Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Peter Kirk <peterkirk AT qaya.org>]

On 21/12/2004 01:05, Uri Hurwitz wrote:

> */Peter Kirk <peterkirk AT qaya.org>/* wrote:
>
>     On 20/12/2004 16:53, Uri Hurwitz wrote:
>
>     >
>     > ..."... In both languages the original meaning was probably
>     > "completeleness, fullness"; (again you'll find examples in both
>     > languages)."
>
>       To which Peter responded:
>     >
>     Again this proves my point: the etymological or "original" meaning is
>     not a good guide to current meaning.
>
>      UH:    Not in the MT where you'll find  many examples  of the
>     original meaning of ShLM   "completion"  both in verbs, e.g. 1
>     Kings 7:51 -- watishlam kol hamelakha , or nouns e.g. "shelamim" a
>     type of sacrifice.
>
>       Uri 
Again, this proves my point. The semantics of the ShLM root in Hebrew 
are very varied because of semantic shift. Words from this root can mean 
"completion", "peace", "greeting" and a kind of sacrifice (and that's 
just a start). It is a serious mistake to try to force these different 
senses of different words into one meaning. Older translations tried 
this by calling this sacrifice a "peace offering", but scholars have 
realised that this is a misunderstanding, and so this translation has 
now been abandoned.

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