07-05-2019, 05:37 AM
Most people take אוֹבֵד here in the sense of “wandering” (like נוֹדֵד). We might say “migrant” today. That is, he was “a stranger in a strange land,” an Aramean who was migrating with his flocks in the land of Canaan.
Referencing Driver’s Hebrew lexicon, Millard (1980) says that the term אוֹבֵד “when applied to animals, esp. sheep, suggests the idea of lost (and so in danger of perishing) by straying” (p. 153). He says that it is then applied to Jacob disparagingly in this sense. He fills out his picture of the phrase in the conclusion of his article, thus: “We suggest the Hebrew expression ʾărammî ʾōḇēḏ [אֲרַמִּי אוֹבֵד] may carry more meaning than simply ‘a wandering Aramean.’ The word ʾōḇēḏ [אוֹבֵד] may have the nuance of ‘refugee’” (p. 155).
It reminds me of the commandment to “love the stranger because you were strangers in the land of Egypt” [וַאֲהַבְתֶּם אֶת הַגֵּר כִּי גֵרִים הֱיִיתֶם בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם – Deut. 10:19].
References:
Referencing Driver’s Hebrew lexicon, Millard (1980) says that the term אוֹבֵד “when applied to animals, esp. sheep, suggests the idea of lost (and so in danger of perishing) by straying” (p. 153). He says that it is then applied to Jacob disparagingly in this sense. He fills out his picture of the phrase in the conclusion of his article, thus: “We suggest the Hebrew expression ʾărammî ʾōḇēḏ [אֲרַמִּי אוֹבֵד] may carry more meaning than simply ‘a wandering Aramean.’ The word ʾōḇēḏ [אוֹבֵד] may have the nuance of ‘refugee’” (p. 155).
It reminds me of the commandment to “love the stranger because you were strangers in the land of Egypt” [וַאֲהַבְתֶּם אֶת הַגֵּר כִּי גֵרִים הֱיִיתֶם בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם – Deut. 10:19].
References:
Millard, A. (1980). A Wandering Aramean. Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 39(2), 153-155. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/545123