Biblical Hebrew Forum

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

So, do you think that XOMAH, 'wall', is also related to heat,  
possibly because it keeps the enclosed town cozy and warm?

Isaac Fried, Boston University

On Jan 20, 2009, at 2:29 PM, Stephen Shead wrote:

> George (and Oun and others),
>
> You said: "You may see two concepts, but Hebrew does not." I'm  
> afraid I
> disagree - and you go on to contradict yourself, in your example about
> "run", where you say: "The concepts are very far apart, and yet the  
> one word
> is used for all of them." This is the point of metaphoric language:  
> if there
> is an obvious correspondence or conceived connection between two  
> different
> CONCEPTS, that construed connection will often show itself in a  
> language;
> i.e. one word (or word family) can serve for multiple concepts. In  
> my view,
> if a translation doesn't attempt to wrestle with the question at a
> conceptual level, it isn't a (good) translation at all.
>
> The construed connection between the physical/experiential concept  
> HEAT and
> the emotional concept ANGER is well documented in the linguistics
> literature, and (as far as I understand) exists in diverse language
> families. Presumably this has to do with the fact that we become  
> hotter (and
> redder) when we become angry. So a connection between XOM "heat"  
> and XEMAH
> "anger" is entirely to be expected, and should not be written off as
> accidental. Conversely, it is almost always obvious in the context  
> whether
> an emotional or a physical state is meant.
>
> And as an aside to Isaac Fried, your root analysis of XOM/XEMAH  
> ("XEMAH,
> 'anger', needs have nothing to do with heat") ignores this cross- 
> linguistic
> data in favour of your theory about the Hebrew root system.
>
> What to do with Ezekiel 3:14, then? Firstly, Bill Rea suggested  
> "heat" as
> his initial translation. But even if you translate it as "heat",  
> surely you
> are interpreting it metaphorically. You're not suggesting that  
> Ezekiel was
> out in the sun too long and wanted a drink and some shade? If not,  
> it's some
> kind of emotional state - which is confirmed by the parallel with MAR
> "bitter", and the phrase itself "XEMAH of my spirit". So what kind of
> emotional "heat"? Leaving it completely uninterpreted simply avoids  
> the
> translation issue and hides behind a "gloss".
>
> Secondly, XEMAH seems to refer very consistently either to "poison"  
> or to
> "rage, wrath". That is, there are two clear-cut and common senses  
> elsewhere,
> so we need a strong indication of something else here. Does  
> "poison" work
> metaphorically here (meaning something similar to bitterness)? That  
> is much
> less likely than "rage" in my opinion, given that "rage" is the  
> obvious
> "emotional state" sense. (In fact, it never actually means "heat"  
> in the
> physical sense, unless I'm missing something, so why would we  
> translate it
> as that?)
>
> So after all that, I think it is pretty straightforwardly "anger of my
> spirit". That would leave us with the more interesting question of  
> WHY he
> goes away in a rage - and Bill's thoughts sound good to me. And  
> perhaps a
> little rage at the people's sin was needed to make him hard and  
> unmoveable
> (cf. 3:8-9)?
>
> Stephen Shead
> Centro de Estudios Pastorales
> Santiago, Chile
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> > From: George Athas <George.Athas AT moore.edu.au>
> > To: B-Hebrew <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
> > Date: Tue, 20 Jan 2009 11:25:54 +1100
> > Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Re Ezk 3:14 in the heat of my spirit
> > > I see two concepts are simply far apart.
> >
> > And there, I think, is the problem, Oun. You may see two concepts,  
> > but
> > Hebrew does not. And you cannot impose your own view onto Hebrew.  
> > Each
> > language has its own system of logic, which we call grammar,  
> > syntax, and
> > semantics. You have to accept it for what it is. There is a big  
> > difference
> > between learning and imposing.
> >
> > I've used this example before, but how would you take the word  
> > "run" in
> > English? If it means "to move quickly with the feet", then what do  
> > you do
> > with phrases like "run a business" or "run a computer"? It's just the
> > semantic range of the word applied in different contexts. It just  
> > is! The
> > concepts are very far apart, and yet the one word is used for all  
> > of them.
> >
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > GEORGE ATHAS
> > Moore Theological College (Sydney, Australia)
> > www.moore.edu.au
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