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  • From: JimStinehart AT aol.com
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [b-hebrew] The Word "'Eylam" at Genesis 14: 1: A Hebrew Linguistic Analysis
  • Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2008 11:01:21 EST


The Word “’Eylam” at Genesis 14: 1: A Hebrew Linguistic Analysis

We have seen in prior posts on this thread that the Hebrew word
ayin-yod-lamed-mem/(YLM/’Eylam at Genesis 14: 1 does not match any historical
non-west
Semitic word for the predecessor of Persia. In particular, the Hebrew word “’
Eylam” does not match pre-Persian “Hatamti”, the sumerogram “NIM”, or
Babylonian Akkadian “KUR elammatum”.

What about a Hebrew etymology then for the Hebrew word ’Eylam? I myself
agree with Strong’s and others that ayin-yod-lamed-mem/(YLM/’Eylam in Hebrew
is a
noun that comes from the root Hebrew verb ayin-lamed-mem/(LM/’elam. That
root Hebrew verb means “to hide, conceal or dissemble”. The only difference
in
spelling is that the root Hebrew word ayin-lamed-mem/(LM/’elam does not have
a
yod. As we will see, however, there are other cases like this where a root
Hebrew verb begins with an ayin but does not have a yod, but the Hebrew noun
that is derived from that root Hebrew verb has a yod in addition to the ayin.

I view the meaning of ‘Eylam as having a significantly different emphasis,
however, than the innocuous meaning proposed by Strong’s and others. I view ’
Eylam as meaning “Dissembler” (not as meaning “hidden” and hence “distant”).

1. For starters, we should note that many virgin pure Hebrew words start
with ayin-yod, and indicate nothing foreign. Thus HALOT lists 45 Hebrew
words
that start with ayin-yod, and with the possible exception of
ayin-yod-lamed-mem/(YLM/’Eylam itself, none of those words derives from, or
has anything to do
with, anything outside of the west Semitic world of greater Canaan. The word
ayin-yod-lamed-mem/(YLM/’Eylam does not look like an ultra-exotic non-Semitic
foreign loanword from the predecessor of Persia, by way of Sumer or Babylonia
or
otherwise. Rather, the word ayin-yod-lamed-mem/(YLM/’Eylam looks like a
run-of-the-mill virgin pure Hebrew word of Hebrew/west Semitic derivation.
No one
can make any sense in Hebrew out of a truly foreign (that is, non-west
Semitic) word or name like “pharaoh” or “Phicol” or “Arioch” or “Tidal”. But
as
we will see, ayin-yod-lamed-mem/(YLM/’Eylam makes perfect sense in Hebrew.

2. A Hebrew noun that starts with ayin-yod can have as its root a Hebrew
verb which has only the ayin, not the yod. Thus the Hebrew noun “nakedness”
starts with ayin-yod, being ayin-yod-resh-mem. Its Hebrew root, however, the
Hebrew verb meaning “to lay bare”, has no yod, being simply ayin-resh-heh.
“A
Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of
English”, Ernest Klein, MacMillan Publishing company, New York (1987).

3. Note how easily and effortlessly the Hebrew word ’Eylam can be viewed as
being derived from the Hebrew root verb ’elam. The yod is added to the root
Hebrew verb to produce the Hebrew noun. It’s a very natural west
Semitic/Hebrew etymology.

Everyone agrees that without the yod, ’elam has no foreign connections, and
means “to hide or conceal or dissemble”, almost always in a negative
connotation. Thus ’Eylam as a noun, adding the yod, could easily be viewed
as meaning “
The Dissembler”. The first Hebrews viewed west Semitic-speaking Ugarit, on
the west coast of Syria, as being a terrible “Dissembler”. The princeling
ruler of Ugarit wrote a nice letter to pharaoh asking for medical advice, and
implying loyalty to Egypt and Canaan. But the princeling ruler of Ugarit was
dissembling, because all the while he was busy selling out the west coast of
Syria to the great enemy of Egypt and Canaan: the dreaded Hittites.

Chedorlaomer is portrayed negatively in chapter 14 of Genesis, and the name “
Chedorlaomer” can be viewed as being composed of 3 Ugaritic words. The early
Hebrews viewed Ugarit as being the Great Dissembler. So as a pejorative
nickname applied by the northern pre-Hebrew author of the Patriarchal
narratives, ’
Eylam/“The Dissembler” works beautifully as a name of disliked, dissembling
Ugarit.

4. Moreover, with a little work, both of the strange concepts in the name “
Chedorlaomer” can be seen in ‘Eylam.

(a) The AoMR/ayin-mem-resh/(MR at the end of “Chedorlaomer” has the
peculiar meaning of “a wasted heap” or “ashes”. The Hebrew word ayin-yod/(Y
means “
ruin” or “a heap of ruins”. (See Job 30: 24, where BDB sees the word
ayin-yod, meaning “ruin, heap of ruins”.) Ayin-yod appears at the beginning
of the
Hebrew word ’Eylam, so that element of ’Eylam matches up beautifully with
the -AoMR at the end of Chedorlaomer. Each means “a wasted heap” or “ashes”
or “ruin” or “a heap of ruins”.

