Biblical Hebrew Forum

[JimStinehart AT aol.com]

Carmel:  The Town of David’s Abigail
 
Chapter 25 of I Samuel provides us with important, accurate information about 
Carmel/KRML, a town in Judah that is associated with one of David’s wives, 
the widow Abigail:
 
“And when the servants of David were come to [the recently widowed] Abigail 
to Carmel, they spoke unto her, saying:  'David hath sent us unto thee, to 
take 
thee to him to wife.'”  I Samuel 25: 40
 
The town of Carmel turns out to be much more controversial than one might 
think.
 
In order to figure out the Judean town of Carmel, it makes sense to start 
with a basic linguistic analysis (before moving on to examining the 
significant 
amount of information that I Samuel gives us about Carmel/KRML).
 
KRML is almost certainly KRM + L, where the final lamed/L is a mere suffix.  
The 3-consonant root is K-R-M.  As a common word in its own right, KRM means “
vineyard”.  Adding the lamed/L suffix, which may here be a diminutive, 
results 
in KRML, which has a different meaning:  “a garden that produces the finest 
fruits”.
 
These two common words, KRML and KRM, appear at Isaiah 16:10, having the 
above meanings:
 
“And gladness and joy are taken away out of the fruitful field [or ‘garden’
/KRML];  and in the vineyards [KRM] there shall be no singing, neither shall 
there be shouting;  no treader shall tread out wine in the presses [YQB + 
YM];  
I have made the vintage shout to cease.”
 
For now, the most important linguistic fact to keep in mind is that the final 
lamed/L is a mere suffix (though it changes the meaning of this word and 
name).  Thus the city name “Carmel” is:  KRM + suffix.
 
In order to find out if this town was already in existence, with this same 
basic name, 500 years before Abigail’s day, simply remember that this city 
name 
is, in essence:  KRM + suffix. 
 
Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois

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