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b-hebrew - Re: Davka, was [b-hebrew] Amalekites!

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  • From: Peter Kirk <peterkirk AT qaya.org>
  • To: Yigal Levin <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il>
  • Cc: b-hebrew <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: Davka, was [b-hebrew] Amalekites!
  • Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2004 18:07:20 +0100

On 14/08/2004 23:55, Yigal Levin wrote:

Karl,

"Davka" is spelled Dalet-Vav-Qoph-Aleph - DWQ), not with a Bet. Anyway, the
word in Gen. 2:24, Davaq (DBQ), means "to adhere" or "to stick". How is this
like the meaning of Davka?

Davqa seems to come from the root "DYQ", which does not exist in the Tanakh
(a Dayeq in the Tanakh is a siege-wall), but which in rabbinic Hebrew and
Aramaic means "to be precise".


The word which occurs in the Tanakh is DAWEQ (dalet-dagesh-qamats-vav-tsere-qof) = bulwark, siege-wall, 2 Ki 25:1, Jer 52:4, Ezk 4:2, 17:17, 21:27, 26:8 (data from BDB), and clearly comes from the same root as Davka. In fact Davka may well be the Aramaic form of this word, with the final alef for the article. The shift from "siege-wall" to "precise" could well be a case of metaphorical extension.

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






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