Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Isaac Fried <if AT math.bu.edu>]

Thank you yigal for calling my attention to SEFAYOT, I have never  
encountered it before.

Isaac Fried, Boston University

On Apr 15, 2007, at 2:00 PM, Yigal Levin wrote:

> Isaac,
>
> I have actually heard people speak of "zug sefatayim". And here's  
> another
> one for you - when Israeli archaeologists speak of the "lip" of a pot
> (called the rim in English), one is a "safah", many are "sefayot".
>
> Yigal Levin
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Isaac Fried" <if AT math.bu.edu>
> To: "Shoshanna Walker" <rosewalk AT concentric.net>
> Cc: <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
> Sent: Sunday, April 15, 2007 8:53 PM
> Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Zech 1:19,21
>
>
> > Shoshana,
> >
> > The plural of 'horn' is invariably KARNAYIM. A genetically engineered
> > cow may have 3 KARNAYIM upon its head. If you go into to a store and
> > ask for 7 KARNAYIM you will get 7 singles. If they come in pairs you
> > will have to ask for 7 ZUGOT KARNAYIM and you will get a total of 17
> > (no I am kidding), 14, KARNAYIM. Say we look at a herd consisting of
> > three normal cows (I keep the number low so as not to encumber the
> > arithmetic beyond ten fingers) and you ask me how many KARNAYIM do I
> > see, my answer is 6. If alone I would just count the cows and
> > multiply by two, but with you I am afraid of a "trick question" and
> > so I actually count horns, lest a cow misses one. In fact, people
> > often use ZUG, 'pair', even for just two: YESH LO ZUG YADAYIM XAZAQOT
> > VeZUG RAGLAYIM BRYIOT. I have never heard, though, ZUG used for
> > SFATAYIM, 'lips'. The plural of SAFAH, 'language' is SAFOT, but the
> > plural of SAFAH, 'rim', is SFATOT.
> >
> > Isaac Fried, Boston University
> >
> >
> > On Apr 15, 2007, at 11:43 AM, Shoshanna Walker wrote:
> >
> > > Ok, thank you - but does this mean that if someone is referring to
> > > the horns of several animals, 10, let's say = 20 horns, they would
> > > use the word kranot, or would it still be karnayim?  Sorry, I just
> > > want to understand.
> > >
> > > Shoshanna
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Shoshana,
> > >
> > > You are right but not entirely. The dual of KEREN, horn, is KARNAIM,
> > > as nature willed it for the head of most animals. Yet, indeed, the
> > > plural of KEREN in the sense of 'ray of light' is KARNAIM, the same
> > > way that the 4 legs of a table are 4 RAGLAIM. You my have seen a
> > > statue of an Indian goddess with 6 YADAIM, and some modern art
> > > depicting a face with 3 EYNAIM. The plural of KEREN in the sense of
> > > 'principal' is KRANOT, (KARNOT in construct state), and so is the
> > > plural of KEREN in the sense of 'corner'.
> > >
> > > Isaac Fried, Boston University
> > >
> > > On Apr 14, 2007, at 9:42 PM, Shoshanna Walker wrote:
> > >
> > > > I thought that Karnaim is plural for horns, and Kranot plural for
> > > > rays of light
> > > [cut]
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