Biblical Hebrew Forum

[JimStinehart AT aol.com]

Yitzhak Sapir:
 
Thank you so much for your two informative posts.  I am going to surprise you 
by agreeing with most of what you say.
 
1.  Based in large part on your two posts, I am going to adopt your view that 
the yod at the end of Sarah’s birth name may well be an archaic feminine 
suffix.
 
2.  You wrote:  [T]he spelling of the Patriarchal Narratives is definitely 
Persian or later….”
 
I agree with that, based in part on earlier posts of yours that I have read.
 
3.  You wrote:  “But even if we take spelling aside, we have issues like the 
spelling of Ri(amasesa with a samekh in Genesis, which suggests different 
(later) correspondences between Hebrew and Egyptian than existed in the 14th 
century BCE.”
 
I consider the word “Ramses” at Genesis 47: 11 to be the one and only true 
historical anachronism in the Patriarchal narratives for a mid-14th century 
BCE 
Patriarchal Age.  So in fact we agree on this issue.  I am delighted to learn 
that the spelling of “Ramses” here supports my view that that word is a 
later gloss, not part of the original text.
 
4.  You wrote:  “There are many later features of the Patriarchal Narratives.”
 
Well, you didn’t expect me to agree with everything, did you?  Other than 
modernized spelling and the word “Ramses”, I know of no other historical 
anachronisms in the received text of the Patriarchal narratives.  Every story 
in the 
text is coming right out of the world of the mid-14th century BCE, as far as 
I 
can see.
 
5.  You wrote:  “Instead of trying to "help" your overall view of the 
Patriarchal
 Narratives why don't you try to read them for what they say, and not for how 
they prove your point of view?  But I already know the answer to that one.”
 
I think you greatly underestimate the impact of your historical linguistic 
arguments on those of us who are passionate about trying to learn to 
understand 
the Patriarchal narrates in their historical context.  I have learned many 
things from your posts.  I have accepted many of your viewpoints.
 
Thanks again for these two informative posts.  Much appreciated.
 
Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois




**************Create a Home Theater Like the Pros. Watch the video on AOL 
Home.      
(http://home.aol.com/diy/home-improvement-eric-stromer?video=15&ncid=aolhom00030000000001)