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  • From: "Karl Randolph" <kwrandolph AT email.com>
  • To: b-hebrew <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Face of God?
  • Date: Fri, 12 Aug 2005 14:04:18 -0500

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

--
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