Biblical Hebrew Forum

[K Randolph <kwrandolph AT gmail.com>]

And Garth, I see you included some examples of “garbage” that too often
infects this list—taking statements out of context, then using them to make
straw man logical fallacy attacks; saying ideas are wrong simply because
they are different than the theories that he believes; over-reliance on
models rather than direct observation; an unwillingness to provide data for
those whose access to libraries is either poor or non-existant (we have
members of this list living in third world countries), and so forth.

You can see why I often don’t answer such garbage.

Karl W. Randolph.

On Mon, May 17, 2010 at 10:19 PM, Garth Grenache
<garthgrenache AT hotmail.com>wrote:

>
> Amen to all of that, Yitzhak!
>
> Too much of that unscholarly garbage fills this list.
> At times I find the garbage dominates.
> It really puts me off sharing pearls on this list.
>
> Garth.
>
> > Additionally, [moderators ought rather to cut off] threads and posts
> > criticizing comparative linguistics as inappropriate
> > to the understanding of Hebrew, whether entirely or just by degree ("too
> much
> > use").  It is one thing to have a discussion of Biblical Hebrew on the
> basis of
> > standard linguistics, but it is another thing when every little
> > concept in modern
> > linguistics has to be re-established in long threads.  Those who don't
> accept
> > Modern Linguistics don't have to accept them, but this list is not the
> place to
> > debate the underlying concepts, or to intervene in every thread that
> makes use
> > of such concepts to say they don't agree.
> >
> > Additional topics could include:
> >
> > * That Biblical Hebrew was a CV language.
> > * That vowels in Hebrew are really pronouns interspaced between the
> roots.
> > * That reference to eminent scholars' views is faulty argumentation
> simply
> > because the author avoids going to the library and dislikes the idea that
> he
> > can't fully look up the quoted view without going to the library.
> > * That someone on the list doesn't know Hebrew, even if he is a
> recognized
> > scholar of Biblical Hebrew, and even if he is just a guy trying to grasp
> a hold
> > of the standard grammars.  This comes especially when it is voiced by
> those
> > who failed to master the Hebrew grammar and vocalization and believe that
> > rereading the Hebrew Bible a few dozen times without vocalization while
> it is
> > printed in "authentic" Old Hebrew font has given them a superior grasp of
> > Hebrew compared to others on the list.
> >
> > Yitzhak Sapir
>
>
>