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  • From: Peter Kirk <peter.r.kirk AT ntlworld.com>
  • To: Hebrew <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Gen. 39:1 Potiphar's title
  • Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 02:22:41 -0700

On 09/07/2003 22:18, Dave Washburn wrote:

I took a peek at Holladay's lexicon under the Hebrew term, SRYS, and it says "eunuch." It does raise an interesting question: if that's what the term always means, why does this particular eunuch have a wife in the first place?


I remember learning that this was a word whose meaning changed from earlier to later Hebrew, from simply "official" to "eunuch". This is partly confirmed by the entry for sārîs in TWOT:

The noun, meaning "(court) official," has its origin in the Akkadian title ša rēši (šarri) "the one of the (king's) head." The meaning "eunuch" arose with the practice of utilizing castrated men in key positions in the various nations of the ancient near east (e.g. in Persia, Est 2:3ff.; 4:4f.)

The Hebrew word is clearly related to the name of the Akkadian royal official (II Kgs 18:17). Accordingly, sārîs is not to be translated "eunuch" unless context or other evidence demands it. Thus, since thorough study fails to uncover conclusive evidence for the employment of eunuchs as officials in ancient Egypt, the reason why the Egyptian officers in the Joseph narrative were called by this term is probably that in all three cases (Gen 37:36; 39:1; 40:2, 7) these men were special officials of Pharaoh. ...

/*Bibliography*/: TDNT, II, pp. 766-67.

--
Peter Kirk
peter.r.kirk AT ntlworld.com
http://web.onetel.net.uk/~peterkirk/






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