[b-hebrew] Genesis 20: 1
Isaac Fried
if at math.bu.edu
Thu Oct 11 00:43:13 EDT 2007
Jim,
Indeed, biblical geography is uncertain because of the generic nature
of the biblical place names. Every significant place of worship could
be QADE$ [AL-QUDS]. It appears to me that Beersheba is BEER-$EBA(,
with $EBA( meaning 'plentiful, abundant', as $EPA( of Deuteronomy
33:19 is. Possibly other plentiful wells supplying generously were so
called.
Isaac Fried, Boston University
On Oct 8, 2007, at 2:58 PM, JimStinehart at aol.com wrote:
> Abraham's Beersheba receives a different pun, punning on the
> Hebrew word for
> "seven", rather than the Hebrew word for "oath". Only in the
> next generation, when
> Isaac is at a Beersheba (which may or may not be the same place as
> Abraham's
> Beersheba, but certainly is not Hagar's Beersheba), does the
> author set
> forth the ordinary pun on the Hebrew word "oath".
> Because "Beersheba" is used as a generic Hebrew nickname in the
> Patriarchal
> narratives, there can be no assurance that either Hagar's
> Beersheba or
> Abraham's Beersheba is in the Negev Desert. (By contrast, we can
> tell from the
> context that Jacob's Beersheba is in the Negev Desert, because
> Jacob stops there
> en route to Egypt from Hebron.)
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