Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Rolf Furuli <furuli AT online.no>]

Dear Jack,

We should all realize that ancient history cannot be proven!  The 
conclusions of the critical historian regarding ancient Israel is 
just as faith-based as the view of the fundamentalists. And your 
claim that Genesis-2Kings were composed in the late 7th century-early 
6th century B.C.E. has no foundation whatsoever; it is based on 
axioms, which per definition cannot be proven.

Best regards,

Rolf Furuli
University of Oslo



> From: JimStinehart AT aol.com
> Sent: Monday, August 30, 2010 11:17 AM
> To: jkilmon AT historian.net
> Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Aramaic to Hebrew language switch?
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------
> From: <JimStinehart AT aol.com>
> Sent: Thursday, August 26, 2010 4:10 PM
> To: <randallbuth AT gmail.com>; <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
> Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Aramaic to Hebrew language switch?
>
> >  Ed Walkwitz and Randall Buth:
> >
> >  In my considered opinion, the traditional interpretation of the
> >  Patriarchal
> >  narratives as to Abraham's origins is completely erroneous, both textually
> >  and historically.  I view the Patriarchal narratives as portraying Abraham
> >  as being indigenous to Canaan.  That is why the first Hebrews and the
> >  Canaa
> >  nites spoke the same language, having only minor dialectal differences.
> >  The
> >  Patriarchal narratives open with Abraham on a one-time caravan trip from
> >  Canaan way out to Ur in southern Kassite Babylonia, to buy lapis lazuli as
> >  commercial merchandise.  No, the early Hebrews weren't professional
> >  merchants,
> >  but this was a one-time desperation move in the face of having recently
> >  been
> >  reduced to living in tents in Canaan (whereas Abraham's father, Terakh, as
> >  a
> >  young man, and Terakh's ancestors at all times, had lived in settled
> >  villages in a more peaceful, prosperous Canaan).
> >
> >  Thus YHWH speaks to Abraham at Genesis 12: 1 in perfect Hebrew, a language
> >  that Abraham learned at his mother's knee and spoke as a native.
>
>
> I always find such historical/linguistic speculation based on Biblical
> narrative to be to be very awkward.  It places the critical historian in the
> uncomfortable position of challenging faith-based opinion and concepts.  The
> Biblical texts Genesis-2Kings were composed in Hebrew in the late 7th
> century-early 6th century BCE.  Place names and borders fit perfectly with
> the reign of Josiah.  The chronological context for the Patriarchal
> Narrative, aside from arguments regarding historicity, is sometime in Middle
> Bronze Age II (1950-1550) around 1800 BCE.  The Hebrew language of the
> Biblical texts did not exist at this time but if used broadly and
> anachronistically for Canaanite, there was indeed a Canaanite language even
> if the acrophonic abjad was not yet developed.  There was also a wave of
> Aramaean migration in the 2nd millennium BCE.  There was a Canaanite
> language in the Middle Bronze Age which a "Wandering Aramaean" could have
> adopted.  Canaan and Phoenicia are the same, both mean "Land of purple."
> If Abraham was an historical person who migrated to Canaan with his family
> in the Bronze Age, it is safe to assume they adopted the language and spoke
> "purplish."  When a loose confederation of nomadic tribes in Canaan became
> "Hebrews" is a separate argument.
>
> Jack
>
> Jack Kilmon
> San Antonio, TX
> _______________________________________________
> b-hebrew mailing list
> b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-hebrew