bug#36171: 25.1; Emacs displays Hebrew text incorrectly

[Raoul Comninos <revrari@mweb.co.za>]

[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 477 bytes --]

I have attached a sample document with problematic Hebrew taken from a 
few of the files.

> Am I to understand that if you type the same exact text into Emacs,
> there's no problem with the display?

Yes, that is correct.

>> gir1.2-harfbuzz-0.0. Is that the correct program?

(xft xfthb x)

> Emacs needs HarfBuzz the library, not the program.  What does the
> following produce inside the latest Emacs you built from Git:
>
>    M-: (frame-parameter nil 'font-backend) RET


[-- Attachment #2: sample.org --]
[-- Type: text/plain, Size: 10886 bytes --]

G2:1. וַיְכֻלּוּ - Pual, concluding Wci.

בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי - The preposition ב implies that some work still took place before God gave himself fully to resting. If the work had ceased by the seventh day one would have expected the preposition ל which indicates a terminal point in time.

וַיִּשְׁבֹּת - I.e. to desist from work.
שָׁבַת - English translations avoid the pluperfect (except the KJV) to drive home the point that the blessing and consecration of the Sabbath took place on the Sabbath day and that God's rest at the time of blessing and consecration was not yet over. English though naturally inclines towards a pluperfect here.
לַעֲשׂוֹת - This is normally explained as a post verb infinitive construct that provides more details about the verb ברא: 'by doing.' Since that makes no sense, the suggestion of Westermann is tempting that the word is a gloss by P providing an alternative word for ברא.

G2:4. אֵלֶּה - Refers to what precedes.
בְּהִבָּרְאָם - One should read the Qal.infc. בבראם 'when (God) created them.'

G2:5-6. These verses are to be understood as circumstantial and episode initial. They describe the situation contemporaneous with and immediately prior to God's creation of man in verse 7.
G2:5. וְכֹל - Here means 'no' since it is followed by the negative טֶרֶם.
יִהְיֶה - Stative, preterite.
יִצְמָח - Idem.
לַעֲבֹד אֶת־הָאֲדָמָה - Modifies וְאָדָם.

G2:6. וְהִשְׁקָה - Consecutive.
וַיִּיצֶר - A new word is used for God's creative activities.
עָפָר - Accusative of material out of which something is made.
מִקֶּדֶם - Eastward, 'away to the east' (NEB).

G2:9. וְעֵץ הַחַיִּים בְּתוֹךְ הַגָּן וְעֵץ הַדַּעַת טוֹב וָרָע - These two clauses could be part of the direct object of וַיַּצְמַח but are more likely disjunctive explanatory clauses like those that follow in verses 10-14.

G2:10-14. Explanatory clauses.

Ex2:3. הַצְּפִינוֹ - Hi.infc. צפן to hide + 3ms object suffix. Note the unusual doubling of the first radical.
תֵּבַת גֹּמֶא - 'Ark (made of) papyrus.' Both words are Egyptian loan words (Exodus 1-18 : a new translation with introduction and commentary).
ותַּחְמְרָה - Qal.Wci.3fs. חמר to cover, smear + rare 3fs suffix (without the expected mappiq).
בַחֵמָר וּבַזָּפֶת - Instrument.

Ex2:4. וַתֵּתַצַּב - Dubious. Read וַתִּתְיַצַּב.
מַה־יֵּעָשֶׂה - Modal, possibility.

Ex2:5. עַל־הַיְאֹר = 'Over the Nile.'
וְנַעֲרֹתֶיהָ הֹלְכֹת עַל־יַד הַיְאֹר - Circumstantial clause.

Ex2:6. אֶת־הַיֶּלֶד - In apposition to the suffix on וַתִּרְאֵהוּ.
והִנֵּה־נַעַר בֹּכֶה - A circumstantial clause with an element of surprise. This does not merely mean that the baby was crying (there is nothing surprising about a crying infant). The use of הנה coupled with the unusual application of the noun נער to a baby indicates that there was something surprising and unusual about the situation, namely, that the baby cried like a young boy and not like an infant. The addition of הנה to the circumstantial clause allows the reader to see events from the perspective of the Pharaoh's daughter.
מִיַּלְדֵי הָעִבְרִים זֶה - Partitive מן with the specialised meaning 'one of'.

