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Hebrew phrase | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| zecchino1991 Senior Member United States facebook.com/amyybur Joined 5256 days ago 778 posts - 885 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Italian, Modern Hebrew, Russian, Arabic (Written), Romanian, Icelandic, Georgian | Message 1 of 6 18 October 2012 at 3:49am | IP Logged |
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What does the phrase לשבור כלים mean?
When I first read it I thought it said לשבור כללים (break rules), but apparently not...Or is it supposed to be לשבור כללים and it's just spelled wrong? Edited by zecchino1991 on 18 October 2012 at 3:55am 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Cabaire Senior Member Germany Joined 5597 days ago 725 posts - 1352 votes | Message 2 of 6 18 October 2012 at 9:36am | IP Logged |
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I would say: "break jars"
The plural of כלי (kli) is "kélim". Maybe it is a more biblical expression. There כלים it is often said of the equipment of priests in the temple. But nowadays it may have a very general sense of "instruments" Edited by Cabaire on 18 October 2012 at 9:46am 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Cabaire Senior Member Germany Joined 5597 days ago 725 posts - 1352 votes | Message 3 of 6 18 October 2012 at 11:44am | IP Logged |
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Now, that I had access to my personal books I looked it up:
The expression is used four times in the Tanakh: - Lv 11:33 - Ri 7:20 - Jes 30:14 - Jer 19,10 The first one is translated in the King James Bible: "And every earthen vessel, whereinto any of them falleth, whatsoever is in it shall be unclean; and ye shall break it." 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| zecchino1991 Senior Member United States facebook.com/amyybur Joined 5256 days ago 778 posts - 885 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Italian, Modern Hebrew, Russian, Arabic (Written), Romanian, Icelandic, Georgian | Message 4 of 6 19 October 2012 at 9:47am | IP Logged |
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Actually I looked in a dictionary and apparently it does mean "break rules"...Weird.
But thanks! 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| bar200 Diglot Newbie Israel Joined 4414 days ago 2 posts - 3 votes Speaks: Modern Hebrew*, English | Message 5 of 6 23 October 2012 at 6:05pm | IP Logged |
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Usually this phrase is written as "לשבור את הכלים". When you write a direct object in a Hebrew sentence, you have to add the auxiliary word "את". For example הילד בנה בית means "the child built a house" (not specific one) while הילד בנה את הבית means "the child built the house" (a specific house).
The way you wrote it can be correct but sounds more like the literal meaning and not the phrasal meaning. Literally the phrase means "to break the tools/instruments/vessels" or however you translate the word כלים which is the plural of כלי. This is a common phrase which as you said means "to break the rules". For example you can use it like this: נמאס לו ולכן הוא החליט לשבור את הכלים- he was fed up so he decided to break the rules. Hope this helps 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| zecchino1991 Senior Member United States facebook.com/amyybur Joined 5256 days ago 778 posts - 885 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Italian, Modern Hebrew, Russian, Arabic (Written), Romanian, Icelandic, Georgian | Message 6 of 6 23 October 2012 at 10:01pm | IP Logged |
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Oh ok, thanks! The reason I wrote it that way was because the way I heard it, it was
actually שבור כמה כלים (it was in a song so maybe it sounds unusual that way). So I didn't know the more common way to say it. Thanks for explaining! :) 1 person has voted this message useful |
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