Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Uri Hurwitz <uhurwitz AT yahoo.com>]

    Yes, the two points bellow make good sense. Further, it is legitimate to 
ask if the binyanim/stems had no original function, how and why did they 
arise when they did in all Semitic languages? 
 
  Uri

George Athas <gathas AT hotkey.net.au> wrote, in part:

"...... language does not work like mathematics -- it is far more fluid and 
abstract in its logic and operations, and Biblical Hebrew is no exception. 
However, I would not swing the pendulum so far the other way that the 
binyanim/stems become purely arbitrary forms. There does seem to be some 
method to the 'madness' of the binyanim/stems...." 
                
---------------------------------
Yahoo! Mail
 Stay connected, organized, and protected. Take the tour
>From Christopher.Heard AT pepperdine.edu  Fri May 13 10:00:50 2005
Return-Path: <Christopher.Heard AT pepperdine.edu>
X-Original-To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
Delivered-To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
Received: from mercury.pepperdine.edu (mercury.pepperdine.edu [137.159.8.35])
        by lists.ibiblio.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 92AB64C00B
        for <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>; Fri, 13 May 2005 10:00:50 -0400 
(EDT)
Received: from mal-xconn1.pepperdine.edu (mal-xconn1.pepperdine.edu
        [137.159.8.42])
        by mercury.pepperdine.edu (Pep-6.40o) with ESMTP id HAA19617
        for <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>;
        Fri, 13 May 2005 07:01:21 -0700 (PDT)
Received: by mal-xconn1.pepperdine.edu with Internet Mail Service 
(5.5.2657.72)
        id <JMTKFSW0>; Fri, 13 May 2005 07:00:49 -0700
Received: from [192.168.1.3] ([69.235.218.75]) by mal-xconn2.pepperdine.edu
        with SMTP (Microsoft Exchange Internet Mail Service Version
        5.5.2657.72) id KXPPRRJX; Fri, 13 May 2005 07:00:47 -0700
From: "Heard, Christopher" <Christopher.Heard AT pepperdine.edu>
To: b-hebrew <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0 (Apple Message framework v728)
In-Reply-To: <41b61h$8grmq9 AT mxip14a.cluster1.charter.net>
References: <41b61h$8grmq9 AT mxip14a.cluster1.charter.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed
Message-Id: <55C42B52-4B2A-410A-A1D8-5425735FE5ED AT pepperdine.edu>
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Channels, Rivers, & Heads
Date: Fri, 13 May 2005 06:55:17 -0700
X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.728)
X-BeenThere: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5
Precedence: list
List-Id: Hebrew Bible List <b-hebrew.lists.ibiblio.org>
List-Unsubscribe: <http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-hebrew>,
        <mailto:b-hebrew-request AT lists.ibiblio.org?subject=unsubscribe>
List-Archive: <https://lists.ibiblio.org/sympa/arc/b-hebrew>
List-Post: <mailto:b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
List-Help: <mailto:sympa AT lists.ibiblio.org?subject=HELP>
List-Subscribe: <http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-hebrew>,
        <mailto:b-hebrew-request AT lists.ibiblio.org?subject=subscribe>
X-List-Received-Date: Fri, 13 May 2005 14:00:51 -0000

Jack, Yigal, et al.,

On May 12, 2005, at 10:14 PM, <tladatsi AT charter.net>  
<tladatsi AT charter.net> wrote:
> The point about *heads* is interesting.  Persumably the
> Hebrew term *head* of a river corresponds with the English
> word *mouth* of a river.  This does not change anything as
> the single river in Eden is still the headwaters of four
> rivers with different *heads/mouths*.  The *tails* of these
> rivers still lead the ancient and modern reader to eastern
> Turkey.

While I don't have any real reason to doubt Yigal's claim on this  
point (and Eden would still be the place where the rivers *separate*  
as narrated in Genesis 2), I would like to have some justification  
for it. By "justification" I mean actual attested uses where the  
"head" of the river is where it empties into some other larger body  
of water rather than its source. It would help me sleep better at  
night. :-)

Chris

--
R. Christopher Heard
Assistant Professor of Religion
Pepperdine University
Malibu, California 90263-4352
http://faculty.pepperdine.edu/cheard
http://www.iTanakh.org
http://www.semioticsandexegesis.info