Biblical Hebrew Forum

["K Randolph" <kwrandolph AT gmail.com>]

Jim:
You're losing it. All the records that I can find indicate that the #1
desired material was gold. Lapis Lazuli is well down the list.

RK$, alternately spelled RKW$, refers to movable possessions, often
specifically livestock, as contrasted to immobile possessions such as houses
or land.

As for Beth Shean during the Egyptian occupation:
http://www.rehov.org/project/tel_beth_shean.htm indicates that it was merely
a garrison town, not a rich city. While it was burned down at least three
times during that period, that was attributed to local rebellion, not
foreign invasion. It would not have been a welcome place for a rich
foreigner looking for luxury. Nor was it a place to loot for treasures.

Conclusion: either the patriarchal narratives are myth with a possible
kernel of history passed down through the centuries, or it is an accurate
history of early bronze age Canaan, a narrative supported by archeology.
Your theory has too many holes, linguistic, historical, etc., to hold water.

Karl W. Randolph.



On Wed, Nov 26, 2008 at 5:35 PM, <JimStinehart AT aol.com> wrote:

>
> Karl:
> You wrote:  "RK$ refers to movable possessions,  usually cattle, not trade
> goods, which
> you would have known if you knew  Hebrew."
> Look at Genesis 14:  11, 12, 16, 21 concerning Sodom.  The attacking rulers
> are not rustling cattle, for heaven's sake.  No, they are "looting" Sodom.
> The #1 looted item in the ancient near  east was lapis lazuli.  Indeed, RK$
>  can
> be translated in certain contexts, as in chapter 14 of Genesis, as  "loot".
> The perfect Hebrew word to  use to describe lapis lazuli and similar luxury
> goods is RK$.  When the princeling ruler of Sodom  offers to share the loot
> with Abraham, he's not talking about dividing up a herd  of cattle.  No,
> he's
> talking about  spreading the lapis lazuli and other luxury goods around.
> Jim  Stinehart
> Evanston,  Illinois