Ex2:7. מֵינֶקֶת - In apposition to אִשָּׁה.
וְתֵינִק - Indirect jussive = final clause.

 G3:1. וְהַנָּחָשׁ הָיָה עָרוּם מִכֹּל חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים] Episode initial circumstantial clause (Lambdin 1971, 164).

 הָיָה] Past stative.

 מִכֹּל חַיַּת הַשָׂדֶה] Comparative מן.

 עָשָׂה] Aoristic perfect.

 Job 1:1 אִישׁ הָיָה] Normally the word order for the beginning of a narrative is היה (wci) + the noun. However, one should not make too much of the syntagm noun + היה, which is also found in 2 Samuel 12:1 and 2 Kings 14:9. Several explanations have been offered for it. First, that it introduces a fable rather than history (Gordis). Second, that the story is not to be regarded as having any connection to Israel's history (Clines). Third, the construction signals an absolute beginning. To this writer, neither of these explanations is very satisfactory though the first one is the more likely of the two since grammar does not usually encode theological niceties.

 אִיּוֹב שְׁמוֹ] Naming clause.

 וְהָיָה הָאִישׁ הַהוּא תָּם וְיָשָׁר וִירֵא אֱלֹהִים וְסָר מֵרָע] Circumstantial clause.

 וְסָר] Often parsed as a participle, this could also be explained as a frequentative perfect.

 Job 1:2 וַיִּוָּלְדוּ לוֹ שִׁבְעָה בָנִים] Not "seven sons were born to him" but "seven sons were begotten by him". The ל denotes agency.

 Job 1:3. וַיְהִי] The action takes place subsequent to וַיִּוָּלְדוּ. He accumulated his wealth after his sons and daughters were begotten. Otherwise, one would require a circumstantial clause.

 Job 1:4. וְהָלְכוּ בָנָיו וְעָשׂוּ] The waw consecutive perfects (wcps) have a customary nuance.

Is65:4. הַיֹּשְׁבִימ בַּקְּבָרִימ וּבַנְּצוּרִימ יָלִינוּ] In apposition to and serving to describe further and identify the עמ סורר ומורה.
וּבַנְּצוּרִימ] Read בנ צורימ.
הָאֹכְלִימ בְּשַׂר הַחֲזִיר וּפְרַק פִּגֻּלִימ כְּלֵיהֶמ] In apposition to and serving to describe further and identify the עמ סורר ומורה.
ופרק] The noun is a hapax. One should read Qĕrê מרק = broth.
כְּלֵיהֶמ] Locative.

Is65:5. הָאֹמְרִימ קְרַב אֵלֶיכָ אַל־תִּגַּשׁ־בִּי כִּי קְדַשְׁתִּיכָ] In apposition to and serving to describe further and identify the עמ סורר ומורה.
קְדַשְׁתִּיכָ] The suffix is referential and equivalent to ל “I am holy in relation to you”, that is, unapproachable (so similarly Delitzsch 1892, p. 478).
אֵלֶּה] Refers back to those described in 2b-5a.
עָשָׁנ בְּאַפִּי אֵשׁ יֹקֶדֶת כָּל־הַיּוֹמ] Subject complement.
אֵשׁ יֹקֶדֶת כָּל־הַיּוֹמ] In apposition to עָשָׁנ בְּאַפִּי.

Judg5:1. וַתָּשַׁר] Qal waw consecutive imperfect third person feminine singular שיר to sing.
דְּבוֹרָה וּבָרָק בֶּן־אֲבִינֹעַם] Compound subject with the verb agreeing in number and gender with the nearest noun דְּבוֹרָה.
בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא] Time point.
בִּפְרֹעַ פְּרָעוֹת בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל] A general time point.
בִּפְרֹעַ פְּרָעוֹת] The subject עָם is to be inferred from the second colon: /when [troops] let their long hair loose/ which would make פְּרָעוֹת a cognate accusative.
בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל] Locative.
בְּהִתְנַדֵּב עָם] A general time point.

