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  • From: Isaac Fried <if AT math.bu.edu>
  • To: Yigal Levin <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il>
  • Cc: b-hebrew <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Genesis 20: 1
  • Date: Sun, 14 Oct 2007 01:16:45 -0400

Yigal,

You can bet your hat that biblical NGB has nothing to do with 'dry' or 'wipe'. It's folk etymology at its best. Do you believe that the ancient Hebrews would call some area to the south "the wiped one"? Wiped from what? And what is the land to the north, "the wet one"?
The root NGB is rather a variant of NQB, NGP and NQP and refers to an elevation or a depression.
There is some interest in recalling that in Arabic NAJPAH is a mound, or sand-hill, and that NAJIB is a nobleman, a man of elevated status.

Isaac Fried, Boston University



On Oct 13, 2007, at 8:56 PM, Yigal Levin wrote:

Yitzhak,

You are undoubtebly correct that the verb "NGB" probably means "to dry". But
I still stand by what I wrote - the ONLY area whose proper name is Negev is
the Beer-sheva - Arad basin, and the use of "negev" for "south" in general
is particular only to Hebrew.

As far as Josh 15:19, the story involves the town of Debir and its conquest
by Caleb and Othniel ben Kenaz. Albright's identification of Debir with Tell
Beit Mirsim, which is in the Negev, has fallen out of favor, and the
presently accepted ientification is at Kherbet Rabud, just north of
Dhahariya, or across the road from the modern settlement of Othniel. That IS
"southland" from a Judahite perspective. The Negev of Caleb is mentioned as
being somewhere in the south in 1 Sam. 14. So the "erec hannegev" of Josh
15:19, while certainly dry, does not necessarily mean "dry land". It could
also mean "Land of the Negev" or "the land of the south".

Yigal Levin

----- Original Message -----
From: "Yitzhak Sapir" <yitzhaksapir AT gmail.com>
To: "b-hebrew" <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Sunday, October 14, 2007 12:26 AM
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Genesis 20: 1


On 10/12/07, Yigal Levin wrote:

The theory that the word "negev" is derived from the verb "nageb" (NGB)
meaning "to wipe" - a place that is "wiped dry" is only that - a theory
which may or may not be correct. In any case, "Negev" is NEVER used of
any
desert other that the Beer-sheva - Arad basin.

I am not sure who suggested that the word "negev" is derived from the verb
"to wipe." NGB is "to wipe" in Bava Matsia (Jastrow), but it is also
"dry" in
a much wider array of cognates. Most likely, "dry" came from "wipe" and
not
the other way around. I admit that I did not properly look up
evidence prior to
this suggestion, although having looked up HALOT I suggest you do too.
It provides the very suggestive Joshua 15:19 as an example of its meaning
"dry land." It also refers to cognates in Mishnaic Hebrew, Jewish
Aramaic,
Syriac, Neo-Aramaic, and Samaritan meaning "to be dry", and in Soqotri "to
dry up." On Jewish Aramaic, see
http://cal1.cn.huc.edu/cgi-bin/jpaoff.cgi?off=1493361

בגנ (a/a) vb. to dry up (SA נגב Ham 461:64, MH נגב Moreshet,
Lex 220+) Pe. ונגב נהרא the river dried up Git 49a(25);
דייגב נהרא ib. 27; קברייל נגב the Q.-river dried up
MQ 80a(54); נגבו מיא TN Gen 8:13 [H וברח ]; נגבו אפיה דארעא
the surface of the earth dried up ib.; part.pass. כד הוא נגיב
when (the bean) is dry Kil 31c(35) // Sab 7b(15); נגיבה
TN Lev 7:10 [H חרבה]; וצואת קטן נגיבה dry excrement
of a minor AZ 40d(30)

Pa. id.: part.pass. מנגבה TNGl Lev 7:10 [---> pe.]

see also here:
http://cal1.cn.huc.edu/searchroots.php?lemma=ngb&pos=v

In light of the many cognates, and in light of Joshua 15:19,
"ngb" = "dry land" may be only a theory, but it is also a very
compelling theory and one that has to be answered if someone
suggests that "ngb" refers to a very fertile land.

Yitzhak Sapir

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