י וְגַם־רָאִ֙יתִי֙ אֶת־הַלַּ֔חַץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר מִצְרַ֖יִם לֹחֲצִ֥ים אֹתָֽם׃
> (שמות ג ט)


I'm not on safe ground here because some instances of ועתה הנה in the Bible can be interpreted as either two individual words or as a phrase, yet it seems to be regarded as a "rhetorical marker" in the following article (that I don't have a copy of) about שמות ג:


> “The Rhetorical Marker “ועתה הנה“ and Resolving a Source/Redaction Critical Problem in Exodus 3,” in Peter Machinist at al. (eds.), Festschrift for Edward L. Greenstein, Eisenbrauns; Pennsylvania State University Press, 2020 (forthcoming)


And also here (page 292).


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## Haskol

Could possibly be translated as "and behold!" or "lo and behold!"


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## amikama

*Moderator note: the discussion about ועתה without הנה following it has been moved to a new thread: meaning of ועתה without הנה after it*


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## JAN SHAR

Abaye, any idea where I could get my hands on that article?

Thanks


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## Ali Smith

The conclusion of Jaeyoung Jeon's article is:

"The function of the ועתה הנה clause in Exod 3:9 is a key element in the recent redaction-critical study of Exod 3 that holds a significant position in the debates between different formation models of the Pentateuch. Through the analysis of all the relevant cases of ועתה הנה, this essay revealed that the argument for the unity of the text has been made based on a misunderstanding of the rhetorical function of ועתה הנה. A proper understanding of its function supports the redactional division between 3:7-8 and 9-15 rather than the unity of the passage.

Such a misuse of a linguistic criterion is not unrelated to the recent state of pentateuchal study, in which various formation models compete without consensus. In this situation, literary analyses of a text often arbitrarily serve as a means of justifying one's model. Consequently, detailed reflections of a specific text are often suppressed by the model-oriented framework of the discussions. This essay has sought to examine the possibility that a linguistic argument may make a meaningful contribution to redactional issues, hoping that it would be an example of a text-oriented approached to the models rather than a model-oriented approach to the text."


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