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Document Details :

Title: Senile or Full of Beans?
Subtitle: A Far Eastern Perspective on מְלאֵ יָמִים Jer 6:11
Author(s): MURAOKA, Takamitsu
Journal: Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Volume: 55    Date: 2018   
Pages: 103-105
DOI: 10.2143/ANES.55.0.3284686

Abstract :
מְלאֵ ימִָים, a phrase that occurs only in Jer 6:11 in Classical Hebrew, has been much discussed. Its literal rendering, ‘full of days’, is said by many authorities to refer to very old age. Taking the literary structure of the verse more carefully, it is argued here, its literal rendering makes better sense when understood in the sense of ‘very young’. In this connection, a Chinese-Japanese idiom, ‘full of springs and autumns’ when translated verbatim, is mentioned.

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