Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Walter Mattfeld" <mattfeld AT mail.pjsnet.com>]

Dear Matt,

That is an interesting question. I guess one could say that Adam and Eve
would have spoken the FIRST LANGUAGE, so it would depend where the Garden of
Eden was located. One of their sons was named Cain, Hebrew qayin.

According to Hess who wrote a book on the etymological origins of the names
found in Genesis, Hebrew qayin appears to be related to OLD SOUTH ARABIC
qyn, preserved as a personal name in Qaynu, son of Geshem, a Kedarite Arab,
ca. 450 BCE. No earlier attestation has been found. LATER SOUTH ARABIC knows
of qyn as meaning "a smith" (a metal smith).

Sooo, the clues suggest to me, Eden is in South Arabia, in ancient Sheba.
Interestingly the Yemenite Jews preserve traditions that the Garden of Eden
is in the Yemen.  I go into Eden's location in greater detail in several
articles you might have an interest in at the following urls-

http://www.bibleorigins.net/Edenslocation.html

http://www.bibleorigins.net/Edenadhanamarib.html

If my hunches are correct, SOUTH ARABIC TRADITIONS are an important
substratum of Judaism, and the FIRST LANGUAGE SPOKEN BY MAN IS YEMENITE
ARABIC.


----- Original Message -----
From: Matthew R. Miller <biblicalscribe AT hotmail.com>
To: Biblical Hebrew <b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, October 16, 2001 10:53 PM
Subject: Ha Davar Ish


> What was the original language of man? Biblically, is there any evidence?
> Is there any extra-biblical evidence? Thanks, Matthew R. Miller

Walter Reinhold Warttig Mattfeld
Walldorf by Heidelberg
Baden-Wurttemburg, Germany
www.bibleorigins.net