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  • From: Mark Spitsbergen <awakesd AT mac.com>
  • To: Hebrew <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [b-hebrew] Fwd: bavel
  • Date: Sun, 31 May 2009 08:46:26 -0700

Correction: ve-safah )ahat (and language one)

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Begin forwarded message:

From: Mark Spitsbergen <awakesd AT mac.com>
Date: May 30, 2009 12:07:33 PM PDT
To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: bavel


Dear list please bear with me and help me address the subject of Hebrew and its precedence over other ancient languages. I believe that the Torah is the highest level of authority and most accurate document of the history of man.Therefore, it stands to reason that there was only one language at the onset of creation and preserved until bavel, )ehad ve-safah (Genesis 11:6). Now if the division of language took place miraculously at 'bavel' (Genesis 11:2), before each nation was divided according to their language (Genesis 10:5) then shouldn't we assume that there would not necessarily be any evidence of a linguistic evolution from the singular language of bavel into the diverse tongues of the nations? If we then assume that the oral tradition of scripture was preserved in the language of the Torah then Hebrew would be that language, correct? If the Torah then is a preserved autograph of scripture shouldn't the five books also be a preserved transcript of that language? Are there any truly linguistic facts (not hypothesis misnomered as theories) to the contrary (other than the script/font)?

Finally, should we even be attempting to define Hebrew with the Ugarit language as Dahood and others have done with the Ras Shamra text? Is it wise to attempt to define the most ancient Hebrew words through the definitions given to Akkadian words? Who defines how we set precedence and where we gain a sensible balance in this quest to truly define a meaning of any particular word in the Torah?

Thanks,

Mark Spitsbergen



  • [b-hebrew] Fwd: bavel, Mark Spitsbergen, 05/31/2009

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