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b-hebrew - Re: [b-hebrew] termite

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Subject: Biblical Hebrew Forum

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  • From: "Nir cohen - Prof. Mat." <nir AT ccet.ufrn.br>
  • To: Isaac Fried <if AT math.bu.edu>
  • Cc: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] termite
  • Date: Tue, 25 Jun 2013 16:43:16 -0200

dear isaac,

connectivities are formed, and then are lost. it is my view that at biblical times
any connection between the insect in question and fire was long gone, even if
such a connection ever existed in the first place - and i still didnt see any proof for that. not to mention the different spelling.

but let us look at equal spelling pairs. $BR means to break, and $BR $BR also means to buy food. also, $BR meant grief or disaster. there is a clear connection between the three; but their biblical use shows that they were not considered connected any more.

many cognates lose their affinity in the dust of time. who knows what is the connection between GML the animal and GML =retributed?  then you have YRQ=plant and YRQ=spit, and no one knows anymore what the connection was, if at all there was one. though i am sure that you "know".

but for this one should be willing to accept that language is a dynamical process, and not a puzzle game of letters with fixed meaning that never changes.

nir cohen

On Tue, 25 Jun 2013 13:17:10 -0400, Isaac Fried wrote
> The question is what you call "connection". Everything in Hebrew is interconnected.
>
> Isaac Fried, Boston University
>
> On Jun 25, 2013, at 12:50 PM, Nir cohen - Prof. Mat. wrote:

> you are confusing ($ with )$. as david explained, there is probably no clear
> connection between the two, except in semitic languages which abolished the
> AYIN. also the idea, raised here, that termites are called so due to bites, is
> far fetched as termites rarely bite people.
>
> nir cohen



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