Biblical Hebrew Forum

["James Spinti" <JSpinti AT Eisenbrauns.com>]

Jim,

Not without a lot of work--which I am not willing to do right now.
Personal names are notoriously difficult to date, identify as to
language, and translate. I guess that is why they are so often taken as
a dissertation project :)

If you are serious about what the names mean, I suggest you search on
Google, or your favorite search engine, for dissertations on personal
names in the ANE. If you have access to a library, you might find these
listed in Noth's classic work on PNs in the HB. Or, check in HALOT for
bibliography. 

Of course, you will have to redate everything to fit Karl's dating
theory, or you will have to relocate all the geographical locations to
fit your theories. But, the bibliography will get you started.

James

________________________________
James Spinti
Marketing Director, Book Sales Division
Eisenbrauns, Good books for more than 30 years
Specializing in Ancient Near Eastern and Biblical Studies
jspinti at eisenbrauns dot com
Web: http://www.eisenbrauns.com
Phone: 574-269-2011 ext 226
Fax: 574-269-6788 

-----Original Message-----
From: JimStinehart AT aol.com [mailto:JimStinehart AT aol.com] 
Sent: Friday, April 30, 2010 9:12 AM
To: James Spinti; kwrandolph AT gmail.com; b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] 1 Kings 20:14 Who are the young men, princes of
the districts?

James Spinti:
 
You could help clarify a lot of dating issues, both as to the Amarna
Letters (which are filled with non-Semitic names) and chapter 14 of
Genesis, for Karl and for me and for many other people, if you would
answer the following questions about 3 apparently non-Semitic names in
the "four kings against five" at Genesis 14: 1-11.
 
1.  )RYWK
 
What is the meaning of this Hurrian name?  Though a Hurrian name, is it
based on a Hittite word, which in turn is based on an Indo-Aryan word,
and does it mean:  "Mr. Aryan"?  In any event, what is the meaning of
the Hurrian name )RYWK at Genesis 14: 1, 9?
 
2.  )LSR
 
Is Arioch's kingly title the Hittite word "elassar"?  If so, why would
the kingly title of a person with a Hurrian name be a Hittite word?
Does )LSR/elassar mean "place of omens" in Hittite?  In any event, from
what language is )LSR at Genesis 14: 1, 9 coming, what does it mean, and
what is the significance of its meaning?
 
3.  XCCN TMR
 
Is this city name at Genesis 14: 7 a Hurrian name?  Does it mean "the
wisdom of nine"?  If XCC is the root of XCCN TMR, do you think that
Yigal Levin and Anson Rainey have found a bona fide match in the
Roman-era village Tamar, either as to the name (a name which has nothing
remotely like XCC), or as to the timing (with the village of Tamar not
being attested until over 1,000 years after the date as of which many
scholars see chapter 11 of Genesis as having been composed)?  Is that
claimed scholarly match so rock-solid that we should ignore the obvious
fact that the Amorites referenced immediately before XCCN TMR at Genesis
14: 7 are attested out the wazzoo in Lebanon in the Late Bronze Age,
while never being historically attested south of the Dead Sea?  If
chapter 14 of Genesis is truly ancient, as many scholars see it as
being, then how could it be so clueless as to the geographical locale of
the Horites/Hurrians in Genesis 14: 6 and the Amorites in Genesis 14: 7,
as scholars unanimously assert is the case?  Does the scholarly view of
these issues make sense?  You could greatly help in clearing up this
confusion by telling us from what language XCCN TMR is coming, and what
it means. 
 
You could go a long way in convincing Karl and me and others that
university scholars are honest and above-board, and are not hiding some
big secret, if you would give substantive answers to the foregoing
questions about 3 names in chapter 14 of Genesis that appear to be
non-Semitic names.  If we can understand these names in the Masoretic
Text, then we can decide if these are the types of non-Semitic names
that are commonplace in the Amarna Letters.  That in turn will help date
both the Amarna Letters and chapter 14 of Genesis.
 
We would all like to learn from your scholarly expertise in the ancient
languages as to the specifics of the foregoing 3 names from the "four
kings against five" at Genesis 14: 1-11.
 
Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois