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  • From: dwashbur AT nyx.net
  • To: B-Hebrew <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] lock without a key
  • Date: Tue, 02 Nov 2010 10:49:13 -0700



On 1 Nov 2010 at 21:28, fred burlingame wrote:

> Hello Paul:
>
> I agree with your comments.
>
> I would observe however, that in this particular case, we have:
>
> a. a parent hebrew verb with a meaning to bore or pierce;
>
> b. a child hebrew noun with two alternate meanings of wealth/goods
> and army;

Hebrew doesn't have such "parent" and "child" relationships. Most words
derive from a
common root, but that may or may not have any impact on their meaning in the
contexts
where they're used.

Semantics, and especially word definitions, are somewhat whimsical in any and
all
languages. A common example is the English "nice" which derives from a Latin
root
meaning "ignorant." And words change meaning over time, often for no
apparent reason.
The word "strike" means "hit" in bowling but "miss" in baseball. And so it
goes. Words
mean what they mean because a society chooses to use them that way, nothing
more.
Sometimes roots can give us insight, but most often they just muddy the
waters.

> c. and such two noun definitions used in two verses of close
> physical and
> subject matter proximity.
>
> The richness of these connections gives the hebrew reading consumer
> of the
> verses an entirely different understanding, than the disconnected
> english
> words reveal to the english reading consumer.
>
> Much of the hebrew meaning survives translation, not. Hence, the
> hebrew
> language appears locked to english or greek or any other language
> translation.

It's not locked at all. The key you're looking for is nothing more than
context. This is the
one and only genuine definitive determiner of word meaning. Other contexts
can give us
some ideas, but immediate context is the ultimate factor. If somebody says
"those are some
bad shoes you have there," only the context in which the statement is made
will tell you
whether they think your shoes are good or bad. Semantics is an arbitrary
force, and we do
well to deal with that force on its own terms. It saves a lot of headaches.

Dave Washburn

http://www.nyx.net/~dwashbur




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