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  • From: "George F. Somsel" <gfsomsel AT juno.com>
  • To: eddhanganu AT hotmail.com
  • Cc: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Re: Compound Words in Hebrew
  • Date: Mon, 28 Jun 2004 09:15:01 -0400

On Mon, 28 Jun 2004 07:41:24 -0500 "Eduard C Hanganu"
<eddhanganu AT hotmail.com> writes:
>
>
> Hello to all!
>
> Are there compound words in Hebrew? A friend with whom I have been
> discussing this matter states:
>
> "Concerning the "evening morning", I was inclined, as you say, to
> consider
> this phrase as a unit, and somehow it is a unit, but not a compound
> word. In
> Hebrew, compound words stand in a special connection called status
> constructus (or s'michut), where the second noun has a free
> (absolute)
> state, and the first one is bound (construct) to the second one,
> usually
> modified and linked to the second by a makkef (kind of hyphen)."
>
> "That the two are considered as separate nouns, is visible in v. 26,
> where
> the reference back to them is in form of two definite nouns "ha‘éreb
>
> wehabbóqer", which is quite strange for our European languages, but
> in
> Hebrew it is usual (e.g. Num 3:46: literally "the redemption of the
> three,
> of the seventy and of the two hundreds", meaning: "the redemption of
> the 273
> people"). So the unity of the evening and of the morning is not to
> be
> understood as a compound word, but as a syntactical and
> rhetorical/poetical
> form, an intentionally obscure phrase, fitted for the apocalyptic
> manner of
> expression (as "a time, two times and half a time"; or "70 weeks").
> It is
> quite transparent that the expression is encoded. All apocalyptic is
> encoded
> language. Especially when it comes to the length of time to the end,
> or the
> identity of the most dangerous enemies of God."
>
> My question is purely morphological, and please, allow me to repeat
> it:
> does the lexicon of the Hebrew language include COMPOUND words? And
> if the
> answer is affirmative, what is the Grammar that discusses this
> matter?
>
> Thanks for your help!
>
>
> Eduard
>
____________

Not to make any comment on the presence or lack thereof of compound words
in Hebrew, I don't think this can be considered as a compound since if
this were considered to be one concept rather than 2 the period
envisioned would then be 6 years rather than 3.

george
gfsomsel




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