Biblical Hebrew Forum

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

Yaakov,

It is conceivable that even the English 'three' is derived from  
'many'. Compare 'trans-', and the French 'tres'.
the Hebrew names for quantities are certainly not random. I think  
that $L$ essentially means 'copious, extended, elongated, elevated',  
which is the basic meaning of the present day $AL$EL-ET, 'chain', and  
$O$EL-ET, 'dynasty'.
Notice that S, which I think is for SA), 'elevate', as in Psalms 24:7
שְׂאוּ שְׁעָרִים רָאשֵׁיכֶם  
וְהִנָּשְׂאוּ פִּתְחֵי עוֹלָם
is present in all numbers except 'one' and 'four', ARBA, which comes  
from RB, 'many'.
It is conceivable that $ALI$ is the third man in a war chariot, being  
in charge of the team, of which one takes care of the horses, one  
maneuvers the shield and one holds the javelin. Otherwise, it is  
possibly a variant of $ALIT, 'nobleman, ruler'.

Isaac Fried, Boston University
On May 4, 2008, at 12:03 AM, Yaakov Stein wrote:

> In Psalms 80:6 we have the expression DM(OT $LY$
> usually translated as "many tears" or "tears in great measure".
>
> The word $LY$ is obviously related to the root $L$ for three.
>
> There are primitive languages where the number system is
> limited to ONE, TWO, THREE=MANY.
> Could this $LY$ be an ancient form of "many" ?
>
> Isaiah 40:12 also has the same word, but this time
> it seems to mean a way of counting the number of grains of sand.
> Once again, this seems to be a throwback to THREE=MANY,
> only here the MANY is very large.
>
> We also have the term H$LY$ used as a high-ranking army officer
> (somehow downgraded in modern Hebrew to a "human resources" officer).
> Could this be a captain over MANY soldiers ?
>
> Yaakov (J) Stein
>
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