Biblical Hebrew Forum

[David Kolinsky <yishalom AT sbcglobal.net>]

The root for the word, (dibyown), is D.B.H which is analogous to DB in Arabic 
meaning to crawl, creep, move slowly, go on all fours, fill, pervade, invade, 
stream in, rush in; bear, sand hill, tiny animal, insect.  Considering that 
the Ktiv is Chiryon which is related to the word Ch.R./A (/A = aleph) which 
means excrement, the connection to excrement is on solid ground.  Therefore, 
I suggest that both words most likely mean "Scarab or Dung Beetle" which in 
times of famine would most definately be eaten and nutritious.
 
D kolinsky

--- On Fri, 9/5/08, b-hebrew-request AT lists.ibiblio.org 
<b-hebrew-request AT lists.ibiblio.org> wrote:

From: b-hebrew-request AT lists.ibiblio.org <b-hebrew-request AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: b-hebrew Digest, Vol 69, Issue 5
To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
Date: Friday, September 5, 2008, 10:20 AM

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Today's Topics:

   1. What is that to be eaten 2 Kings 6:25? (tladatsi AT charter.net)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2008 13:09:57 -0400
From: <tladatsi AT charter.net>
Subject: [b-hebrew] What is that to be eaten 2 Kings 6:25?
To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org, Karl Randolf <kwrandolph AT email.com>
Message-ID: <20080905130957.9RETY.241992.root@mp05>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8

Karl & al.,

The word in question (dibyown) is of course a hapax legomenon which does not
seem to be derived from any obvious Hebrew roots.  The "doves dung" is
the ketib.  The LXX translates this as dove's dung (kabou koprou
peristerwn).  However even if we take the ketib and LXX at face value, that 
does
not mean people were actually eating doves dung.  In Mexico and  the US
Southwest there is a popular confection called "churros", a long
narrow lump of fried dough sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon.  It is possible 
to
translate "churros" as dung although there are more graphic and
accurate words available in English language.  The name is merely reflective 
of
the general appearance of the food, particularly when it made by hand, and
perhaps the fact it an inexpensive food popular with the poorer strata of
society.  Perhaps "doves dung" is something similar.

Jack Tladatsi


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