Biblical Hebrew Forum

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

Naama,

Ground sounds good. Compare the root עפר with the roots אפר,  
אבר, עבר, עור, פרר, ברר.

Isaac Fried
Boston University

On Nov 10, 2009, at 2:44 PM, Naama Zahavi-Ely wrote:

> Shalom!
>
> The problem is that you are dealing through English with something  
> for which there is no good English term.  I run into this problem  
> every year as I read the text of Genesis 1-3 with intermediate  
> Hebrew students.  "Afar," which is translated as "dust," is  
> actually not (dry, wind-blown) dust but rather earth/soil as  
> material -- that is, the collective term for particles of earth  
> that one can pick up and pinch between one's fingers.  It can be  
> dry or moist, and it can be formed.  I have not been able to find a  
> better English word -- every possibility I can think of has other  
> connotations that are misleading (ground?  earth?  soil?).
>
> I also agree with Yigal's reasoning -- you can't apply Aristotelian  
> logic to the Hebrew Bible (or for that matter to most usage of any  
> language).  But in this case, the argument is not necessary.
>
> Best wishes
>
> Naama Zahavi-Ely
> College of William and Mary
>
> > Message: 3
> > Date: Mon, 9 Nov 2009 17:59:46 -0700
> > From: Gerry Folbre <gfolbreiii AT gmail.com>
> > Subject: [b-hebrew] watered ground & forming dust
> > To: B-Hebrew <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
> > Message-ID:
> >         <a79631010911091659rf59c74ewaf2c29d1d0c10644 AT mail.gmail.com>
> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
> >
> > I would like to discuss what I perceive as incongruent anomalies  
> > composed
> > within Gen. 2:6b & 2:7a.
> >
> > Gen. 2:6b ????? ???????????????? ...  {and irrigated [watered/made  
> > wet] the
> > whole face of the ground).
> >
> > Gen. 2:7a ... ????? ???? ????? ??????? ??? ????????  {and it  
> > formed the
> > human archetype of dust from the ground ...)
> >
> >
> >
> > Gen. 2:6b states that the entire face (surface) of the ground is  
> > irrigated.
> > But then Gen. 2:7a not only describes ?dry, loose earth (or dust)?  
> > being
> > found upon the newly irrigated surface of the ground, Gen. 2:7a also
> > apparently stats that somehow this ?dry, loose earth (dust)? can  
> > somehow be
> > ?formed?.  However, ?dust (dry, loose earth) from the ground? is  
> > not an
> > earthly substance that lends itself to being ?formed {like a  
> > potter forms a
> > vessel)?.
> >
> >
> >
> > If there is anyone who may have some constructive insight into these
> > contextual anomalies, I look forward to discussing these subjects  
> > with you.
> >
> >
> >
> > Gerry Folbre
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