둘째 재앙(출 8:1-15)의 재앙성(災殃性) 이해와 번역 제안 (Understanding of Disastrousness of the Second Plague (Ex 8:1-15) and A Translation Suggestion)

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초록

본 논문은 출애굽기에 나오는 열 가지 재앙들 중에서 8:1-15에 기록된 소위 ‘개구리 재앙’의 ‘재앙성’(災殃性)에 관한 연구이다. 개구리가 나일강에서 생겨나서 왕과 신하와 백성의 집과 침실과 부엌에 들어가고 사람에게 기어오르는 것이 어떤 의미에서 이집트 백성에게 재앙으로 인식되었는가에 관한 질문에 답을 찾으려는 노력이었다.
필자는 기존에 발표된 여러 학자들의 제안의 공통점을 모아서 개구리 재앙이 “청각적 재앙”(auditory plague)이었을 가능성에 초점을 맞추었다. 개구리들이 왕과 신하와 백성의 집에서 시끄럽게 울어대는 통에 정상적인 생활을 할 수 없게 되었던 것이 개구리 재앙의 ‘재앙성’이었으며, 이것이 동사 ṣ‘q(짜아크)를 통해서 12절에 기록되어 있는 것이다. 개구리들의 울음소리가 너무 시끄러워서 모세는 여호와께 부르짖으면서 개구리 들을 없애달라고 요청할 수밖에 없었다는 것을 보여준다. 따라서 본 연구는 『개역개정』의 “간구하매”를 “부르짖으니”로 수정해서 번역해야 한다고 제안한다.
개구리 재앙은 그 울음소리가 고통을 주는 “청각적 재앙”으로 이해될 수 있으며, 이렇게 이해될 때 8:12에 기록된 ṣ‘q 동사와 바로의 요청(개구리를 제거해 달라), 바로가 악취에도 불구하고 숨을 쉴 수 있었다고 기록된 점 등이 쉽게 이해된다. 이 연구는 이제까지 학자들이 막연하게 개구리 재앙이 미치는 피해를 “오염”이나 “신들의 진노” 혹은 “여호와 하나님과 이집트 신의 대결” 등으로 이해했던 주장들에 대한 유일한 대안은 아닐 수 있지만, 또 하나의 가능성 있는 제안이 될 수 있음을 보여준다.

영어초록

This study is on the “disastrousness” of the so-called frog plague recorded in Exodus 8:1-15. It attempts to answer the question of why the rising of frogs from the Nile River, their entering the homes, bedrooms, and kitchens of the king, his subjects, and the people, and their crawling on the people, was in some sense perceived as a plague by the Egyptian people. Many scholars have argued that the frogs were harming people by entering bedrooms and kitchens because they could contaminate food, and others have suggested that the frog-headed goddess Heqet was angry by the appearance of the frogs. However, I think that these are not very convincing arguments.
I have therefore focused on the possibility that the frog plague was auditory, drawing together the commonalities of the proposals of scholars such as Childs, Dozeman, and Propp, and including Lerner. The first evidence of this view is in the phrase “cried out” to YHWH when the frogs appeared in multitude in the houses and kitchens of the king, his servants, and the people. At that point, Pharaoh asked Moses to remove them by the next day. In verses 8 and 9, the verb ‘tr, which means “to pray,” is used, whereas, in verse 12, the verb ṣ‘q is used, which has been mistranslated as “간구하매”(= pray) in The Korean Revised Version(1938) and subsequent translations. Even more surprising is that the first Korean translation, The Korean Bible (1911), correctly translated the Hebrew verb ṣ‘q as “부르지지니”(= cry). By mistranslating what was correctly translated in the first translation, The Korean Revised Version precludes the possibility that the plague of the frogs could be understood as an “auditory plague”.
The “disastrousness” of the frog plague was that the frogs croaked so loudly in the houses of the king, his servants, and the people that normal life became impossible, and this is what is recorded in verse 12 through the verb ṣ‘q. The cries of the frogs were so loud that Moses had no choice but to “cry out” to YHWH and ask that they be removed. This study therefore suggests that the translation of “prayed” in verse 12 should be modified to “cried out”(부르짖으니) which would revert to the translation of “부르지지니” in The Korean Bible (1911).
Furthermore, the fact that Pharaoh calls Moses and Aaron to remove the frogs as soon as they enter the inhabited area suggests that pollution from the frogs was not the problem, but rather the immediate, unbearably loud croaking of the frogs. This is because pollution from frogs can only happen over time, not immediately.
Pharaoh’s request is for the frogs to be removed, and the Hebrew verb used here, swr means to get rid of the frogs. Although the frogs died and created a foul odor, Pharaoh was able to breathe in verse 15, so we can see that it wasn’t the odor that was the problem, but rather the cessation of the frogs’ cries that allowed him to breathe. It is also important to note that Egyptian records indicate that the Nile River was home to a large number of frogs and that there was a time in late September and October each year when the frogs croaked so loudly that it was called “the month of the frogs.” Although the biblical text does not mention that the frogs appeared and caused the people of Egypt to suffer because of their croaking, it would have been obvious to anyone living in Egypt at the time (including the Israelites, who had been living in Egypt for many years) that the frogs’ croaking was a problem.
The frog plague can be understood as an “auditory plague” in which the croaking caused distress, which makes it easier to understand the verb ṣ‘q in 8:12, Pharaoh’s request (to remove the frogs), and the fact that Pharaoh was able to breathe despite the stench. This study offers a compelling, if not the only, alternative to the vague way scholars have understood the effects of the frog plague as “pollution” or “the wrath of the gods.”

참고자료

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