עַל־פְּנֵי־חֽוּץ׃

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 עַל־פְּנֵי־חֽוּץ׃

   al-pe-NE-khuts

   upon the face of the street or outside
2. clause🔊 וְלֹא־שֵׁ֥ם ל֝֗וֹ עַל־פְּנֵי־חֽוּץ׃

   ve-LO-SHEM LO al-pe-NE-khuts

   and not a name to him or for him upon the face of the street or outside
3. sentence🔊 זִֽכְרוֹ־אָ֭בַד מִנִּי־אָ֑רֶץ וְלֹא־שֵׁ֥ם ל֝֗וֹ עַל־פְּנֵי־חֽוּץ׃

   zikh-RO-a-VAD mi-NI-A-rets ve-LO-SHEM LO al-pe-NE-khuts

   his remembrance perished from the earth and not a name to him or for him upon the face of the street or outside

Exegesis

The dative lo {ל֝֗וֹ | lô} ties “name” to the person (“for him”), while al-penei-chuts {עַל־פְּנֵי־חֽוּץ | ʿal-pə-nê-ḥûṣ} ‘on the face of the outside’ uses spatial imagery to locate reputation in the public sphere; what is “outside” is where people are seen, known, and discussed. The formal rendering keeps the parallel clauses and spatial imagery, while the dynamic rendering expresses the idiom of “outside/public” in contemporary terms without changing the parallel emphasis.

Root and etymology

consonants🔊 ח־ו־ץchet–vav–tsade

“outside”

• 🔊 חוּצוֹתḥûṣôtstreetsProverbs 7:12