(b) Moving now to the first part of the name “Chedorlaomer”, KDR has the
unforgettable imagery of “(a conqueror) swooping down like a bird of prey or
a
vulture”. Per HALOT, ayin-yod-tet-mem, which has three of the four Hebrew
letters ayin-yod-lamed-mem in ‘Eylam and in exactly the same order, means
“where
the birds of prey are”. Though one consonant is different, ayin-yod-tet-mem
may have been perceived as rhyming, and/or recalling, ayin-yod-lamed-mem/’
Eylam. The word ayin-yod-tet, which as a noun means “bird of prey”, and as a
verb
means “to dart greedily like a bird of prey” (per BDB), appears only 8 times
in the Bible, and only once in the Patriarchal narratives. It’s one
appearance in Genesis is only a few verses after chapter 14 of Genesis, at
Genesis 15:
11, where it appears as a noun meaning “bird of prey or vulture”. Robert
Alter specifically states in his footnote to Genesis 15: 11 that in the
specific
context, the birds are “vultures”, recalling that one meaning of kdr in
Ugaritic is “vulture”.

So with a little stretching, the peculiar KDR element in “Chedorlaomer” can
be seen in ’Eylam. And for certain, the peculiar AoMR element in “
Chedorlaomer” can be seen in ‘Eylam. Not many Hebrew words mean “a wasted
heap” or “a
heap of ruins”, yet such words are found both in “Chedorlaomer”
(ayin-mem-resh) and “’Eylam” (ayin-yod). Not many Hebrew words mean
“swooping down like
a bird of prey or vulture” or “place where the birds of prey are”, yet the
first such word is found in “Chedorlaomer” (kaf-dalet-resh), and arguably a
rhyming or similar sounding word is found in “’Eylam” (ayin-yod-tet-mem,
which
has 3 of the 4 same Hebrew letters, in the same order, as ayin-yod-lamed-mem/’
Eylam).

5. There is one more possible pejorative Hebrew meaning of the Hebrew
nickname “’Eylam” for Ugarit at Genesis 14: 1. We have seen that the first
two
Hebrew letters in ’Eylam, namely ayin-yod, mean “a heap of ruins”. It is
possible that the last two Hebrew letters in ’Eylam, namely lamed-mem, might
imply
lamed-aleph-mem, a 3-letter word that means “people” or “nation”. This word
lamed-aleph-mem appears in the Patriarchal narratives at Genesis 25: 23 and
Genesis 27: 29. The lamed-mem at the end of ayin-yod-lamed-mem could
possibly
be viewed as being either a shortened form of, or a pun on, lamed-aleph-mem.
If so, then ayin-yod + lamed-mem would mean “a heap of ruins”/ayin-yod, “a
people or a nation”/lamed-mem (as a shortened form of lamed-aleph-mem). That
is,
if Ugarit persists in its iniquitous course of selling out to the dreaded
Hittites, then the early Hebrew author of Genesis 14: 1 asserts that Ugarit
itself will become “a people or nation” (lamed-mem, short for
lamed-aleph-mem)
that is “a heap of ruins” (ayin-yod).

6. It is important to note that there is no word in the Bible for Ugarit,
despite the fact that the Hebrews seem to have been influenced somewhat by
the
religious imagery of Ugarit. The only possible word that could mean Ugarit
in
the Bible is ’Eylam, as that word is used at Genesis 14: 1, at a time when
the
short-lived state of Ugarit was in existence.

In the eyes of the first Hebrews, the fundamental characteristic of Ugarit
was dissembling. While pretending to be friendly to Egypt and Canaan, the
princeling ruler of Ugarit in fact sold out Ugarit to the dreaded Hittites,
in Year
14 of Akhenaten’s 17-year reign. Without a fight, Ugarit overnight became a
Hittite vassal state, and the Hittites were then staunchly ensconced on the
west coast of Syria, immediately north of Lebanon/northern Canaan. The rest
of
Syria was conquered at swordpoint by the ruthless Hittites. Only Ugarit
dissembled and sold out to the dreaded Hittites without a fight. From the
viewpoint of the first Hebrews, Ugarit was “The Great Dissembler” par
excellence.

7. In the beginning, at Genesis 14: 1, ’Eylam was a pejorative Hebrew
nickname for Ugarit meaning “Ugarit, The Great Dissembler”. At Genesis 14:
1, the
Hebrew word ’Eylam has nothing to do with Persia, or with any predecessor to
Persia, or with any non-west Semitic word referencing the predecessor of
Persia. Rather, ’Eylam is a perfectly good west Semitic Hebrew word, which
means “
dissembler”, coming from the Hebrew verb “to dissemble”. This was a very
appropriate Hebrew nickname for Ugarit, because dissembling was the key
historical characteristic of Ugarit to the first Hebrews.

Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois




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  • [b-hebrew] The Word "'Eylam" at Genesis 14: 1: A Hebrew Linguistic Analysis, JimStinehart, 02/06/2008

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