Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Nir cohen - Prof. Mat." <nir AT ccet.ufrn.br>]

As for M(+ and Q+N, both words are used roughly the same number of times.
M(+ refers to a quantity of time, food, numbers, etc. while Q+N to physical
size and/or importance or rank. A quick survey did not show up any cases
where they are true synonyms, but a quick survey may have missed two or
three.

>
> Hope this helps,
>
> Paul Zellmer

it is my impression that quantifiers in the old languages were used
quite freely, as long as they conveyed the correct text-related message.
fred has provided some examples not long ago, though his perspective for these
examples may have been different. 

comparison of the various semitic language (for example, hebrew and arabic)
shows enormous variation and shift of meaning for most quantifiers 
(small/big/heavy/short/tiny/light etc). 

KTN in babylonian meant lean, thin. this is partially
reflected in 1kings 12:10. 

quantifier divergence has parallels in modern languages, e.g. for 
distances we have large="big/wide" (english), largo="long" (spanish), 
largo="wide" (portuguese).
 
nir cohen