Biblical Hebrew Forum

[George Athas <gathas AT mail.usyd.edu.au>]

Lee R. Martin wrote:

> [...]
> Yes,  ToHu can mean chaos or vanity, but it basically connotes emptiness,
> thus uninhabitedness.

Certainly, Lee, it does imply emptiness. However, there is a little more 
nuance in the
word. ToHU also means disordered, confused, strewn about, decrepit. The idea 
is picked
up in Isa 34:11 where ToHU is used to describe a city which has been 
destroyed in
warfare. It also has the connotation of something without substance, as it is 
often
used to describe idols.

As with others, I don't think "chaos" quite captures the full meaning of ToHU,
although it does describe to some extent a portion of the meaning. I just 
don't think
we have one English word which captures all that ToHU implies.

Best regards,
GEORGE ATHAS
Dept of Semitic Studies,
University of Sydney
- Email: gathas AT mail.usyd.edu.au
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