Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Isaac Fried <if AT math.bu.edu>]

Strange, strange, curios, curios.

1. Both ABRAHAM (Ge. 17:17) and SARAH (Gen. 18:12) performed the act  
of צחק inwardly, apparently without uttering a sound.

2. Then, in 18:13-15, there is this petty argument about the "laughing".

3. Then, in Gen. 21:3, it is stated that ABRAHAM called his son  
YICXAK, but with no reference to this previous incident of the  
"laughing", except that SARAH is saying now (21:6) that other people  
will laugh. The laugh of derision?

4. Did SARAH call him by a different name?

5. The bible goes out of its way to make it clear to us that צחק is  
not mere laughing, to wit: Gen. 21:9, Gen 26:8, Gen. 39:14 and Ex. 32:6.

6. I still can not imagine parents calling their son by the silly  
name of Willlaugh. I suspect you might encounter objections from the  
registrar upon trying
to call a son Willsinganddance.

7. Conclusion: YICXAK is not what it seems to be. Namely, a Hebrew  
name is not a Hebrew word.

Isaac Fried, Boston University

On Nov 27, 2010, at 7:14 PM, fred burlingame wrote:

> Hello Isaac:
>
> A mother naming her son יצחק sounds entirely reasonable in the  
> context of this happening prior to pregnancy.
>
>  ויאמר יהוה אל אברהם למה זה צחקה שרה  
> לאמר האף אמנם אלד ואני זקנתי
>
> genesis 18:13
>
> regards,
>
> fred burlingame
>
> On Sat, Nov 27, 2010 at 4:36 PM, Isaac Fried <if AT math.bu.edu> wrote:
> 1. Consider my friend Yankaleh Xazanc'ic
> 2. Do you really believe that a mother in her right mind would call  
> her son YICXAK, 'he will laugh'?
>
> Isaac Fried, Boston University
>
> On Nov 27, 2010, at 8:33 AM, Arnaud Fournet wrote:
>
> Who can believe that a Semitic name could be suffixed by the  
> grammatical morphemes of another language?
> A.
>
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