Biblical Hebrew Forum

[George Athas <George.Athas AT moore.edu.au>]

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

Answer: No. The primary purpose of city walls was defence of the city's 
residents. It had nothing to do with temperature insulation. To claim that 
XOMAH ('wall') is linked semantically to XOM ('heat') is pushing credulity, 
in my opinion. I don't think the suggestion has any more credence than 
arguing that 'bear' (to have children) is related to 'bare' (naked) because 
children are born naked.



Regards,

GEORGE ATHAS
Moore Theological College (Sydney, Australia)
www.moore.edu.au