Biblical Hebrew Forum

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

All,

Most Hebrew grammarians look upon the last M of SULAM, 'ladder?', as  
auxiliary, not one of the radical letters of this words. If indeed  
not, then it is a contraction of the personal pronoun HEM in analogy  
with the closing N of XALON, 'window', which is also of such nature  
and function.
The internal U is surely a contracted HU), 'he', referring to the  
contraption itself, turning thereby the root into a noun of the  
meaning 'it [he] is a thing of the nature of the root SLM'.
It matters little if the root of SULAM is SLL or SLM. If the latter,  
then it is of the same form as GUMAC, 'pit', of Ecclesiastes 10:8.  
Also, under the assumption on the indifference of Shureq and  
Qibbuts: )UBAL, )ULAM, YUBAL, KUMAZ, SUGAR, (UGAB, $U(AL.
The root SLM is a member of the close knit root clan: TLM, SLM, CLM,  
$LM, all of the meaning 'to be tall and bulky'. Also related to this  
family is the root (LM, from which the words (ELEM, 'youth', and  
(OLAM, 'world', are derived. Also the root )LM, from which the words ) 
ULAM, 'large hall', )ALUMAH, 'sheaf', and )ILEM, 'dumb', are derived.
The root SLL is a member of the root family: DLL, ZLL, YLL, SLL, CLL,  
$LL, TLL.

The word VAYIPGA( of Genesis 28:11 is, in my opinion, the  
amalgamation of three parts: VA-YI-PGA(. The first, VA part, is a  
variant of the substantive BA, 'came, appeared, happened, was'. The  
second part, YI, is the contracted personal pronoun HI), 'he-she'.  
The third part is the act PAGA( , 'hit, reach' [a variant of PAGA$,  
methinks]. Hence the entire compact word simply means 'came to be  
that he reached'.

Isaac Fried, Boston University