Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

b-hebrew - Re: [b-hebrew] $XR = black?

b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Biblical Hebrew Forum

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: JimStinehart AT aol.com
  • To: kevin AT bombaxo.com, b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] $XR = black?
  • Date: Thu, 2 Apr 2009 10:17:40 EDT


Dear Kevin Edgecomb and Karl:

1. Isaiah 27: 12-13 Is Not the Promised Land

Isaiah 27: 12-13 does not say that the Promised Land includes the Nile River
and the Euphrates River, or all the land between such rivers. On the
contrary, Isaiah 27: 12-13 explicitly says that any Hebrew at either of such
two
rivers is in the diaspora, n-o-t in the Promised Land. Any such
unfortunate
Hebrew in due course, if faith in YHWH is maintained, can look forward to
coming
home to beloved Jerusalem:

“In that day from the river Euphrates[?] [$BLT NXR] to the Brook[?] [River?]
[NHR] of Egypt the LORD will thresh out the grain, and you will be gleaned
one
by one, O people of Israel. And in that day a great trumpet will be blown,
and those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out
to
the land of Egypt will come and worship the LORD on the holy mountain at
Jerusalem.” (ESV of Isaiah 27: 12-13)

Even if NHR of Egypt were to be viewed as being the Nile River (a contested
view), still the Nile River is not part of the Promised Land! Any Hebrew at
the Nile River is clearly and unequivocally said to be one of “those who were
driven o-u-t to the land of Egypt”. If you’re within eyesight of the Nile
River or the Nile Delta, you’re not in the Promised Land, according to the
Bible.

2. Genesis 15: 18; 25: 18 Is Not the Promised Land

Genesis 15: 18 does not concern the Promised Land of Jacob’s descendants (the
Hebrews), but rather tells us what land Abraham’s descendants (including
Ishmael) will inhabit:

“On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your offspring
I give this land, from the river [NHR] of Egypt to the great river, the river
Euphrates’”.

As above, scholars disagree whether the NHR of Egypt there is the Nile River.
But even if it is, that promise to all of Abraham’s descendants, including
Ishmael, is then neatly fulfilled at Genesis 25: 18:

“They [Ishmael’s descendants] settled from Havilah to Shur, which is
opposite Egypt in the direction of Assyria.”

It’s Ishmael’s descendants, not Jacob’s descendants, who live in the Sinai.

3. $XR Is Not Shihor

Yigal Levin’s article sets forth the majority scholarly view of
$XR/$XWR/$YXWR as a geographical reference relating to Egypt. Believe it or
not, here it
is. $XR is not a Hebrew word, but rather is an Egyptian phrase. Yet though
the Egyptians consistently used this Egyptian phrase to refer to the
northeastern edge of the Nile Delta, the Hebrews often used this Egyptian
phrase with a
completely different meaning: $XR/Shihor in Hebrew (quoting Nadav Na’aman) “
developed into a more figurative term for ‘river’, ‘stream’ or ‘wadi’.” So
on the majority scholarly view that is taught in universities, $XR means “
Shihor” except that it doesn’t.

I can see why Kevin Edgecomb does not see that as being a compelling
linguistic analysis.

4. $XR vs. “Black”

Karl, Kevin Edgecomb, Nadav Na’aman and Yigal Levin all agree on one thing:
$XR, when used as a geographical term relating to Egypt, is n-o-t a Hebrew
word, and has nothing to do with the Hebrew common word $XR that means “black”
. All agree that it is a pure coincidence that the Hebrew common word $XR
means “black”, and that the Egyptians called their own country “Black”/Kemet,
with $XR (or $XWR or $YXWR) being used four times in the Bible to refer to
Egypt, never in a negative context.

Kevin Edgecomb and Karl would dispossess Ishmael’s descendants from the
Sinai, contra Genesis 25: 18, having the Promised Land of Jacob’s descendants
extend all the way to the Nile River! Mainstream scholars, for their part,
insist
with a straight face that $XR means “Shihor” but that it doesn’t. Yet all
agree that there’s zero possibility that $XR/$XWR/$YXWR is a Hebrew word
meaning
“Black”/Kemet/Egypt/bountiful Greater Egypt. Go figure.

Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois

**************Feeling the pinch at the grocery store? Make dinner for $10 or
less. (http://food.aol.com/frugal-feasts?ncid=emlcntusfood00000001)




Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page