Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Karl Randolph" <kwrandolph AT email.com>]

Brian:

As a Hebrew root, C(N is used only once, in Isaiah 33:20 where it appears to 
refer to striking a tent.

The other seven times I found refer to a place name in Egypt. Apparently it 
was the name of a town that was quite ancient even at the time of the Exodus, 
seeing as it was built within a decade of Hebron, a town in existance at the 
time of Abraham (assuming the dates are accurate).

I have no trouble with the idea that this refers to a town that either had 
two or more names—a Canaanite name and an Egyptian one—or it could refer to a 
town that has since been destroyed and forgotten. The surviving records of 
the Babylonian and later Persian invasions show that they were quite 
destructive, making the second option a real possibility, or a combination of 
the two. All the Biblical references to Zoan predate the Babylonian invasion.

Karl W. Randolph.

----- Original Message -----
From: formoria AT carolina.rr.com

> Can the reference to the "fields of Zoan" in Psalm 78:12-43 be explained as 
> an attempt by a pre-exilic redactor to keep his sacred texts relevant to 
> its audience? The OT does not say that the fields of Zoan were the 
> Pharoanic residence OR the capital of Egypt during the time of the Exodus. 
> In fact it does not identify the nature of the fields of Zoan, except to 
> say that it was in the land of Egypt. In fact, the name Zoan, in some 
> African traditions, simply means "departure" or "motion". The passage takes 
> on a deeper meaning when rendered as "the fields of departure".
> 
> Does anyone on the list know if this word is originally a Hebrew word or 
> something else? Further, has anyone done an analysis of whether or not the 
> reference to Zoan in Numbers 13:22 is the same word as that in the Psalm 
> which can be translated as "departure"? If so, then the author of Numbers 
> 13:22 could simply have been trying to say that Hebron was built seven 
> years before the "departure" in Egypt. There might be no connection to 
> Avaris/Tanis/Pi-Rameses here in these instances. I realize the 
> long-standing identification of Avaris/Tanis/Pi-Rameses with Zoan, and I 
> know it's no small matter to challenge it, so no flames here, please.
> 
> Best Salaams,
> 
> Brian
-- 
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