Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

b-hebrew - Re: [b-hebrew] Re: Genesis 1:6-7, 8:1, Waters Above and Below

b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Biblical Hebrew Forum

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Peter Kirk <peterkirk AT qaya.org>
  • To: Dora Smith <villandra AT austin.rr.com>
  • Cc: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Re: Genesis 1:6-7, 8:1, Waters Above and Below
  • Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2004 05:01:37 -0700

On 21/06/2004 04:45, Dora Smith wrote:

If yim is a Hebrew innovation, why does Arabic have it too? Or atleast it
has alot of "yim"'s in it. or 'im's. I haven't analysed it to learn if
that is the way to make a plural.


I meant only that the regular -yim suffix on the words for "water" and "sky" is a Hebrew innovation. These are not of course true plurals. Here are the forms in some other Semitic languages (taken from Patrick Bennett "Comparative Semitic Linguistics" with a simplified transcription), covering every known major branch of the Semitic family:

Akkadian: shamu, mu
Ugaritic: shamuma, my
Phoenician: shmm, mym
Achaemenid Aramaic: shmin, myn
Syriac: shmayya, mayya
Classical Arabic: sama', ma'
Ge`ez (Ethiopic): samay, may
Sabaean: shmy, mw
Jibbali: sieh (with a nasalised e), mih

Aramaic and Phoenician also show the plural suffix, but the other forms do not. This suggests that the innovation is a bit more widespread than just Hebrew, but still localised to a small part of NW Semitic.


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





Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page