EMERGENCY!
What would you think if your Hebrew professor called you at 10 PM on a Friday night, on your cell phone, and to your perfectly civil question "how are you" answered "I'm in distress!"
Lots of things ran through my mind -- can I do something? -- unlock Stewart Hall and get his violin out? -- find someone else to do something that he was unable to do in chapel tomorrow -- ???
No, it was linguistic distress. His wife (my Greek professor) had told him about the discussion we'd had in class, regarding the apparent similarity between two women -- Tabitha and Talitha -- in two separate stories (Acts 9 // Mark 5), and the understanding I had that both names were to be translated gazelle. My Hebrew professor had made a MISTAKE when he told me I was a gazelle. No, Talitha is a generic young animal which could possibly include a young gazelle but should not be limited to it. He assured that whatever I was, it was properly understood to mean "young thing" and that I should not confuse myself with Tabitha. And he referenced several resources for backup, and apologized profusely for this grave crisis of self-understanding (and Aramaic ambiguity) that I had found myself in.
Whew. NOW I can sleep!
Lots of things ran through my mind -- can I do something? -- unlock Stewart Hall and get his violin out? -- find someone else to do something that he was unable to do in chapel tomorrow -- ???
No, it was linguistic distress. His wife (my Greek professor) had told him about the discussion we'd had in class, regarding the apparent similarity between two women -- Tabitha and Talitha -- in two separate stories (Acts 9 // Mark 5), and the understanding I had that both names were to be translated gazelle. My Hebrew professor had made a MISTAKE when he told me I was a gazelle. No, Talitha is a generic young animal which could possibly include a young gazelle but should not be limited to it. He assured that whatever I was, it was properly understood to mean "young thing" and that I should not confuse myself with Tabitha. And he referenced several resources for backup, and apologized profusely for this grave crisis of self-understanding (and Aramaic ambiguity) that I had found myself in.
Whew. NOW I can sleep!