Biblical Hebrew Forum

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

George,

1. Your statement to the effect that my theory on the composition of  
the Hebrew root is wrong because it "is not supported by anyone else  
I know" is, I am sorry to say, irrelevant to the issue. Sorry to say,  
but it smacks of psychological warfare.
2. I have to reject also your next claim to the effect that it "does  
not seem to appreciate the way Semitic languages work". I am terribly  
sorry, but I refuse to take it for granted that you have the ultimate  
knowledge of "the way Semitic languages work".
3. There is nothing inherently contradictory in thinking that the  
Hebrew root is a composition. It stands to reason that the Hebrew tri- 
literal root did not jump into being wholly formed. In fact many  
basic Hebrew words are of a single-consonant root, to wit: )EL ---  
root L, )AB --- root B, )EM --- root M, )AX ---root X, RA( --- root R.
4. Plurality is such an important part of reality that it stands to  
reason that the ancients, even the ancient-ancients, had a word for  
it. I think it is AR or RA, and is still present in the Hebrew  
language in compounds. Here is how I analyze the word RABIM. It is  
the composition RA-AB-IM, where RA is for aggregation, AB is for  
bigness, and IM is the personal pronoun HEM, 'they', namely, RABIM =  
aggregated-big-they.
5. I am really at a loss to understand what you mean by "Verification  
here does not mean proof".
6. I do not see anything inherently wrong with what you call "your  
reasoning is entirely circular." You study the Hebrew language very  
carefully, You form in you mind a theory about its inherent  
structure, and then you use your theory to study it still further.  
Isn't this what a scientific theory is all about?
7. Now specifically to MIDBAR, there is no doubt in my mind that it  
is a variant of MICBAR, 'accumulation'. To what accumulation the  
ancients referred here is not revealed to us. I see that BDB,  
following Gesenius, thinks it is "a tract of land used for pasturage  
of flocks and herds", namely it is a MICBAR of sheep. How come there  
is a MIDBAR, 'wilderness', and a MIDBAR, 'mouth', he does not explain  
to us (I also think it is not 'mouth', but let this be).
So following through on my thinking that MIDBAR = MICBAR I am saying  
it is not in reference to sheep and goats. Hebrew does not call river  
the abode of fishes, nor lake the abode of ducks, nor mountain the  
abode of eagles. So what else is accumulated there? I say sand, dirt  
and stones, in agreement with the Mishnaic ZIBURIT, 'useless land'.

Isaac Fried

On Feb 4, 2009, at 7:49 PM, George Athas wrote:

> Isaac Fried wrote:
>
> "The root of the name is DBR containing the letter R. In my opinion
> every Hebrew root that contains the letter (or the uni-litteral root)
> R refers to a multi-particle material state. You can verify this by
> going over all the Hebrew roots containing this letter.
> The question is what is being aggregated or dispersed in the MIDBAR
> for it to be so called. Some think it is in reference to the flocks
> of sheep being brought there, while some think it in reference to its
> landscape of piled sand, earth and stones."
>
> There are a number of problems with this:
>
>
>  1.  Your assumption that each radical must have a particular  
> meaning on its own is not supported by anyone else I know of and  
> does not seem to appreciate the way Semitic languages work.  
> Therefore, who are the "some" who "think" the particle aggregation  
> or dispersion refers to sheep or raw materials, and that this is  
> specifically focused on the letter *resh* in the word MIDBAR?
>  2.  Verification here does not mean proof. You can always come up  
> with circumstantial evidence.
>  3.  Is 'particle aggregation or dispersion' a category the  
> ancients worked with? And I mean the real ancient ancients since  
> they would have to be the first speakers of a Semitic language? If  
> they did, how do you know? If you know from your theory of the  
> Hebrew language, then your reasoning is entirely circular.
>
>
>
> Regards,
>
> GEORGE ATHAS
> Moore Theological College (Sydney, Australia)
> www.moore.edu.au
>
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