Biblical Hebrew Forum

[fred burlingame <tensorpath AT gmail.com>]

Hello Matthew:

Thanks for your kind comments. I welcome your input.

My intent was/is not to become problem child of this forum. I simply wish to
learn more of the language. But the more I listen here, the more the
language seems to resemble the paradox manifest by uncertainty principle and
wave/particle duality.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncertainty_principle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave%E2%80%93particle_duality

I am happy to accept:

a. the impossibility of one to one correspondence between words of different
languages; and

b. the clarification of word meaning by usage context.

But even then, דג means wood; and עץ means fish .... never.

Likewise, time and eternity represent two mutually exclusive concepts. Time
changes. Eternity does not. Time enjoys past and future character. Eternity
does not.

Hence, Jonah cannot (reasonably) describe his condition as eternal, because
the change he seeks becomes impossible in eternity.

I invite however, your advices as to your understanding of עולם in the
context of jonah 2:6.

regards,

fred burlingame

On Mon, Dec 13, 2010 at 8:16 PM, pastormattfbcrankin <
pastormattfbcrankin AT gmail.com> wrote:

> Hello Fred,
>
> I'm afraid one of those isn't the best example.
>
> עץ = Tree, AND wood, lumber, sticks, kindling, wooden instruments, spear
> shafts etc, etc.
>
> Did the widow say to Elijah that she was gathering two trees to make a
> fire?
>
> Did Moses throw an entire tree into the waters at Marah? (I never realized
> he was so strong!)
>
> In Numbers 35:18, is this only applicable to someone who can wield a whole
> tree?
>
> Every language that I know (which isn't very many BTW) runs into the same
> issues.  Words derive meaning from their context.  Words have a range of
> meaning.   I guess what I'm saying is, why try to force the language to do
> something that it isn't intended to do?
>
> I will give you this though....you have stirred up quite a bit of dust on
> the list, as well as luring a lurker or two (like myself) out of the
> shadows.
>
> Warmest Regards,
>
> --Matthew Williams
>
>
>