Biblical Hebrew Forum

[JimStinehart AT aol.com]

Jacob-El
 
One of the leading scholarly commentators on the Book of Genesis is Gordon J. 
Wenham, who makes this interesting observation at p. 176 of his “World 
Biblical Commentary:  Genesis 16-50” (1994):
 
“The name Jacob…is usually regarded as a shortened form of Y( QB-)L ya[ayin] 
qob-el ‘may El protect, reward’ (the  meaning of the verb is unsure) and is 
a typical Amorite name of the early second millennium.  It is found in 
inscriptions from Chagar Bazar (1800 B.C.), Qatuna (c. 1700 B.C.), and 
occasionally 
in second-millennium Egyptian texts.”
 
Did the Egyptians record “Joseph-El” as a geographical place name in mid-2nd 
millennium BCE Canaan?  If so, is the Shephelah the locale where this old 
Amorite name shows up as a city name in the secular history of the Late 
Bronze 
Age?  Would that then indicate that the Shephelah, but not the Negev Desert, 
was 
associated with Amorites (like Mamre) in the Bronze Age?
 
The Bible would seem to have near-blanket coverage of the names of all 
cities, towns and important villages in southern Canaan in Biblical times.  
Scholars 
generally concede that the Egyptians recorded “Jacob-El” as a geographical 
place name in Canaan.  But to the best of my knowledge, scholars have been 
unable to identify the Biblical Hebrew equivalent of “Jacob-El” as a 
geographical 
place name in the Bible.  But it’s got to be there.  This is largely a Hebrew 
language question, as we compare Egyptian letters to Biblical Hebrew 
equivalent letters in order to try to find the elusive “Jacob-El” in the 
Bible as a 
geographical place name in Late Bronze Age Canaan.  
 
Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois

**************A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy 
steps! 
(http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100000075x1215855013x1201028747/aol?redir=http://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=668072%26hmpgID=62%26bcd=De
cemailfooterNO62)