On the noun אִישׁ in Genesis 24:16

(The above rendering comes from the RJPS translation, an adaptation of the NJPS translation. Before accounting for this rendering, I will analyze the plain sense of אִישׁ, by employing a situation-oriented construal as outlined in this introduction, pp. 11–16.)

This is a prototypical (and therefore readily understood) usage of the situating noun: to profile its referent in terms of the depicted situation, when speaking schematically about that situation.

In Biblical Hebrew, the noun אִישׁ is not lexically gendered in such contexts of use (Stein 2019). And because the reference is nonspecific and the referent does not exist in reality (only in the discourse), there is no specification of referential gender (Stein 2013). The text’s audience nonetheless immediately infers masculine gender by considerations of salience, given the activity in question.

The Hebrew syntax is marked, by mentioning the bare situating noun אִישׁ prior to the negator and the verb. As discussed in my dissertation (§§ 8.2.2, 8.4.11), such fronting (as also, e.g., in Gen 23:6, Exod 16:19) contrasts with the normal word order for negation (as in, e.g., Josh 10:8, Judg 21:8, and 2 Kgs 10:14). This fronting makes the statement a categorical one; it conveys that there is not even one exception to the stated claim.

The rendering of such marked instances was refined in RJPS because a more accurate representation of the marked construction’s nuance supports the overall construal of the discourse functions of the situating noun, and its interpretation in terms of participation in situations.

As for rendering into English, the NJPS ‘no man’ is too tame; it does not reflect the marked construction. The revised rendering adopts a typical device in English for conveying the intended “no exceptions” point.