Biblical Hebrew Forum

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

Peter:

I think you are confusing idiomatic phrase with compound 
lexeme. In the English example of "strike out" one has a 
meaning one would never guess from just the meanings of the 
individual lexemes that make up the compound lexeme. Other 
compound lexemes are not so obscure, but still share the 
property of having a definition that is distinct from 
either word taken seperately. On the other hand, BYT )B in 
Hebrew can readily be understood even never having seen the 
term before, when one recognizes that BYT refers not only to 
a physical house, but also to a family and )B to ancesters. 
Neither term is used in a way that is unique to this 
combination. That's equivelant to my pointing to a cousin 
and saying "He's family". The same is true with tribe of my 
ancestors M+H )BWT.

Similarly ML) YD looks like an idiomatic phrase referring to 
filling one's hands with the tools of his trade. I do not 
see it meaning "to ordain" as I see it as a continual action.

One of my disagreements with Reinier de Blois' methodology 
is that he views each context as being unique, whereas I try 
to look at lexemes wholistically.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Peter Kirk" <peterkirk AT qaya.org>

> 
> On 25/08/2005 07:42, Karl Randolph wrote:
> 
> > ...
> > The question is, which pattern did ancient Hebrew follow?
> >
> > It looks as if Yitzhak may have the answer: ancient Hebrew had 
> > very few compound lexemes, and they followed the German pattern 
> > of being morphologically combined.
> >
> >
> 
> I would reword this: as Yitzhak pointed out ancient Hebrew had very 
> few compound lexemes *which* followed the German pattern of being 
> morphologically combined. But it clearly had a large number of 
> compound lexemes which follow the Chinese model, which is also 
> common in English. I gave one example. I don't have time to list 
> many more of the hundreds which can be found for example in the 
> (incomplete) SDBH dictionary, see http://www.sdbh.org/ and look for 
> examples like BEYT-'AB and MATTEH 'ABOT in the first sample entry 
> 'AB. These two are not perhaps ideal examples, but I am sure you 
> can find better ones by a search - although unfortunately there is 
> not yet a published entry for NS' which, according to one list I 
> saw, is part of at least 20 or so (Chinese pattern) compound 
> lexemes.
> 
> > As for "filling the hand", that appears to refer to first during 
> > the consecration week for Aaron and his sons, twice they had 
> > their hands filled with objects to be sacrificed (Leviticus 8-9) 
> > and many of the sacrifices called for a handful of flour or grain 
> > to be added to the offering.
> >
> >
> 
> Yes, but ordination or consecration is semantically quite a 
> different matter from taking a handful of grain. Hebrew uses 
> similar, but not identical, phrases for both, but they are still 
> clearly distinct actions. For MILLE' YAD referring to a one off 
> ordination or consecration ceremony, see Exodus 28:41, 
> 29:9,29,33,35, Leviticus 8:33, 16:32, 21:10, Numbers 3:3, Judges 
> 17:5,12, 1 Kings 13:33, Ezekiel 43:26 (concerning the altar), 1 
> Chronicles 29:5 (meaning debatable), 2 Chronicles 13:9, 29:31 
> (again debatable). Almost none of these can possibly refer to a 
> literal filling of the hands.
> 
When looking at ML), it does not always mean to fill with 
physical objects, it also refers to fulfilling a prophecy 
or promise, to the fullness of time and other such 
non-physical concepts. Similarly filling the hands, i.e. 
being busy with one's profession, does not necessarily 
mean physically filling one's hands with objects, rather 
to keeping one's hands busy, filled, with work.

> You gave one example of the priests' hands being literally filled 
> in Leviticus 9. But what example do you have from Leviticus 8?

Verse 27.

On second thought, this looking at filling the priests' 
hands physically during the ordination week is a red 
herring that I let myself follow.
> 
> -- Peter Kirk
> peter AT qaya.org (personal)
> peterkirk AT qaya.org (work)
> http://www.qaya.org/

OTOH in Hebrew BLY(L refers not just to a useless person, 
but to a trouble maker. Taken apart, BL and Y(L mean without 
and usefulness, together a troublemaker.

Karl W. Randolph.

-- 
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