Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Dave Washburn <dwashbur AT nyx.net>]

On Friday 12 August 2005 13:04, Karl Randolph wrote:
> 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.

The whole etiological retrojection theory is built on nothing more than 
speculation anyway, since there's no direct evidence to support it.  The idea 
that Peniel was already called that and somebody invented a story to explain 
it, for example, has nothing to commend it except convenience, since that way 
one can write off the story as having any kind of basis in fact.

> 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.

See Genesis 18.

>
> 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

-- 
Dave Washburn
http://www.nyx.net/~dwashbur
"Well, if I'd wanted a safe life, I guess I wouldn't have 
married a man who studies rocks." - Betty Armstrong (Fay Masterson)