@article{ART003388922},
author={Isaac Park},
title={The Narrative Function of פָּקַד in the Torah and Its LXX Translation Equivalents: Focusing on Genesis and Exodus},
journal={Korean Journal of Old Testament Studies},
issn={1229-0521},
year={2026},
volume={32},
number={3},
pages={78-111},
doi={10.24333/jkots.2026.32.3.78}
TY - JOUR
AU - Isaac Park
TI - The Narrative Function of פָּקַד in the Torah and Its LXX Translation Equivalents: Focusing on Genesis and Exodus
JO - Korean Journal of Old Testament Studies
PY - 2026
VL - 32
IS - 3
PB - Korean Society of Old Testament Studies
SP - 78
EP - 111
SN - 1229-0521
AB - This study examines the Hebrew verb פָּקַד in the Torah through a comprehensive survey and inductive classification of its occurrences. While existing lexica (TDOT, HALOT, TLOT) and commentaries have classified this polysemous verb’s semantic range, two gaps remain: the morpho-syntactic patterns formed by specific occurrence clusters, and the narrative connectivity established across texts by repeated deployment of the same verbal root.
Through an inductive survey of all Torah occurrences, salvific visitation usages are shown to be concentrated exclusively in Genesis and Exodus, providing the text-internal basis for narrowing the scope of analysis. The study traces these usages across their narrative sequence and examines their LXX renderings against non-salvific usages elsewhere in the Torah.
These salvific usages exhibit a recurring three-stage narrative pattern — human impossibility, YHWH's sovereign intervention, and the dawn of a new era — understood as an inductively observed structure rather than a prescriptive framework. The judgment usage in Exodus 32:34, where פָּקַד combines with the preposition עַל and חַטָּאתָם rather than the direct object marker אֶת, marks a distinct syntactic profile from the salvific usages. This contrast confirms a covenantal duality inherent in the verb: the same Qal stem encodes either salvific or judicial intervention depending on its syntactic environment. The LXX consistently selects ἐπισκέπτομαι for salvific contexts while employing other equivalents for non-salvific usages, and reproduces the Hebrew infinitive absolute construction (פָּקֹד יִפְקֹד) through figura etymologica (ἐπισκοπῇ ἐπισκέψεται), preserving the force of prophetic affirmation within Greek grammar.
These findings suggest that ἐπισκέπτομαι became a theological technical term in the LXX, carrying the resonance of the Hebrew three-stage salvific pattern. This study provides a philological foundation for subsequent investigations of פָּקַד in the remaining books of the Torah, the Historical Books, the Prophets, the Writings, and Second Temple literature.
KW - Key Words: פָּקַד (paqad);ἐπισκέπτομαι;morhpo-syntactic repetition;narrative function;Septuagint(LXX)
DO - 10.24333/jkots.2026.32.3.78
ER -
Isaac Park. (2026). The Narrative Function of פָּקַד in the Torah and Its LXX Translation Equivalents: Focusing on Genesis and Exodus. Korean Journal of Old Testament Studies, 32(3), 78-111.
Isaac Park. 2026, "The Narrative Function of פָּקַד in the Torah and Its LXX Translation Equivalents: Focusing on Genesis and Exodus", Korean Journal of Old Testament Studies, vol.32, no.3 pp.78-111. Available from: doi:10.24333/jkots.2026.32.3.78
Isaac Park "The Narrative Function of פָּקַד in the Torah and Its LXX Translation Equivalents: Focusing on Genesis and Exodus" Korean Journal of Old Testament Studies 32.3 pp.78-111 (2026) : 78.
Isaac Park. The Narrative Function of פָּקַד in the Torah and Its LXX Translation Equivalents: Focusing on Genesis and Exodus. 2026; 32(3), 78-111. Available from: doi:10.24333/jkots.2026.32.3.78
Isaac Park. "The Narrative Function of פָּקַד in the Torah and Its LXX Translation Equivalents: Focusing on Genesis and Exodus" Korean Journal of Old Testament Studies 32, no.3 (2026) : 78-111.doi: 10.24333/jkots.2026.32.3.78
Isaac Park. The Narrative Function of פָּקַד in the Torah and Its LXX Translation Equivalents: Focusing on Genesis and Exodus. Korean Journal of Old Testament Studies, 32(3), 78-111. doi: 10.24333/jkots.2026.32.3.78
Isaac Park. The Narrative Function of פָּקַד in the Torah and Its LXX Translation Equivalents: Focusing on Genesis and Exodus. Korean Journal of Old Testament Studies. 2026; 32(3) 78-111. doi: 10.24333/jkots.2026.32.3.78
Isaac Park. The Narrative Function of פָּקַד in the Torah and Its LXX Translation Equivalents: Focusing on Genesis and Exodus. 2026; 32(3), 78-111. Available from: doi:10.24333/jkots.2026.32.3.78
Isaac Park. "The Narrative Function of פָּקַד in the Torah and Its LXX Translation Equivalents: Focusing on Genesis and Exodus" Korean Journal of Old Testament Studies 32, no.3 (2026) : 78-111.doi: 10.24333/jkots.2026.32.3.78
