Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Yigal Levin <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il>]

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

> On 22/10/2005 21:59, Yigal Levin wrote:
>
> > Dear Jack,
> >
> > I like your metaphor. But I think that the core meaning of XRM is actually 
> > "set aside" (for the deity), which is also its meaning in Arabic. In this 
> > way, its core meaning is very similar to QD$. ...
>
> Yigal, you may know more Arabic than I do, but from what I understand the 
> meaning in Arabic is almost precisely opposite to QD$, much more like +M) 
> and $QC.
>
> --
Not quite, Peter. Think of the Arabic name for the Temple Mount: Haram 
esh-Sharif, the Noble Sanctuary. I don't know how haram came to mean 
forbidden food. Perhaps for just that reason: something that is "haram" is 
forbidden - originally for "secular" use, then, by expansion, for any use. 
Words often take on opposite meanings: the Muslim version of "kosher", i.e. 
"permitted food" is "halal", which in Hebrew is the opposite of QD$.

Yigal