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b-hebrew - Re: [b-hebrew] FYI: Aramaic study

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  • From: Isaac Fried <if AT math.bu.edu>
  • To: fred burlingame <tensorpath AT gmail.com>
  • Cc: Hebrew List <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] FYI: Aramaic study
  • Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2011 20:20:46 -0500

You are are right.

1. Pilling up frogs in a conical heap forms a DGOR (or YGAR. See Gen. 31:47).
2. Pilling up frogs in a circular heap forms a GADER (or KETER, KADUR, QDERAH, etc.).
3. Pilling up frogs in a serrated heap forms a MA-DREGAH.

Otherwise, thanks for the useful links.

Isaac Fried, Boston University

On Jan 4, 2011, at 8:20 PM, fred burlingame wrote:

Hello Isaac:

Thanks for taking the time to furnish your insightful comments.

I suppose what concerns me about this process, follows. At first blush, you appear to furnish a nice solution, a guide for perplexing and infrequently used hebrew words. In other words, look east towards the eastern language, aramaic translation. But I wonder, whether we are wading into a swamp of quicksand from which there is not return.

1. The meaning of aramaic דגר (de-gar), "heap," in exodus 8:10; seems a bit different than the meaning of hebrew דגר (da-gar) in isaiah 34:15 and jeremiah 17:11, "brood over."

2. The piling up of dead frogs in heaps differs from the arrangement of live chicks by mother hen under wing. But I can see how the aramaic helps to understand the hebrew.

3. When we observe targum jonathan of isaiah 34:15 and jeremiah 17:11 however, yet different aramaic words appear to translate hebrew "da-gar" דגר .

http://cal1.cn.huc.edu/searching/targumsearch.html

4. Further, the famed western language greek translation of isaiah 34:15 veers off in an entirely different direction.

http://apostolic.interlinearbible.org/isaiah/34.htm

I just wonder in light of the above whether we are better off choosing one version of the text, be it the western language translation, the eastern language translation, or the hebrew rendition ... and sticking with it ... for better or worse?

regards,

fred burlingame

p.s. כבד (ka-ved) appears frequently used in hebrew; so the need for reference to aramaic translation arises not?


On Tue, Jan 4, 2011 at 4:31 PM, Isaac Fried <if AT math.bu.edu> wrote:
Here are examples where the TARGUM adds insight into the Hebrew. XAMARIM ( חמרם ) of EX. 8:10 is rendered by Onkelos DGOR-IYN ( דגורין ), helping us with the meaning of the Hebrew root DGR ( דגר ). W-HA-KBED ( והכבד ) of next verse 11 is rendered by him W-YAQAR ( ויקר ), helping us with the meaning of the Hebrew root YQR ( יקר ).

Isaac Fried, Boston University





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