# לאכזב אוחילה



## Isidore Demsky

What would the following phrase (read right to left) mean?

לאכזב אוחילה


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## airelibre

I think we know which direction Hebrew is read in...

Literally "to disappoint I will wait" but I'm not sure these words are meant to be part of one phrase: it doesn't sound right without a context around the words.
Due to the final ה I think אוחילה is in a cohortative mood (it would be אוחיל), expressing willing of oneself. This doesn't really exist in English or modern Hebrew but is similar to "let me wait". 

The equivalent of the word אוחיל in modern Hebrew is אמתין from להמתין.


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## Isidore Demsky

What is the cohortative mood?

Was there such a thing in ancient Hebrew?

Can you give an example of how it's used?


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## origumi

No context - no way to provide good answer.

In addition to airelibre's reply:

לאכזב in Biblical Hebrew is usually interpreted as (1) _to lie_ (like כזב and not אכזב in the modern language) or (2) _to cease something that used to occur constantly_ (compare to נחל אכזב, that flows only after rain)
 אוחילה is mainly _I shall wish_, _hope for_.

If you found these two words in Micah - they appear there in different places, not related to each other.


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## Isidore Demsky

So what would prevent  לאכזב אוחילה 								 from being translated "vain hope"?


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## origumi

Isidore Demsky said:


> So what would prevent  לאכזב אוחילהfrom being translated "vain hope"?


YOU NEED TO PROVIDE CONTEXT. Have you just picked two random words from the Bible and want us to mold a meaning?


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## Isidore Demsky

origumi said:


> YOU NEED TO PROVIDE CONTEXT. Have you just picked two random words from the Bible and want us to mold a meaning?


I'd like to know if those two words mean anything when put together (as they were at a seance a friend of mine attended.)

My friend is Jewish, the context is autonomic writing, and those are the only two words that were written.

She's convinced they mean something, can they?

I can say that "green air," "green empty," and "green sound" don't mean anything in English without asking for more context, and I can say that "green house," "green tree," or "green car" can mean something in English without asking for more context.

Why can't you tell me (so I can tell my friend) whether לאכזב אוחילה means anything in Hebrew?

Could it be translated "vain hope"?


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## arielipi

Because hebrew is not context free language.


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## origumi

Isidore Demsky said:


> I'd like to know if those two words mean anything when put together (as they were at a seance a friend of mine attended.)


You received a good answer from airelibre, "to disappoint I will wait", with a change proposal from me "to lie I wish". We even don't know which of the possible readings of לאכזב should apply, therefore whether it's a infinitive or to+noun.


> Could it be translated "vain hope"?


No. The two words you asked about are infinitive + verb or to+noun + verb, "vain hope" is adjective + noun. also: disappoint/lie != vain. wait/wish != hope.


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## arielipi

Actually leyakhel is to either wish, or expect/hope for (seomthing).


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## Isidore Demsky

After saying 





origumi said:


> No. The two words you asked about are infinitive + verb or to+noun + verb, "vain hope" is adjective + noun


, you added 





origumi said:


> also: disappoint/lie != vain. wait/wish != hope.



That leaves me a little confused.

If לאכזב equals vain, and אוחילה equals hope, why couldn't the two together be translated "vain hope"?

Also, arelibre wrote 





airelibre said:


> Due to the final ה I think אוחילה is in a cohortative mood (it would be  אוחיל), expressing willing of oneself. This doesn't really exist in  English or modern Hebrew but is similar to "let me wait".



Did this cohortative mood exist in ancient Hebrew?


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## origumi

Isidore Demsky said:


> If לאכזב equals vain, and אוחילה equals hope, why couldn't the two together be translated "vain hope"?


Sorry, my comment above was polluted with tech lingo. read != as _not equal_s.


> Did this cohortative mood exist in ancient Hebrew?


The words you ask about are "ancient Hebrew" if by ancient you mean Biblical times, 2200 or more years ago. "Cohortative" is the "let's do it" form. In biblical Hebrew cohortative is formed by adding -ah to the verb in future tense. The final ה of אוחילה is exactly that, as airelibre noted.


@arielipi - אוחילה is of root י-ח-ל (same of אייחל) in binyan hif`il. You can see for example the traditional commendation to Micah 7:7, where אוחילה is paired with אצפה (in the same פסוק) and is practically like אייחל:


> "אוחילה" - מלשון תוחלת ותקוה כמו יחל ישראל (תהלים ק"ל)


https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/קטע:מצודות_על_מיכה_ז_ז


Although not used in modern Hebrew, אוחילה is known through the piyyut _אוחילה לאל_. And in early modern Hebrew in the little song:

אֶל מְנוּחַת עַרְבִּי אוֹחִילָה
פַּעֲמוֹן בִּצְלִיל יוֹגִיעַ
דִּין דּוֹן, דִּין דּוֹן

Which is translation of the German song:

O wie wohl ist mir am Abend,
Wenn zur Ruh die Glocke läutet,
Bim! bam! bim! bam! bim! bam!


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## Isidore Demsky

So a literal translation would be "to disappoint let me wait" (and that would make grammatical sense)?

P.S. Would that mean "to disappoint me, let me wait," or "let me wait to disappoint you"?


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## arielipi

I dont see how tehilim contradicts what i gave as a translation.


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## origumi

arielipi said:


> I dont see how tehilim contradicts what i gave as a translation.


I assumed you're finding a different between אייחל and אוחיל, so attempted to demonstrate how their meaning is similar or identical. If you didn't then it's my misunderstanding.


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## Isidore Demsky

arielipi said:


> I dont see how tehilim contradicts what i gave as a translation.



I thought "to disappoint let me wait," was the translation you gave me.



airelibre said:


> ...
> 
> Literally "*to disappoint* I will wait" but I'm not sure these words are  meant to be part of one phrase: it doesn't sound right without a context  around the words.
> *Due to the final ה I think אוחילה is in a cohortative mood* (it would be  אוחיל), expressing willing of oneself. This doesn't really exist in  English or modern Hebrew but is similar to "*let me wait*".
> 
> The equivalent of the word אוחיל in modern Hebrew is אמתין from להמתין.



If "to disappoint let me wait" is the correct translation, would the meaning be "if you want to disappoint me, let me wait," or "to disappoint you, I'll just wait"?

Or would it be "disappoint them"?

Tehilim is plural, isn't it?


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## arielipi

For disappointment (on others) i shall expect/wait/hope.
Thats my suggestion. I think it stays true to the way hebrew conveys it, with expect the one i think is the best use.


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