Biblical Hebrew Forum

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

Randall's argument is both a combination of linguistics AND historical 
details. It does not lean purely on the etymology of two words. Therefore, 
those who are describing Randall's argument as purely linguistic are, I 
believe, missing the point of his argument and, as a result, its weight. 
Randall's argument that the Persian Era is the one most likely to have seen 
the transfer of Persian loanwords through Aramaic and into Hebrew is 
eminently plausible. So far, I haven't seen those arguing for a date before 
the Persian Era provide such a solid historical framework for this. Randall's 
argument, in my opinion, has far more explanatory power.

But, of course, that's just my opinion.


Regards,

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