Judg5:3. שִׁמְעוּ מְלָכִים] Israel's Canaanite oppressor kings are being addressed.
הַאֲזִינוּ רֹזְנִים] Idem.
אָנֹכִי לַיהוה] = I [will sing] to Yahweh. As in 5:2 one must infer from the second part of the line the missing clause constituent, in this case the verb שִׁיר.
אָשִׁירָה] Cohortative of praise. The cohortative is often used in Psalms to indicate that praise, freely undertaken, has begun. This usage is close to the cohortative of resolve but not identical with it. The emphasis falls not on what the writer is intending to do, but what he has already undertaken.
אֲזַמֵּר] Idem.

Judg5:4. בְּצֵאתְךָ מִשֵּׂעִיר] Time point.
בְּצַעְדְּךָ מִשְּׂדֵה אֱדוֹם] Idem.


Is1:10. קְצִינֵי סְדֹם] Vocative of address.

עַם עֲמֹרָה] /idem./

אֱלֹהֵינוּ] Isaiah includes himself among this corrupt people.

למה] The word can mean 'to what reason' or 'to what purpose'? Here it means the latter.

לִּי] Benefit.

רֹב־זִבְחֵיכֶם] Subject.

יֹאמַר יְהוָה] Driver: "Frequent as the idiom כה אמר יי is in the prophets, the impf. יאמר יי, introduced parenthetically, is exceptional and should be noticed: the call is not a single, momentary one, it is repeated, or at least continuing. The instances are Isa. 1:11. 18. 33:10 (Ps. 12:6). 40:1. 25. 41:21. 66:9: and similarly Jer. 51:35. Pr. 20:14.  23:7" (Driver 1892, 38).

Job 1:1 אִישׁ הָיָה] Normally the word order for the beginning of a narrative is היה (wci) + the noun. However, one should not make too much of the syntagm noun + היה, which is also found in 2 Samuel 12:1 and 2 Kings 14:9. Several explanations have been offered for it. First, that it introduces a fable rather than history (Gordis). Second, that the story is not to be regarded as having any connection to Israel's history (Clines). Third, the construction signals an absolute beginning. To this writer, neither of these explanations is very satisfactory though the first one is the more likely of the two since grammar does not usually encode theological niceties.

אִיּוֹב שְׁמוֹ] Naming clause.

וְהָיָה הָאִישׁ הַהוּא תָּם וְיָשָׁר וִירֵא אֱלֹהִים וְסָר מֵרָע] Circumstantial clause.

וְסָר] Often parsed as a participle, this could also be explained as a frequentative perfect.

Job 1:2 וַיִּוָּלְדוּ לוֹ שִׁבְעָה בָנִים] Not "seven sons were born to him" but "seven sons were begotten by him". The ל denotes agency.

Job 1:3. וַיְהִי] The action takes place subsequent to וַיִּוָּלְדוּ. He accumulated his wealth after his sons and daughters were begotten. Otherwise, one would require a circumstantial clause.

Job 1:4. וְהָלְכוּ בָנָיו וְעָשׂוּ] The waw consecutive perfects (wcps) have a customary nuance.

וְקָרְאוּ לִשְׁלֹשֶׁת אַחְיֹתֵיהֶם] Job seems not to have been invited to these festivities.

הִקִּיפוּ] The subject of this verb is the sons of Job.

Job 1:5. חָטְאוּ] Perfect for the recent past.

וּבֵרֲכוּ] Waw copulative. The verb ברך is here used ironically.

יַעֲשֶׂה] Customary imperfect.

Job 1:6. הַיּוֹם] As frequently in Hebrew the article renders the noun /indefinite/ (sic). Hence, not "/the/ day" but "a day" or "one day". So KJV, RSV, NAB.