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  • From: Isaac Fried <if AT math.bu.edu>
  • To: JimStinehart AT aol.com
  • Cc: B-Hebrew List <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] lock without a key: Hebrew Root
  • Date: Wed, 3 Nov 2010 12:51:28 -0400

1. my understanding of the Hebrew language.
2. Not a suffix but a filler.
3. The root is RB, 'many'. ARBA, 'Four', is 'many', and SHEWA, 'seven', is still more.
4. See 2.
5. Yes, myself.

Isaac Fried, Boston University


On Nov 3, 2010, at 12:18 PM, JimStinehart AT aol.com wrote:

Isaac Fried:

You wrote: “As I see it, the Hebrew root is the consonantal "skeleton" left after a word is stripped of its prepositions and personal pronouns (essentially all vowels). I also remove the letters ALEP, AYIN, and a final HE.”

1. What is your basis for removing an ayin in order to reach the Hebrew root?

2. When an ayin is in final position, do you consider it to be a mere suffix?

3. For example, the traditional analysis of )RB( is that it has a tri-consonantal root, RB(, that the ayin is an integral part of the original root of that word, and that the final ayin cannot not be removed without destroying the meaning of the word, which is “four”.

4. Is it your view that for the many Hebrew verbs that end in ayin, such as $M( and YD(, the final ayin is a mere verbal suffix, which can be removed without violating the “consonantal skeleton” of the underlying true root of the word?

5. Do you have any scholarly authority you can cite for any of the above propositions?

Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois





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