Biblical Hebrew Forum

["George Athas" <george.athas AT moore.edu.au>]

Hi Isaac!
 
I point out (again) with regard to your theories, that they are not
supported by any other grammatical/morphological study that I am aware of.
The particular analysis you offer in relation to this topic goes against the
grain of the general consensus of Hebrew morphology and semantics.
 
This, in itself, is not bad, for we can always challenge our
presuppositions. However, the approach appears to place an almost
mathematical straightjacket onto something which is quite simply not
mathematical in nature: language. This appears to occur at the basic root
level of theoretical semantics. However, there then appears to be haphazard
randomness in the way this approach deals with actual packaging of semantics
into morphological lexemes/particles.
 
The randomness appears to be a function of imposing such a stringent
mathematical approach onto something which does not function mathematically.
In other words, to overcome the gap between such a rigid semantic system as
the one you propose, and the actual words we encounter on the average page
of the Hebrew Bible, there has to be a wholesale leap which seems quite
random. The only controlling factor I can observe here is 'near enough is
good enough'.
 
The fact that this system involves such leaps tells me there is a serious
flaw in it.
 
Could you please tell us, is this what you teach your students? The reason I
ask is that your semantic-morphological system represents a very
non-conventional system, and I believe students should also be informed
about what the scholarly consensus is.
 

Best Regards, 

GEORGE ATHAS 
Moore Theological College (Sydney) 
1 King St, Newtown, NSW 2042, Australia 
Ph: (+61 2) 9577 9774