Biblical Hebrew Forum

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

The root )NH is of the family
אוה, אפה, אתה, אלה, אמה, אנה
)WH, )PH, )TH, )LH, )MH, )NH
all of the basic meaning of 'come, be, swell, rise'.
Hebrew describes emotional reality as it describes physical reality.  
Desire is likened to a swell of the will --- the appearance of an  
emotion fixation. Hence the colloquial Hebrew BA LI, 'I desire, I  
want', as in BA LI FALAFEL, 'I would gladly have now a portion of  
falafel'. This BA, 'come', is the WA of A)WAH of Deuteronomy 12:15,  
and the derived TA-)AWAH, 'craving, desire, lust', of Psalms 106:14,  
also the AB-BA of )AHABAH, 'love', and of the present-day TAY-AB-ON,  
'appetite'.
Instead of AB-BA [the English 'be'] Hebrew may use for variety the  
identity marker AN-NA [the English 'on, in'], by which TA-)AWAH  
becomes the TA-)ANAH of Jeremiah 2:24.
With L instead of N TA-)ANAH turns into TA-)ALAH, 'manifestation of  
ill will', as in Lamentations 3:65. In Genesis 26:28 it is  
'manifestation of good will'.
Isaac Fried, Boston University