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b-hebrew - Re: Gen 14:13 Abraham the Hebrew

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  • From: "Dave Washburn" <dwashbur AT nyx.net>
  • To: Biblical Hebrew <b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Gen 14:13 Abraham the Hebrew
  • Date: Sun, 30 Jan 2000 06:37:32 -0700


Brian,
> Gen 14:13 refers to Abraham the `Ibriy. Could this be an identification of
> Abraham as a Habiru - a term often used to mean 'gypsy', or 'peasant',
> perhaps 'nomad'? As the term 'Hebrew' implies the Jewish nation - at that
> stage in the Biblical narrative Abraham's household is no more than a
> wandering troupe - would it be more accurate to translate the phrase
> 'Abraham the Hebrew' as 'Abraham the Nomad' or "Gypsy'?

My understanding - though where it came from is lost in the mists
of my long term memory loss - is that the term was built on the
name of his reported ancestor Eber, hence "Abraham the Eberite."
I have no idea how correct or accepted this view is, but there it is
for whatever it's worth.


Dave Washburn
http://www.nyx.net/~dwashbur
Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart that I may fear your name.
Psalm 86:11




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