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  • From: jimstinehart AT aol.com
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Zuzim = Z-W-Z + YM
  • Date: Sun, 20 Feb 2011 07:11:41 -0500


1. We are trying to figure out who the ZWZYM are at Genesis 14: 5, where
that odd word follows the “rephaim” at Ashteroth [in the northern
Transjordan]. From the fine work of Anson Rainey and other scholars, we know
that at Ugarit, “rephaim” could refer to maryannu, and we know from Amarna
Letter EA 197 that Hurrian maryannu/charioteers/rephaim were at Ashteroth.
But then who are the ZWZYM? Archaeology gives us our big non-linguistic clue
here: : “[E]xcavations…have exposed Late Bronze Age pillared houses. At
Tel Ashtara in the western Hawran, perhaps ancient Ashtaroth, a metallurigcal
workshop was exacavated.” Peter M.M.G. Akkermans, Glenn M. Schwartz, “The
Archaeology of Syria” (2003) at p. 351.
Wherever the Hurrians went, including Ashteroth, they were famous for two
things: (1) horses and chariots, with the Hurrians being the best
maryannu/rephaim/charioteers; and (2) being master craftsmen, especially
ceramic master craftsmen, as the Hurrians’ so-called “Nuzi Ware” were the
best and most highly prized decorative pitchers in western Asia in the Late
Bronze Age: “In the otherwise rather dreary and uninspired corpus of
Mesopotamian pottery dating to early historical periods, Nuzi ware stands out
as something very special[, w]ith its elegant vessel forms and intricate
patterns of white paint on a dark background…. Nuzi ware has been regarded
as a palace ware, or luxury ware, on the grounds of its esthetic appeal and
comparative luxury.” Paul Zimansky, “The Origin of Nuzi Ware: A
Contribution from Tell Hamida”, in “Nuzi and the Hurrians” (1995) at pp. 75,
83. [“Nuzi ware” is a slight misnomer, in that it was made at many places
where the Hurrians lived, not only at Nuzi.] If you go to Google, then
Images, and then type in “Nuzi ware”, you can see it. Note that the classic
Nuzi ware was highly decorative [white patterns on black background] luxury
pitchers and goblets [not plates, etc.].

So in addition to pressuring the Hurrian maryannu/rephaim at Ashteroth at
Genesis 14: 5, we would expect pressure to have been put also on Hurrian
master craftsmen, perhaps including ceramic master craftsmen, who were the
other most important Hurrians. If both Hurrian charioteers and Hurrian
master craftsmen could be commandeered, then the Hurrians in the Transjordan
would be effectively controlled by the coalition of four attacking rulers
[whose military muscle was supplied mainly by the Hittites, under Biblical
“Tidal”].

2. How would the brilliant early Hebrew author of the Patriarchal narratives
say “Hurrian ceramic master craftsmen” [a term that might apply to master
craftsmen generally]? He would start with the root of the Hurrian word for
“pitcher, vase, goblet”, and then add a standard west Semitic -YM suffix
(meaning “people”). The Hurrian word for “pitcher, vase, goblet” is:
zuzu-xe. The -xe ending is a standard Hurrian ending, as in kina-xxu [the
Hurrian word for “purple”, which gave us “Canaan”]; that standard Hurrian
ending means “coming from”. The root of the Hurrian word for “pitcher, vase,
goblet” is zuzu-.

Based on the name at Nuzi in my prior post, Zu-U-zu [along with Zu-zu and
Zu-zu-ya], we know that a middle syllable could appear in this Hurrian word,
U, especially when it functioned as a proper name. [That particular form was
also helpful here, in making sure people did not confuse the Hebrew, Akkadian
and Hurrian words for “breast”: zizu/zizzi/ZYZ.] So for the meaning
“Hurrian ceramic master craftsmen”, the early Hebrew author of chapter 14 of
Genesis came up with Zu-U-zu + YM, which in defective early Biblical Hebrew
spelling is: Z-W-Z + YM = ZWZYM.

3. The linguistic key here is the interior vav/W in ZWZYM. It’s its own
separate syllable! This is a 4-syllable word: Z[u]-U-Z[u]-YM. [It’s n-o-t
“Zu-zim”, as a 2-syllable word in English.] Once we recognize the 4
syllables and think Hurrian, we see that this word at Genesis 14: 5 is a
Patriarchal nickname for Hurrian ceramic master craftsmen, utterly brilliant
in its conception [as per usual; what else would you expect?], and with the
stunning letter-for-letter accuracy we have come to expect in the Patriarchal
narratives.

So Genesis 14: 5 is telling us that, in Year 14, a military contingent sent
by a coalition of 4 attacking rulers not only pressured Hurrian
maryannu/rephaim/charioteers at Ashteroth [per Amarna Letter EA 197], but
also Hurrian ceramic master craftsmen/Z-W-Z + YM “in these (parts)”/B-HM,
that is, at Ashteroth. [HM means “these” or some related meaning, and
n-e-v-e-r means “Ham”. There is no city name in greater ancient Canaan that
begins with he/H.] The coalition of four attacking rulers is nefariously
commandeering Hurrian master craftsmen, such as the ceramic master craftsmen
who made the world-famous “Nuzi ware” -- luxury pitchers with intricate white
patterns on a black background.

4. There is no linguistic match of ZWZYM to either the Zamzummim giants in
Deuteronomy, or Shasu in Egyptian, as university scholars would have it.
[Can’t we all agree as to that? ZWZ is not ZMZM!!!] But if we focus on the
interior vav/W in ZWZ-YM, we see that there is a letter-for-letter match to
the 4-syllable Hurrian word [with a Hebrew suffix] meaning “Hurrian ceramic
master craftsmen” [ultra-literally: “(Hurrian) pitcher people”, and perhaps
implying Hurrian master craftsmen generally]: Z-W-Z + YM = Zu-U-Zu plus -YM
= ZWZYM.

The p-i-n-p-o-i-n-t historical accuracy of the Patriarchal narratives never
ceases to amaze. There are no giants in the Patriarchal narratives. [Why
don’t mainstream university scholars realize that?] But there are plenty of
Hurrian words, which reflect the strong historical presence of Hurrian
princelings in Canaan at the time of the composition of the Patriarchal
narratives.

Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois







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