Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Trevor Peterson <06PETERSON AT cua.edu>]

>===== Original Message From Peter Kirk <peterkirk AT qaya.org> =====
>>You can also check HALOT.
>>
>>
>
>I did. Trevor rejected the evidence as probably derivative from Hebrew.

That's overstating what I did. I simply pointed out that saying "Arabic" and 
"Aramaic" attest a particular form doesn't provide any real evidence apart 
from Hebrew. HALOT does not specify where in Aramaic the form appears. If it 
appears only in BA or any later form of Jewish Aramaic or Syriac, there is no 
good reason to think that it is not derived from Hebrew. The same can be said 
for the Arabic of the Qur'an and beyond. If all we had to go on was what 
HALOT 
said, we could go no further. I've already pointed out in a follow-up message 
that the form is widely attested in Aramaic where Hebrew influence is 
unlikely.

Trevor Peterson
CUA/Semitics