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  • From: "Chris and Nel" <wattswestmaas AT eircom.net>
  • To: "B-Hebrew" <b-hebrew AT lists.Ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [b-hebrew] Gesenius on Femininity
  • Date: Mon, 25 Sep 2006 19:03:55 +0100

Peter, surely you can not be serious? It SEEMS arbitrary and that is why I
asked. I had always thought that apart from the obvious male/female
associations the rest is just accident, but it seems quite clear that
accident has nothing to do with it, it may appear accident, but I think that
Gesenius has a point, you don't think so?

Regards Chris

25 sept Peter Kirk replied:

This is not how language works. In any language with grammatical gender,
the gender of many nouns is entirely arbitrary and no significance can
be derived from it at all.

--
Peter Kirk
E-mail: peter AT qaya.org
Blog: http://speakertruth.blogspot.com/
Website: http://www.qaya.org/


On 23/09/2006 19:39, Chris and Nel wrote:

Gesenius makes some interesting observations about the purpose of a noun
being in the feminine: "Indication of the gender of the noun" page 411
(1898 edition).
This got me thinking about a few words that had no apparent reason for
being
in the feminine. One such word was the obvious -- Torah. And so I wonder
whether there would be agreement to the following 'idea' (based on
Gesenius's reasoning) that while this concept was masterful, strong,
dominant and hence a masculine ideal; it is rather by absolute contrast a
productive, sustaining, nourishing concept! and hence feminine. (All this
assuming that Torah is understood along the lines that it means nore
teaching and guiding and instruction rather than the negative concept of
'Law' as assumed in some circles)

What are your thoughts on this?
>






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