Biblical Hebrew Forum

[George Athas <George.Athas AT moore.edu.au>]

Hi David!

I'm sorry you feel I've ignored your statements, but I actually didn't. Let 
me address your concerns.

Firstly, the concept of פרד meaning 'division': You'll notice that I said it 
'usually' indicates dispersion. When there is a singular subject, it can mean 
simple division—that is, keeping things apart. But that's not the end of it. 
When there is a plural subject, it usually indicates spreading out or 
dispersing. That tells you that the word doesn't simply mean to separate into 
camps, but rather to remove something away from its place, or to spread 
something out. In other words, it indicates a dislocation of some kind. The 
examples you cite seem to accord with this definition. So, my question is 
this: Since you are basing פרדס on the root פרד, how exactly does it fit into 
the etymology and/or nuance of the root? What is the division or dislocation 
going on? It's not exactly clear to me.

Secondly, appealing to ספרד (Sepharad) doesn't add much to the argument for 
פרדס. In fact, if anything, it does the opposite. It is a toponym and, as 
such, a proper noun. It most likely refers to Sardis in Asia Minor (referred 
to as Sparda in Babylonian and Persian texts) and is, therefore, a loanword 
(if you can call proper nouns loanwords). Also, to propose a Semitic 
etymology for ספרד means you should really propose Semitic etymologies for 
other foreign toponyms, also. In any case, I still come back to the question: 
What is the samekh doing there? What is the evidence that it means "a land" 
in the meaning "a land set far off"? Is there any hard data on this, or is it 
speculation based on silence?

Thirdly, I know that iron was used as an implement in war to cut people down. 
However, the root ברז doesn't simply mean to 'pierce' or 'stab' or 'cut'. It 
has the sense of manufacturing a hole—that is, drilling or boring. This is a 
slightly different concept to the cut and thrust of inflicting battle wounds. 
Is there any evidence of ברז being used to describe what happens in battle, 
either in a Hebrew or Aramaic text? If there is, I'll happily stand corrected 
on the semantic range of the root in Hebrew. Just show me the evidence first.

Cheers!

GEORGE ATHAS
Moore Theological College (Sydney, Australia)
www.moore.edu.au