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  • From: "K Randolph" <kwrandolph AT gmail.com>
  • To: b-hebrew <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] What Does "Sodom" Mean?
  • Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2008 19:30:53 -0800

Jim:
You're losing it. All the records that I can find indicate that the #1
desired material was gold. Lapis Lazuli is well down the list.

RK$, alternately spelled RKW$, refers to movable possessions, often
specifically livestock, as contrasted to immobile possessions such as houses
or land.

As for Beth Shean during the Egyptian occupation:
http://www.rehov.org/project/tel_beth_shean.htm indicates that it was merely
a garrison town, not a rich city. While it was burned down at least three
times during that period, that was attributed to local rebellion, not
foreign invasion. It would not have been a welcome place for a rich
foreigner looking for luxury. Nor was it a place to loot for treasures.

Conclusion: either the patriarchal narratives are myth with a possible
kernel of history passed down through the centuries, or it is an accurate
history of early bronze age Canaan, a narrative supported by archeology.
Your theory has too many holes, linguistic, historical, etc., to hold water.

Karl W. Randolph.



On Wed, Nov 26, 2008 at 5:35 PM, <JimStinehart AT aol.com> wrote:

>
> Karl:
> You wrote: "RK$ refers to movable possessions, usually cattle, not trade
> goods, which
> you would have known if you knew Hebrew."
> Look at Genesis 14: 11, 12, 16, 21 concerning Sodom. The attacking rulers
> are not rustling cattle, for heaven's sake. No, they are "looting" Sodom.
> The #1 looted item in the ancient near east was lapis lazuli. Indeed, RK$
> can
> be translated in certain contexts, as in chapter 14 of Genesis, as "loot".
> The perfect Hebrew word to use to describe lapis lazuli and similar luxury
> goods is RK$. When the princeling ruler of Sodom offers to share the loot
> with Abraham, he's not talking about dividing up a herd of cattle. No,
> he's
> talking about spreading the lapis lazuli and other luxury goods around.
> Jim Stinehart
> Evanston, Illinois




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