Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Karl Randolph" <kwrandolph AT email.com>]

One question: do Hebrew names always have an exact 
correlation with the events surrounding them?

For example, the name of the prophet Samuel is usually 
connected with "God hears". But the name lacks the Ayin that 
it would need to have the "listening" as part of the name. 
When looking at an unpointed text, where the Sin and Shin 
are indistinguishable, an alternate meaning pops out, namely 
that God placed him (Sin Mem Waw) because God listens to 
prayer.

Similarly, Machanaim does not refer directly to "camp of 
God" rather that both his encampment and God's are present 
there.

As for the face of God, if God created the whole universe in 
seven days as he claims in Genesis one, what's to stop him 
from appearing to Jacob in a human form? That is not to 
claim that God intrinsically has a human form (the rest of 
Tanakh argues against that) but that he is able to appear 
that way when he so chooses. And that Jacob recognized that 
he was dealing with God appearing to him in human form.

Karl W. Randolph.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Yigal Levin" <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il>

> 
> But Shoshanna, in this particular story, Jacob is referring precisely to his
> having struggled with the angel. So he does not mean that he "saw" God, but
> rather that he "faced off" with God's messenger.
> In any case, such etymologies can rarely be taken literally. They are
> usually etiological - in other words, the place had its name for whatever
> reason, and then Jacob (or his descendants who passed on the tradition) came
> along and attached a stiry to the name. Note that the next verse (32:31)
> calls the place Pnuel, which is its usual name. The same is true  in the
> previous chapter, when Gilead is called Gal-ed just once, to explain the
> story, and then forever Gilead. In 32:2, Jacob names Mahanaim "camp of God",
> although the more fitting etymology is stated in verse 10: "and now I have
> become two camps" ("Mahanaim" being a double form). So one should not try to
> understand such stories too litterally.
> 
> 
> To all those who do, have an easy Tish'ah be'Av fast, and may the trials of
> this coming week leave us all alive and sane.
> 
> Yigal

-- 
___________________________________________________________
Sign-up for Ads Free at Mail.com
http://promo.mail.com/adsfreejump.htm