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b-hebrew - Re: [b-hebrew] Re: Lexicography - (was Gen. 1:26--Connotation of the beth pre...

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Subject: Biblical Hebrew Forum

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  • From: Polycarp66 AT aol.com
  • To: dwashbur AT nyx.net, b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Cc:
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Re: Lexicography - (was Gen. 1:26--Connotation of the beth pre...
  • Date: Sat, 17 Jan 2004 14:20:56 EST

In a message dated 1/17/2004 2:04:00 PM Eastern Standard Time,
dwashbur AT nyx.net writes:

> >Biblical Hebrew, on the other hand, I can read without translating. Often,
> >when thinking about concepts I read in Tanakh, the thoughts come to my mind
> >in Hebrew, sometimes only a phrase, sometimes two or three sentences at a
> >time. It is not carrying on a conversation, it is not even fluent, but it
> >is thoughts coming to my mind in Hebrew without translating from another
> >language. If that isn’t “thinking in Hebrew” what is it?
>
> Agreed. I do the same thing, both with biblical Hebrew and NT Greek. On
> occasion I have caught myself thinking a Hebrew or Greek word or phrase in
> the midst of a conversation. Once it even came out: I was talking with a
> person in Spanish, and at a particular point my mind switched to Greek and
> I
>
> finished a Spanish sentence with a Koine Greek (not modern, I don't know
> modern Greek or Hebrew) word. The other fellow stared at me as if I had
> two
>
> heads :-)
>
> The point is, it is in fact possible to think in biblical Hebrew, and there
> are many of us who do just that.
>

______

This isn't really quite what I understand when one says "Think in X." Yes,
it's possible to read a passage in another language and not sit there almost
(if not actually) writing down a translation. Also, there are things which
come
to mind from reading in a language which simply come out in that language.
Why do we say "Cogito ergo sum" rather than "I think therefore I am"?
Because
we learned it that way. These are simply a library of phrases which we can
call up on occassion. I don't consider this "thinking" in a language.

gfsomsel




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