Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Jim West <jwest AT Highland.Net>]

At 10:36 AM 6/19/99 -0400, you wrote:

>I know this is an old message but I just now noticed something that I
>think merits attention(please correct me if I am in err).
>
>The Aramaic word for God is NOT "Eloi," but is in fact "Alaha." Correct?

No- the Aramaic word for God is 'Elah, and attached to it is the 1st person
suffix y (= my).  The word is aleph, lamed, he, yod.  (sometimes with a waw
as matres lectionis inserted between lamed and yod).  Take a look at the
back of Kohler/Baumgartner's Lexicon where they list Aramaic.  The vowel of
the word is seghol attenutated by the half vowel shewa.  This is an e sound
and not an a sound.

>Kind of similar to what the Hawaiins say "Aloha," and very similar to the
>Arabic word for God - 'Allah.' 

Not at all.  Segholate vowels are never a sounds.

>Is it possible you were speaking of the
>Greek Hellenized version of "Alaha" which gave us "'Eloi," because it
>doesn't seem to be Biblical Aramaic at all.

No.  The proper word is 'Eloha.  When the suffix is added the ending elides
and the proper pronunciation is eloi.

Best,

Jim

+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Jim West, ThD
email- jwest AT highland.net
web page-  http://web.infoave.net/~jwest