Biblical Hebrew Forum

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

Karl,

Is XLH 'soft'? Where did you get this? Please explain. I am really,  
really interested in seeing a justification for this understanding.
Your speculation that the ancient Hebrews manufactured flutes by  
boring long shafts in solid cylinders needs substantiating.
XLL is 'include'. A XALIL, 'flute', is a XALUL---an outer skin or  
envelope in which a column of air is included---KALUL. To me XLL is,  
beyond a shadow of doubt, not 'pierce' or 'bore'.
Your acknowledgment that QD$, 'holy, sacred', is a metaphor for  
something concrete is right. Yet I fail to see where you got for it  
the meaning of 'set apart'. Please explain.
XLL may mean 'diluted, not pure, including inferior elements', and if  
so, I would agree to MXOLAL of Isaiah 53:5 as meaning 'sullied,  
devalued'.
Finally, I understand that what you are saying in your opening  
statement is that you are using all these dictionaries because you  
speculate that the speculations of their authors have somehow a  
higher speculative merit than our own notoriously lame speculations.

Isaac Fried, Boston University

On Sep 8, 2007, at 12:11 AM, K Randolph wrote:

> Isaac:
>
> Maybe we use all these dictionaries because they are more accurate
> than our speculations.
>
> There are several words that have a chet preceding a lamedh, among
> them XWL meaning to turn about vigorously, as in dancing, XYL to be
> forceful, XLH to be soft (XLH the bread is probably connected with
> softness, as in soft bread), XLL to pierce, bore a hole, as in making
> a flute, XLL to make common, as in bringing into production, also used
> to say that something is unimportant, even thought little of in
> contrast to something that is set apart, special QD$ (I found this
> interesting as the New Testament makes the exact same use of koinos
> and hagios).
>
> That there are greatly differing meanings to similar sounding words
> unpredictable as to their meanings is common in languages, and
> Biblical Hebrew is no exception.
>
> Karl W. Randolph.
>
> On 9/7/07, Isaac Fried <if AT math.bu.edu> wrote:
> > Bryant,
> >
> > It is not clear to me why we should use all these dictionaries, where
> > we can use better, and to our greater advantage, our own brain.
> > I looked up TWOT and saw that he suggests that XALAH [of the famous
> > rhyme: I baked a little xalah, I baked it by myself, I put it in the
> > oven, I put it on the shelf,...] is some kind of bagel or pretzel
> > since its name implies that it is 'pierced'.
> >
> > Isaac Fried, Boston University
> >
> > On Sep 7, 2007, at 1:45 PM, Bryant J. Williams III wrote:
> >
> > > Dear Michael,
> > >
> > > Besides, BDB, I also use the following:
> > >
> > > 1)    William Holladay, *A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of
> > > the Old
> > > Testament,* Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company,
> > > 1971.
> > > Originally published by E.J. Brill, Leiden, Netherlands.
> > >
> > > 2)    R. Laird Harris, Editor; Gleason L. Archer, Bruce K. Waltke,
> > > Associate
> > > Editors, *Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament,* 2 Volumes,
> > > Chicago: Moody
> > > Press, 1980.
> > >
> > > In fact, regarding the issue of "chalal" versus "kalal," I would
> > > refer to TWOT,
> > > Vol. 1, page 288, "Halal."
> > >
> > > Rev. Bryant J. Williams III
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