Biblical Hebrew Forum

[John Wilking <jcwilking AT yahoo.com>]

Yigal,
   
  A play on words?  How would you translate it?
   
  John C. Wilking

Yigal Levin <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il> wrote:
  Dear Ted,

1. Please remember to sign your posts with your full name.

2. In my oppinion, 'EHYEH ASHER 'EHYEH is a pun, not an etymology.

Yigal Levin


----- Original Message ----- 
From: 
To: ; 
Sent: Wednesday, December 26, 2007 5:32 AM
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] YHWH


>
> Yitzhak:
>
> I agree that there is no reason to think that YHWH is idiomatic for 
> superior
> or that it is semantically connected to ANI. Also seeing YHWH as a Hiphil 
> of
> HYH is speculative as it is, to my knowledge, unattested elsewhere. 
> However,
> don't you think the expression 'EHYEH ASHER 'EHYEH (Exodus 3:14) shows 
> some
> kind of verbal etymology, even though the proper name itself would clearly 
> be
> a noun.
>
> Cheers,
> ted
>
> In a message dated 12/25/2007 8:57:02 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
> yitzhaksapir AT gmail.com writes:
>
> YHWH is not used in these verses at all.
> YHWH is not equivalent to ANI in any way or form. YHWH is the divine 
> name
> of God. It is a noun, not a verb. The suggestion to read it as
> Hiphil of HYH is
> problematic because the verb doesn't seem to have an Hiphil. While a 
> Hiphil
> may have developed later on, the divine name is attested already in the 
> 9th
> century BCE and perhaps even earlier. Also, the name is probably present 
> in
> the name of the king Jehu. This seems to indicate that the first three
> letters
> are consonantal, and the last is not. Therefore, the proposal that the
> divine
> name is connected to any verbal form of HYH is rather weak. Even if it 
> is,
> the verb's sense is definitely future, third person, and probably 
> causative.
> I don't see how an equivalence to ANI would get you "superiority." ANI 
> is
> just
> a pronoun. It has no sense of superiority.
> HYH as a verb is not equivalent to ANI. Possibly we can suggest that HYH 
> is
> used for "I was" "I will be" whereas ANI is used for "I am," but this 
> doesn't
> mean that they are equivalent. It means that Hebrew and English have
> different
> syntax and express these terms in different ways syntactically.
> The short answer to your question is a definite no, and it wouldn't make 
> YHWH
> idiomatic for superiority or anything close anyway.
>
> Yitzhak Sapir
> _______________________________________________
>
>
>
>
>
>
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>From JimStinehart AT aol.com  Wed Dec 26 11:18:54 2007
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Subject: [b-hebrew] Shechem:  Secular History vs. Patriarchal Narratives
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Kenneth Greifer:
=20
 You wrote:  =E2=80=9CI am not trying to argue with you about the Amarna let=
ters and=20
the patriarchal narratives, but I want to say one main thing, you only look=20
for similarities, and you totally ignore differences. If you only give weigh=
t to=20
evidence that fits your beliefs, and you give no weight to anything against=20
your beliefs, then you are guaranteeing that your belief will win.  If a lea=
der=20
from Shechem gets killed in the Amarna letters and a leader from Shechem als=
o=20
got killed in the patriarchal narratives, then you see the similarity as a=20
proof. You don't seem interested in the details of either story or any of th=
e=20
differences because you don't consider differences as evidence. If you don't=
=20
consider differences as evidence, then, of course, you can't be proven wrong=
.=E2=80=9D
=20
Do you expect me to send a book into the b-Hebrew list?  In fact, I want to=20
talk about the puns on the name =E2=80=9CJoseph=E2=80=9D.  But you keep aski=
ng me for details=20
about Amarna.
=20
Let me quickly list here 7 similarities between the Decapitation of the=20
Shechem Offensive as it occurred near the end of Akhenaten=E2=80=99s 
reign,=20=
and as it is=20
represented in chapters 34 and 35 of Genesis.
=20
1.  Locale
=20
The locale is Shechem.
=20
2.  Leader of Shechem Is Killed
=20
The leader of Shechem is killed in both instances, along with the men who ar=
e=20
with him.
=20
3.  Leader of Shechem Was Temporarily Vulnerable, Having Made a Requested=20
Goodwill Gesture to the First Historical Monotheistic Leader of a People
=20
Lab=E2=80=99ayu agreed to Akhenaten=E2=80=99s demand that the leader of Shec=
hem must come to=20
Egypt to explain himself.  Hamor agreed to Jacob=E2=80=99s demand (put forth=
 by Jacob=E2=80=99
