Biblical Hebrew Forum

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

Hi Kevin!

The Sumerian parallel you raise is interesting. However, I don't think it's 
right to call it an idiom. An idiom is an expression whose meaning means more 
than just the sum of the individual words, so that the phrase needs to be 
taken as a singular whole. And usually the idiom comes in fixed phrasing. The 
Sumerian parallel you raise appears in extended poetry and runs over many 
lines, with lots of other imagery mixed throughout it as well.  I think what 
we have there is either a metaphor, simile, or a supernatural imaging of a 
catastrophic event. 'Idiom' does not seem to be the right classification.

And yet, even if it were an idiom, you would still need to bridge the gap 
between an ancient Sumerian idiom and a much younger Hebrew phrase.

Either way, I think the connection you've raised is tentative at best. There 
is nothing about clouds or storms in the Joshua narrative. In other words, 
the Joshua narrative does not have all the accessories that the Sumerian text 
has, making the connection, in my opinion, unlikely.


Regards,

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