Biblical Hebrew Forum

["K Randolph" <kwrandolph AT gmail.com>]

Peter:

You remember previously I mentioned where the root where the verb #YM
to place is recognizably similar to $M that place, there. I have
noticed other words like N$H/N#H to put out of mind, ($Q/(#Q to
defraud, $QD/#QD to keep watch and other similar pairs. I have not
made a formal study of the phenomenon, just happened to notice it as I
was reading.

I have heard one argument that these represent copyist errors, but
they happen often enough, particularly in words like PR$/PR# to spread
out, used of hands as in getting ready for a hug, as in a cloth, net,
book, entrails of an animal for divination and so forth, dividing the
same action to different roots depending on the object being acted on,
makes it seem to me that the sin/shin split was late, probably
Babylonian Exile or later. And if it is that late, then it can be
argued that it came about because of Aramaic influence, which is why
it follows the Aramaic pattern.

Karl W. Randolph.

On 1/4/07, Peter Kirk <peter AT qaya.org> wrote:
> On 04/01/2007 06:19, K Randolph wrote:
> > Yitzhak:
> >
> > Did any of these authors who claimed that the sin/shin distinction in
> > Biblical Hebrew was the result of Aramaic influence mention that there
> > are several words sometimes written with a sin, sometimes with a shin,
> > but otherwise having the same meaning? That is not counting the roots
> > where one derivative is written with a sin and another a shin?
> >
> >
> Which words are you referring to?
>
> --
> Peter Kirk
> E-mail:  peter AT qaya.org
> Blog:    http://speakertruth.blogspot.com/
> Website: http://www.qaya.org/