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  • From: "Nir cohen - Prof. Mat." <nir AT ccet.ufrn.br>
  • To: Isaac Fried <if AT math.bu.edu>
  • Cc: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] a tale of three languages: a case study
  • Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2011 23:47:27 -0300

given the arab tha'alab for fox, can we interpret this archeological
toponym as pre-hebrew "foxes"?

http://www.biblelandpictures.com/gallery/gallery.asp?action=viewimage&categoryid=64&text=&imageid=4739&box=&shownew=

nir cohen

On Wed, 5 Jan 2011 20:45:17 -0500, Isaac Fried wrote
> Methinks that first came the root $L 'tall', (actually, I think that
> first came the single-consonant roots $ and L), then came the
> words: $ALAH, 'pull up' (related to TALAH), MI-$OL, 'road, path,
> DEREK SLULAH', $UAL, 'fox', $UL, 'fringe', $ALAL, ' (piled up)
> booty', E $EL, 'tree', $ALO$, 'three', *$AL$ELET, 'chain', *$LULIYT,
> 'puddle', etc.
>
> Isaac Fried, Boston University
>
> On Jan 5, 2011, at 7:36 PM, Nir cohen - Prof. Mat. wrote:
>
> >>> or to put it another way; what was the language of the gov't; of
> >>> the >>
> > priests; of the aristocracy; of the peasants on the street; of the
> > middle >>
> > class; .... of lord& master to the servant in the home?
> >
> > fred would give a kingdom (which?) to find out in what language(s)
> > samson
> > talked with delilah and bil'am with his mule. here i give just one
> > case study.
> >
> > samson's story is really about semitic puns, mostly easy ones (was
> > he teaching
> > the philistines basic applied semitic lessons? no, because
> > delilah's name is already semitic!).
> >
> > but one of the puns i only uncovered reading my arabic dictionary:
> > the story
> > of the torched foxes. the question is: why did samson choose foxes
> > and not,
> > say, wolves for his torches?
> >
> > clearly, because of their tails!!!
> >
> > it happens that torch in arabic is sha'le and fox in hebrew is shu'al.
> >
> > then, which etymology came first for the root "$(L": torch or wolf?
> >
> > a plausible answer is that there is some similarity between the
> > shape of the
> > torch fire and the fox tail, giving an ancient common semitic word,
> > on which
> > samson created his jem.
> >
> > interestingly, the arabic word for fox is th(lb, which maybe is
> > more ancient,
> > or maybe just closer to aramaic, considering the th --> sh
> > transformation.
> > conclusion: fox came before fire?
> >
> > in a very long shot, in indo-european can "fox" and "foco/fogo",
> > "zorro" and
> > "zoroaster" be related in a similar way ? i wouldnt bet fred's
> > kingdom on it.
> >
> > nir cohen
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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> > b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
> > http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-hebrew


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