Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Peter Kirk <peter AT qaya.org>]

On 03/02/2006 21:34, Herman Meester wrote:
> Dear Robert,
>
> I'm not sure if I understand your question. The text of Daniel, both
> in the Hebrew and Aramaic parts, has plenty of loan words. A Persian
> loan word, in my view, has nothing to do -as far as prophecy is
> concerned- with the Persian empire.
> If there is only one available etymology for *'appeden (a word that is
> only attested in constructs), then that's that. The problem is that
> we'd never know if the fact that it's a loanword meant anything to the
> writer of the text at all, if the writer knew/realised that in the
> first place.
> I guess the writer thought this word expressed the idea (s)he had in
> the best manner possible.
>
>   
Indeed. When we use words like "paradise" and "orange" in English, both 
Persian loan words, we don't have in mind the Persian Empire or the 
Islamic Republic of Iran. They are just English words.

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