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  • From: JimStinehart AT aol.com
  • To: kwrandolph AT gmail.com, b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Terakh
  • Date: Tue, 1 Jun 2010 13:53:22 EDT


Karl:

1. You wrote: “Psalm 102:14 TRXM is a second person singular form of the
verse RXM. That you should make such an elementary, first year type of
mistake in Hebrew …”

That’s exactly what I said: “T + RX + M = TRXM, and means “you behold
with tenderest affection”, which may move you to marry. Psalms 102: 13.” I
am very well aware that TRXM “is a second person singular form of the ver[b]
RXM”. Indeed, that verb appears in precisely that form at Psalms 102: 13,
which is one key reason why I specifically cited Psalms 102: 13 in the first
place. One controversial part of my statement is whether the 3-letter
Hebrew verb RXM is based on an archaic 2-letter west Semitic root RX, meaning
“to
move”.

In fact, my main focus in that connection is the Ugaritic verb TRX, which
can mean “to pay the brideprice”. I myself see that as being a critical
role that Terakh plays in the Patriarchal narratives. The linguistic
questions
here are (i) whether TRX in Ugaritic may have some connection to the second
person singular form of the Hebrew verb RXM, which is TRXM [TRX vs. TRXM],
and (ii) whether the name TRX is connected linguistically to either or both
TRX as a Ugaritic verb, and TRXM as the second person singular form of the
Hebrew verb RXM. Moreover, the name TRX may have been deliberately designed
to recall TRXM, even if, strictly speaking, there possibly is no pure
linguistic connection at all.

2. You wrote: “In this case, your whole argument concerning the meaning
of Terach opposes the historicity of the patriarchal narratives, as in
Hebrew given names at birth had little to do with what a person did later in
life.


But in any event, wouldn’t a person’s birth name give us a good clue as to
what type of language his parents spoke? If TRX is a virgin pure west
Semitic name, which is my view and is the main subject of this thread, then
that
strongly suggests that Terakh’s parents are portrayed as being west Semitic
speakers, and as such being natives of Canaan, rather than being natives of
non-west Semitic-speaking southern Mesopotamia. Though not the main focus
of this particular thread, the same west Semitic analysis applies to both of
the names “Haran” and “Abram”. It’s hugely important to my analysis of
the Patriarchal narratives whether the names TRX, HRN, and )BRM are west
Semitic or not.

3. You wrote: “Third, you commit the etymological error, that because
something appears to be connected by its form, therefore it is connected by
its etymology and meaning. Especially in names, that connection often cannot
be made.”

I myself doubt that it’s just a coincidence that the four meanings of the
west Semitic name TRX that I set forth in my first post deftly encapsulate
all of Terakh’s key actions in the Patriarchal narratives.

4. You wrote: “There is no evidence within Hebrew itself that all words
originally had two letter roots.”

I agree. But I think you would agree that s-o-m-e Biblical Hebrew words
can be traced back to having an archaic 2-letter root, even where, as is
routinely the case, by the time we get to the 1st millennium BCE the word is
now treated as having a 3-letter root. Thus the verb )RX is a 3-letter root
in the 1st millennium BCE. But originally, it may have been based on an
archaic 2-letter west Semitic root, RX. The )/aleph was added as a
prosthetic
aleph originally, though it later became part of the root.


I myself see all relevant aspects of the name TRX/Terakh as being fully
explainable in terms of an exclusively west Semitic analysis. Nothing in
that
name recalls southern Mesopotamia, Akkadian, etc. The Akkadian word for “
caravan”, for example, is harranu, being close to the Hurrian word XRN for “
the road” and the name of the city where Terakh stayed, but being nothing at
all like the west Semitic name TRX. “Moon” in Akkadian is Sin, once again
being nothing like west Semitic YRX or having any possible linguistic
relationship to the name TRX. Rather, the name Terakh/TRX is a virgin pure
west
Semitic name, which helps us understand that the author of the Patriarchal
narratives knew, and historically accurately portrays, Terakh and his family
as being indigenous to west Semitic-speaking Canaan.

Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois




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