Biblical Hebrew Forum

[stig.norin AT teol.uu.se (Stig Norin)]

It is all in my disseration:

Er spaltete das Meer. Lund 1977.

/Stig N


At 18.13 00-11-21, Walter Mattfeld wrote:
>Yam Suph
>
>I note that there are several different theories as to the location of Yam
>Suph as well as divergent views as to the word's etymology.
>
>The most commonly accepted etymology is that Suph is a Hebrew rendering of
>Egyptian tuwf or reed, so some prefer to translate the Hebrew Bible's Yam
>Suph as "Reed Sea." Of course there is a problem here, in that Reeds do not
>grow in the waters of the Red Sea. To get around that problem, some suggest
>that the crossing of the sea must have been further north in an area
>possessing fresh waters, where marsh reeds could thrive. So, the Bitter
>lakes or Lake Timsah or some other northern site above Timsah. The problem
>with these sites however, is that while their fresh waters permit reeds to
>thrive (reeds can thrive near estuaries where fresh and salt waters mix as
>in Lower Mesopotamia), the Hebrew Bible quite explicitly tells us that Ezion
>Geber and Elath lie on Yam Suph (1Kings 9:26) which suggests it is the Red
>Sea that is being envisioned for the miracle of Pharaoh's army being
>overwhelmed by the waters, most likely near modern Suez, as preserved in
>some late Jewish and Early Christian traditions.
>
>Suph is rendered from Hebrew cuwph (Strong 5488). Note also Strong 5486,
>cuwf, a primitive root; to snatch away, i.e. to terminate. consume, have an
>end, perish; and Strong 5487 (a Chaldean word) to come to an end- consume,
>fufil.
>
>Perhaps the Hebrews came to call the Sea Yam Suph because in it Pharaoh's
>host was believed to have been "snatched away and terminated" by God ? Batto
>has suggested Yam Suph might mean Sea of "the end," that is, it marks the
>end of the world.
>
>I note that the Assyrians and Elamites called the Persian Gulf Tamtu
>Shupalitu/Shaplitu. The Greeks understood that the "Red Sea" extended from
>Egypt to Babylonia and Persia, in other words the Persian gulf was also part
>of the Red Sea. Might there be a relationship here between Hebrew Suph and
>Shup-/Shap-(litu), might all three be referring to the same body of water
>extending from Egypt to Babylonia-Persia ???
>
>All the best,
>
>Walter
>
>Walter Reinhold Warttig Mattfeld
>Walldorf by Heidelberg
>Baden-Wurttemburg
>Germany
>
>
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