Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Yigal Levin <Yigal-Levin AT utc.edu>]

At 01:31 PM 8/6/2002 +0100, Ben and Jo Crick wrote:
>On Tue  6 Aug 2002 (01:52:45), jhonhar AT juno.com wrote:
>> What is the origin and meaning of the term "hebrew?"
>> 
>
> Ha`iB:RiYM are the descendents of Eber or Heber, son of Salah, great
> grandson of Shem, and ancestor of Abraham. See the genealogy in Genesis 11.
>
> So 'Eber was the ancestor of the 'Ebrews, and they spoke 'Ebrew, and they
> lived in the Land of the 'Ebrews (Genesis 40:15).
>
> HTH
> Ben
>

If only it were that simple! First of all, Eber is not Heber. Eber,
great-great grandson of Shem, is indeed the ancestor of Abraham, but
nowhere is it stated that his descendants are the `Ibrim (as in the case of
Lot's children, for instance). The root `EBR means "to cross (over)", and
Abraham is said to have come "from across the river (Euphrates)". So he
could also be "one who came from across the river". In fact, "`Eber
Hannahar" and its Aramaic and Akkadian equivalents were the official name
of the province that stretched from the Euphrates to Egypt during the
Persian Period (cf. also 1 Kings 5:1, 4 [or 4:21, 24 in the English
tradition]). 

When the 14th century BCE el-Amarna tablets were discovered in Egypt about
120 years ago, they were found to contain references to the "Habiru", who
seemed to be attacking Canaanite towns. Since, at the time, most scholars
assumed that the exodus occurred around 1440, and in Western languages
"Habiru" sounds like "Hebrew", the connection seemed to be obvious.
However, it soon became clear that the "Habiru", better transcribed
"`Apiru", were not "invading tribes" or an ethnic group at all but rather a
Canaanite fringe social element, rather like David and his merry men at En
Gedi, Ziph and Ziklag (and like Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest). But
scholars' perceptions of Israelite origins have also changed over time. 

Within the Bible, `Ibri is sometimes used as an "ethnic" term, and
sometimes as a social one (as in "Hebrew servant"). Look at 1 Sam. 13:6-7,
where "Israel" and "Hebrew" seem to refer to two different groups.

So it's not so simple.


 
Dr. Yigal Levin
Dept. of Philosophy and Religion
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
615 McCallie Avenue
Chattanooga TN 37403-2598
U.S.A.