Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Niels Peter Lemche <npl AT teol.ku.dk>]

        ...

> You need to deal with Garbini's logic before proposing your conjectural
> date of 1800 BCE even disguised with the title "pre-Hebrew".
> 
> 
> Ian
> 
> 
        Not directly to Ian: Who spoke pre-Hebrew? The Habiru--probably the
only Hebrews around 1800 BCE. Although I would not say that--the babiru was
ethnically many things, including Hurrians as well as NWS speaking people
and many more. Amorite (NW-Semitic) is attested in personal names of rulers
from the southern Levant in the 18th century BCE, that's all we have. Then,
of course we have a few more scraps of evidence about the language at
Byblos. And a fairly extensive PN-material from many parts of the ANE
including NWS PNs. The term 'pre-Hebrew' used abou a MBA society is simply
colored in the extreme and misleading. It simply does not make sense.

        NPL