Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Peter Kirk <peter AT qaya.org>]

On 17/11/2005 17:14, Karl Randolph wrote:

> Peter:
>
> This is where you disagree with not only Rolf, but many 
> other people on this list.
>
> The root meaning of (WLM is from unknownness, i.e. a 
> period of time whose length is not known. "Eternity" is a 
> subset of that understanding.
>
>  
This is the etymological fallacy, compounded by being based on a rather 
dubious etymology. There are at least two roots (LM in Hebrew, as is 
clear from the Arabic cognates. One of them is the root behind `elem and 
the notorious `alma, cf. Arabic غُلَام ghulaam "young man". The other is 
the root behind `olam cf. Arabic عَالَم aalam "world". BDB suggests that 
the Hebrew sense "conceal" is from yet another root. But there seems to 
be no clear evidence linking "conceal" to either proto-Semitic root and 
no cognates, which suggests that "world" and "young man/woman" are the 
more original senses and that "hide" is perhaps an extended sense of one 
of them specific to Hebrew. But then maybe there is now more evidence 
available than is in BDB.


> If you take the New Testament as a continuation of 
> Tanakh with the same God causing people to write his 
> expressions using even the exact words God wanted, as 
> I and others on this list do, then many of the statutes and 
> laws that are L(WLM are only for a finite period of time. 
> However, that finite period of time was unknown to the 
> listeners and the end thereof was kept from them.
>  

This is a misinterpretation of the New Testament, for Jesus said "I tell 
you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest 
letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from 
the Law until everything is accomplished." (Matthew 5:18, NIV) Yes, I 
accept that le`olam may mean only until the final consummation of all 
things, but, even as a Christian, not that it was for a period which 
terminated with the coming of Jesus Christ.

--
Peter Kirk
peter AT qaya.org (personal)
peterkirk AT qaya.org (work)
http://www.qaya.org/