s sons) that Hamor and the men of Shechem be circumcised.  In both cases,=20
this requested goodwill gesture to the first historical monotheistic 
leader=20=
of a=20
people made the leader of Shechem temporarily vulnerable.
=20
4.  The Son of the Leader of Shechem Caused Major Headaches
=20
In secular history, the sons of the leader of Shechem were actively=20
recruiting tent-dwelling habiru to join forces with the city-state of Sheche=
m to take=20
over all of central Canaan.  This was why Akhenaten intervened.  And that is=
=20
why the leader of Shechem has to make the self-serving, lame claim to Akhena=
ten=20
that =E2=80=9CI did not know that my son was consorting with the habiru=E2=
=80=9D.  In chapter=20
34 of Genesis, the son of the leader of Shechem literally consorts with the=20
tent-dwelling Hebrew Dinah.  In both cases, it was the actions of a son of t=
he=20
leader of Shechem that brought matters to a crisis stage.
=20
5.  Morally Questionable Action
=20
The Decapitation of the Shechem Offensive is morally objectionable.  Lab=E2=
=80=99ayu=20
rightly thought he had a right of safe passage to visit Akhenaten in 
Egypt.=20=
=20
The leader of Shechem probably should not have been murdered on his way to m=
eet=20
his sovereign.  Likewise, the men of Shechem were doing what Jacob=E2=80=99s=
 sons had=20
asked by circumcising themselves.  Then, in their weakened condition, they=20
are killed by Simeon and Levi in a surprise attack.  Yet though both attacks=
=20
were morally questionable, they had a great result.  The threat of Shechem t=
o=20
take over all of central Canaan was suddenly vanquished, once and for all.
=20
6.  Surprising Lack of Adverse Consequences
=20
After Lab=E2=80=99ayu=E2=80=99s murder, his sons tried to get some of 
their=20=
neighbors to=20
kill the perpetrators in Jenin, and to resume Shechem=E2=80=99s drive to dom=
inate central=20
Canaan.  But nothing happened.  There were no revenge killings at all.  Like=
=20
a semi-miracle, everything was done, with no adverse consequences.  
Chapter=20=
35=20
of Genesis is the same.  Jacob had feared at the end of chapter 34 of Genesi=
s=20
that the neighbors of Shechem would attack the Hebrews.  But no attack ever=20
came.
=20
7.  Comparison to the Hittites
=20
The only decisive military action that Akhenaten ever took, albeit=20
indirectly, was when he rounded up an anti-Shechem coalition, and one member=
 of that=20
coalition unilaterally murdered the leader of Shechem.  The first Hebrews ch=
eered=20
the ending of that regional threat to take over all of central Canaan.  But=20
the much bigger threat was on the international scene:  the Hittites.  In or=
der=20
to link the two situations, the author of the Patriarchal narratives refers=20
to the people of Shechem as =E2=80=9CHivites=E2=80=9D, a made-up, non-histor=
ical name that is=20
deliberately designed to link Shechem to the dreaded Hittites.  What the=20
author of the Patriarchal narratives is ingeniously arguing is this.  Look,=20
Akhenaten, how wonderful everything turned out when you took aggressive acti=
on=20
against Shechem=E2=80=99s attempt to dominate Canaan.  In the end, it turned=
 out that almost=20
everyone in Canaan was on your side.  Now do the same regarding the Hittites=
!=20
 Aggressively act to oppose the Hittite international threat to Canaan, and=20
you will find that all of Canaan is behind you all the way.  Everyone cheere=
d=20
the Decapitation of the Shechem Offensive.  Imagine how loudly all of Canaan=
=20
will cheer when you stop the dreaded Hittites from invading Canaan.  Not onl=
y us=20
tent-dwelling Hebrews/habiru, but also all the city-dwellers in Canaan as=20
well, will back you all the way, if only you will take assertive, aggressive=
=20
action to stop the dreaded Hittites in their tracks.
=20
Kenneth Greifer, there is no space on the b-Hebrew list to give a more=20
balanced account of the Decapitation of the Shechem Offensive.  It is obviou=
s that=20
the men of Jenin, who killed the leader of Shechem in secular history, are n=
ot=20
identical to Simeon and Levi in chapter 34 of Genesis.  But certainly everyo=
ne=20
in the mid-14th century BCE would have seen the obvious comparisons between=20
the killing of the leader of Shechem in secular history and chapter 34 of=20
Genesis.
=20
If you will allow me, I would now like to get back to analyzing the puns on=20
the names of Jacob=E2=80=99s sons, because Biblical Hebrew language issues l=
ike that=20
are what the b-Hebrew list is all about.
=20
Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois




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