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  • From: George Athas <George.Athas AT moore.edu.au>
  • To: B-Hebrew <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Fw: Re: Pardaes and barzel
  • Date: Wed, 9 Mar 2011 10:08:30 +0000

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




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