Biblical Hebrew Forum

[jimstinehart AT aol.com]

1.  We are trying to figure out who the ZWZYM are at Genesis 14: 5, where 
that odd word follows the “rephaim” at Ashteroth [in the northern 
Transjordan].  From the fine work of Anson Rainey and other scholars, we know 
that at Ugarit, “rephaim” could refer to maryannu, and we know from Amarna 
Letter EA 197 that Hurrian maryannu/charioteers/rephaim were at Ashteroth.  
But then who are the ZWZYM?  Archaeology gives us our big non-linguistic clue 
here:  :  “[E]xcavations…have exposed Late Bronze Age pillared houses.  At 
Tel Ashtara in the western Hawran, perhaps ancient Ashtaroth, a metallurigcal 
workshop was exacavated.”  Peter M.M.G. Akkermans, Glenn M. Schwartz, “The 
Archaeology of Syria” (2003) at p. 351. 
Wherever the Hurrians went, including Ashteroth, they were famous for two 
things:  (1) horses and chariots, with the Hurrians being the best 
maryannu/rephaim/charioteers;  and (2) being master craftsmen, especially 
ceramic master craftsmen, as the Hurrians’ so-called “Nuzi Ware” were the 
best and most highly prized decorative pitchers in western Asia in the Late 
Bronze Age:  “In the otherwise rather dreary and uninspired corpus of 
Mesopotamian pottery dating to early historical periods, Nuzi ware stands out 
as something very special[, w]ith its elegant vessel forms and intricate 
patterns of white paint on a dark background….   Nuzi ware has been regarded 
as a palace ware, or luxury ware, on the grounds of its esthetic appeal and 
comparative luxury.”  Paul Zimansky, “The Origin of Nuzi Ware:  A 
Contribution from Tell Hamida”, in “Nuzi and the Hurrians” (1995) at pp. 75, 
83.  [“Nuzi ware” is a slight misnomer, in that it was made at many places 
where the Hurrians lived, not only at Nuzi.]  If you go to Google, then 
Images, and then type in “Nuzi ware”, you can see it.  Note that the classic 
Nuzi ware was highly decorative [white patterns on black background] luxury 
pitchers and goblets [not plates, etc.].
 
So in addition to pressuring the Hurrian maryannu/rephaim at Ashteroth at 
Genesis 14: 5, we would expect pressure to have been put also on Hurrian 
master craftsmen, perhaps including ceramic master craftsmen, who were the 
other most important Hurrians.  If both Hurrian charioteers and Hurrian 
master craftsmen could be commandeered, then the Hurrians in the Transjordan 
would be effectively controlled by the coalition of four attacking rulers 
[whose military muscle was supplied mainly by the Hittites, under Biblical 
“Tidal”].
 
2.  How would the brilliant early Hebrew author of the Patriarchal narratives 
say “Hurrian ceramic master craftsmen” [a term that might apply to master 
craftsmen generally]?  He would start with the root of the Hurrian word for 
“pitcher, vase, goblet”, and then add a standard west Semitic -YM suffix 
(meaning “people”).  The Hurrian word for “pitcher, vase, goblet” is:  
zuzu-xe.  The -xe ending is a standard Hurrian ending, as in kina-xxu [the 
Hurrian word for “purple”, which gave us “Canaan”];  that standard Hurrian 
ending means “coming from”.  The root of the Hurrian word for “pitcher, vase, 
goblet” is zuzu-.  
 
Based on the name at Nuzi in my prior post, Zu-U-zu [along with Zu-zu and 
Zu-zu-ya], we know that a middle syllable could appear in this Hurrian word, 
U, especially when it functioned as a proper name.  [That particular form was 
also helpful here, in making sure people did not confuse the Hebrew, Akkadian 
and Hurrian words for “breast”:  zizu/zizzi/ZYZ.]  So for the meaning 
“Hurrian ceramic master craftsmen”, the early Hebrew author of chapter 14 of 
Genesis came up with Zu-U-zu + YM, which in defective early Biblical Hebrew 
spelling is:  Z-W-Z + YM = ZWZYM.
 
3.  The linguistic key here is the interior vav/W in ZWZYM.  It’s its own 
separate syllable!  This is a 4-syllable word:  Z[u]-U-Z[u]-YM.  [It’s  n-o-t 
 “Zu-zim”, as a 2-syllable word in English.]  Once we recognize the 4 
syllables and think Hurrian, we see that this word at Genesis 14: 5 is a 
Patriarchal nickname for Hurrian ceramic master craftsmen, utterly brilliant 
in its conception [as per usual;  what else would you expect?], and with the 
stunning letter-for-letter accuracy we have come to expect in the Patriarchal 
narratives.
 
So Genesis 14: 5 is telling us that, in Year 14, a military contingent sent 
by a coalition of 4 attacking rulers not only pressured Hurrian 
maryannu/rephaim/charioteers at Ashteroth [per Amarna Letter EA 197], but 
also Hurrian ceramic master craftsmen/Z-W-Z + YM “in these (parts)”/B-HM, 
that is, at Ashteroth.  [HM means “these” or some related meaning, and  
n-e-v-e-r  means “Ham”.  There is no city name in greater ancient Canaan that 
begins with he/H.]  The coalition of four attacking rulers is nefariously 
commandeering Hurrian master craftsmen, such as the ceramic master craftsmen 
who made the world-famous “Nuzi ware” -- luxury pitchers with intricate white 
patterns on a black background.  
 
4.  There is no linguistic match of ZWZYM to either the Zamzummim giants in 
Deuteronomy, or Shasu in Egyptian, as university scholars would have it.  
[Can’t we all agree as to that?  ZWZ is not ZMZM!!!]  But if we focus on the 
interior vav/W in ZWZ-YM, we see that there is a letter-for-letter match to 
the 4-syllable Hurrian word [with a Hebrew suffix] meaning “Hurrian ceramic 
master craftsmen” [ultra-literally:  “(Hurrian) pitcher people”, and perhaps 
implying Hurrian master craftsmen generally]:  Z-W-Z + YM = Zu-U-Zu plus -YM 
= ZWZYM.
 
The  p-i-n-p-o-i-n-t  historical accuracy of the Patriarchal narratives never 
ceases to amaze.  There are no giants in the Patriarchal narratives.  [Why 
don’t mainstream university scholars realize that?]  But there are plenty of 
Hurrian words, which reflect the strong historical presence of Hurrian 
princelings in Canaan at the time of the composition of the Patriarchal 
narratives. 
 
Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois