Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

b-hebrew - Re: [b-hebrew] Nephesh Mesopotamian myths

b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Biblical Hebrew Forum

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Awohili AT aol.com
  • To: Polycarp66 AT aol.com, furuli AT online.no, b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Nephesh Mesopotamian myths
  • Date: Sat, 8 Feb 2003 13:49:47 EST

In a message dated 02/08/2003 4:09:19 AM Pacific Standard Time,
Polycarp66 AT aol.com writes:

> I know where you're coming from Rolf, and I'm not buying. This version of
> the name of God is not supported by scholars, but is desired by one
> particular faith group. Let's just drop any discussion of what that
> vocalization might have been.
>

Actually, I fail to see how discussion of the ancient pronunciation of the
Name is beyond the pale of a biblical Hebrew discussion list. The matter is
hardly finalized as of this time. Should research on the matter be
discouraged? Does the ancient matter of using substitutes for the Name brook
no dispute, i.e., are they still even valid in the 21st century C.E.?

Not all scholars agree that the evidence for "Yahweh" is conclusive; even the
scholarly Anchor Bible dictionary downgrades it to a "scholarly guess."
Scholars such as George Wesley Buchannan have argued for a three-syllable
pronunciation as opposed to a two-syllable one.

How will we ever know unless we continue to investigate?

Solomon Landers
>From Polycarp66 AT aol.com Sat Feb 8 13:56:01 2003
Return-Path: <Polycarp66 AT aol.com>
Delivered-To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
Received: from imo-r06.mx.aol.com (imo-r06.mx.aol.com [152.163.225.102])
by happyhouse.metalab.unc.edu (Postfix) with ESMTP id 4550720017
for <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>;
Sat, 8 Feb 2003 13:56:01 -0500 (EST)
Received: from Polycarp66 AT aol.com
by imo-r06.mx.aol.com (mail_out_v34.21.) id 9.11b.1dea8bca (4552);
Sat, 8 Feb 2003 13:56:57 -0500 (EST)
From: Polycarp66 AT aol.com
Message-ID: <11b.1dea8bca.2b76acf9 AT aol.com>
Date: Sat, 8 Feb 2003 13:56:57 EST
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Nephesh Mesopotamian myths
To: Awohili AT aol.com, furuli AT online.no, b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
MIME-Version: 1.0
X-Mailer: AOL 8.0 for Windows US sub 4104
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
X-Content-Filtered-By: Mailman/MimeDel 2.1
X-BeenThere: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
X-Mailman-Version: 2.1
Precedence: list
List-Id: A forum on the Hebrew Bible, its language and interpretation
<b-hebrew.lists.ibiblio.org>
List-Unsubscribe: <http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman-2.1/listinfo/b-hebrew>,
<mailto:b-hebrew-request AT lists.ibiblio.org?subject=unsubscribe>
List-Archive: <https://lists.ibiblio.org/sympa/arc/b-hebrew>
List-Post: <mailto:b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
List-Help: <mailto:sympa AT lists.ibiblio.org?subject=HELP>
List-Subscribe: <http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman-2.1/listinfo/b-hebrew>,
<mailto:b-hebrew-request AT lists.ibiblio.org?subject=subscribe>
X-List-Received-Date: Sat, 08 Feb 2003 18:56:01 -0000

In a message dated 2/8/2003 1:50:09 PM Eastern Standard Time, Awohili AT aol.com
writes:

> In a message dated 02/08/2003 4:09:19 AM Pacific Standard Time,
> Polycarp66 AT aol.com writes:
>
> >I know where you're coming from Rolf, and I'm not buying. This version of
>
> >the name of God is not supported by scholars, but is desired by one
> >particular faith group. Let's just drop any discussion of what that
> >vocalization might have been.
> >
>
> Actually, I fail to see how discussion of the ancient pronunciation of the
> Name is beyond the pale of a biblical Hebrew discussion list. The matter
> is
> hardly finalized as of this time. Should research on the matter be
> discouraged? Does the ancient matter of using substitutes for the Name
> brook
> no dispute, i.e., are they still even valid in the 21st century C.E.?
>
> Not all scholars agree that the evidence for "Yahweh" is conclusive; even
> the
> scholarly Anchor Bible dictionary downgrades it to a "scholarly guess."
> Scholars such as George Wesley Buchannan have argued for a three-syllable
> pronunciation as opposed to a two-syllable one.
>
> How will we ever know unless we continue to investigate?
>

Just a few points:

1. I never suggested that it was beyond the pale of discussion on the list.
What I did suggest was that it would be unprofitable to discuss it on the
list.

2. The fact that there is no agreement on the matter of the pronunciation of
the tetragrammaton after much scholarly consideration is precisely why it
would be unprofitable to discuss the matter absent any new evidence.

3. If memory serves me correctly this matter has been previously discussed
at length here. Are we to become a forum dedicated to one theme?

gfsomsel
>From jharper AT woh.rr.com Sat Feb 8 14:06:22 2003
Return-Path: <jharper AT woh.rr.com>
Delivered-To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
Received: from ohsmtp02.ogw.rr.com (ohsmtp02.ogw.rr.com [65.24.7.37])
by happyhouse.metalab.unc.edu (Postfix) with ESMTP id 672B220017
for <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>;
Sat, 8 Feb 2003 14:06:22 -0500 (EST)
Received: from computer.woh.rr.com (dhcp024-210-247-071.woh.rr.com
[24.210.247.71])
by ohsmtp02.ogw.rr.com (8.12.5/8.12.2) with ESMTP id h18J7OHl020018
for <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>;
Sat, 8 Feb 2003 14:07:24 -0500 (EST)
Message-Id: <5.0.0.25.2.20030208140058.00a19b20 AT pop3.norton.antivirus>
X-Sender: jharper/pop-server.woh.rr.com AT pop3.norton.antivirus
X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Version 5.0
Date: Sat, 08 Feb 2003 14:01:10 -0500
To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
From: Jane Harper <jharper AT woh.rr.com>
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] LORD
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
X-BeenThere: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
X-Mailman-Version: 2.1
Precedence: list
List-Id: A forum on the Hebrew Bible, its language and interpretation
<b-hebrew.lists.ibiblio.org>
List-Unsubscribe: <http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman-2.1/listinfo/b-hebrew>,
<mailto:b-hebrew-request AT lists.ibiblio.org?subject=unsubscribe>
List-Archive: <https://lists.ibiblio.org/sympa/arc/b-hebrew>
List-Post: <mailto:b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
List-Help: <mailto:sympa AT lists.ibiblio.org?subject=HELP>
List-Subscribe: <http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman-2.1/listinfo/b-hebrew>,
<mailto:b-hebrew-request AT lists.ibiblio.org?subject=subscribe>
X-List-Received-Date: Sat, 08 Feb 2003 19:06:22 -0000

At 09:24 2/8/2003, you wrote:
>I teach my students of Hebrew that they should read adonay or elohim when
>they meet YHWH in the text, as you probably do as well. When they
>translate the text, they are free to use "the Lord", "Yahweh", or
>"Jehovah", or "Yahu". Why would it be "a very unwelcome situation" if
>people said Yahweh? I would view it as a very welcome situation.

I can't speak to this with any scholarly credentials, but I *will* say that
as an observant Jew I found it problematic. In fact, I dropped out of a
course where a teacher asked that it be read "as written".

There may not be any scholarly warrant for substitution, but there is at
least a thousand or two years of Jewish tradition and I believe that
deserves respect.

Jane Harper

Every complex problem has a solution that is simple, direct, plausible, and
wrong. -- H.L. Mencken




Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page