Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Peter Kirk <peterkirk AT qaya.org>]

On 16/11/2003 02:45, Karl Randolph wrote:

> Peter:
>
> When I studied journalism, the professors carefully emphasized that “libel” 
> is the deliberate propagation of known falsehoods. If a fact is not known to 
> be a falsehood until after publication, it is not libel. If the fact is true, 
> then it is not libel.
>  
Well, you could have tried to rely on the ignorance defence, but what 
you wrote about Külling’s PhD dissertation makes that harder now.

> ...
>
> > > In particular that?s how I read Elaine Keown?s posting on this subject on the 
> > > 11th. Do you think I read more into it than what is there? I know in other 
> > > aspects, e.g. writing, theological concepts, etc., that?s exactly what BDB 
> > > did, so it fits the pattern if they did with lexemes as well.
> > >
> > >
> > >      
> > Elaine mentioned in general terms that there are loan words from many 
> > languages in BDB. I think almost anyone would agree that among more than 
> > 8000 words in the dictionary there are some loan words, although there 
> > might be wide disagreement on how many. That is very different from a 
> > presupposition that nearly every word is a loan word, something which I 
> > have never seen in any dictionary, and never heard anyone except you 
> > suggest.
> >
> >    
> I didn’t say that nearly every word is a loan word. You put words in my mouth 
> I did not say. I merely said of those words claimed to be loan words (a small 
> percentage of the total number), I read Elain Keown’s post as saying that BDB 
> claimed most are load words into Hebrew. I don’t deny that there are loan 
> words into Hebrew, particularly during and after the Galut Babel, but the 
> claim that most claimed loan words are loan words into Hebrew, especially 
> from Greek and other sources, is a stretch.
>
>  
What you wrote was:

> When a word is found in both Biblical Hebrew and another language, they [BDB] 
> seem to make the presupposition that the word is a loan word into Hebrew.
BDB note cognates in other languages to a high proportion of the Hebrew 
words in their lexicon, though not, I agree, to "nearly every word" 
which was an exaggeration. Most of these cognates are in other Semitic 
languages, which suggests that most are true cognates from a common 
proto-Semitic origin rather than loan words in either direction. You 
take BDB's noting of cognates as implying a presumption that these words 
are loan words into Hebrew. That is a misunderstanding of BDB. I don't 
think it's Elaine's misunderstanding.

--
Peter Kirk
peter AT qaya.org (personal)
peterkirk AT qaya.org (work)
http://www.qaya.org/