Biblical Hebrew Forum

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

Hi Isaac!

I have a few observations to make on your recent comments:

(1)    Your view does not accommodate Hebrew as a literary language which
develops or is used differently by different people. Your view seem to treat
Hebrew as a generated or artificial language, like a computing language. This
would make it quite unique among the real languages of the world. Most
languages work not purely at the level of grammar, but rather at the level of
grammar and syntax. Meaning comes from how words interact. This allows for a
wide parameter of possibility in the way a person can express themselves. In
your system, there appears very little such room for expression, making it 
feel
far more like a machine language than a human language. The fact that Hebrew 
is
used to express such things as poetry and innuendo would seem to militate
against your theory.

 

(2)    There is no such thing as an 'empty sound' in a language - everything
has some kind of significance, even if that significance is superfluous. To
call the particle -AH on the end of cohortative forms an 'empty sound' is to
caricature it as random. This is not what is being argued, however. To say 
that
the form is an historical throwback means that it had some significance at 
some
point, but that original significance may no longer be valid anymore. Under
your system, it seems everything must have a current significance. This view,
however, does not allow for the development of language. There are plenty of
languages even today which have such particles.

 

(3)    You appear to have discounted the translation offered  by others 
because
it does not agree with your own translation. This is not scholarly engagement.

 

(4)    You keep using the word 'opinion' when talking about your theories.
This, coupled with your reaction to the phrase 'insufficient evidence',
suggests an unwillingness to engage mainstream views.

 

(5)    Are you willing to admit that your opinion of Hebrew represents a
minority view which does not spring from a trajectory of mainstream research?

 

 

Best Regards, 

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