Biblical Hebrew Forum

[JimStinehart AT aol.com]

Rev. Bryant J. Williams III:
 
You wrote:  “Might I remind you that ‘wilderness’ does not necessarily 
mean ‘a tree forest’?”
 
I agree.
 
But the Hebrew linguistic question I am raising on the b-hebrew list is 
whether the phrase MDBR P)RN means “dense forest”.
 
I see P)RH as meaning “foliage of a tree”, per Ezekiel 17: 6.  
Accordingly, wouldn’t we then expect P)RN at Genesis 21: 21 to mean “place 
where there 
is abundant tree foliage”?  Based on linguistics, shouldn’t MDBR P)RN 
logically mean “a dense forest”?
 
Those are the Hebrew linguistic questions I am raising on the b-hebrew 
list.  Sorry for my long post, but I just wanted to point out the objective 
fact 
that in the Late Bronze Age, there indeed was a huge, dense forest 
immediately southwest of Beersheba of Galilee.  Accordingly, I think we 
should 
consider giving the normal, expected linguistic meaning to MDBR P)RN at 
Genesis 
21: 21, which as I see it would be “dense forest”.
 
Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois