Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Tory Thorpe <torythrp AT yahoo.com>]

You guys should just either not allow this stuff to make it on to the list in 
the first place or seriously engage it, not waste time mocking it with 
rhetorical exercise. Some of the points, had they been presented in the 
"right" way, might be worth a real discussion.

Tory Thorpe
Tel Aviv, Israel


--- On Thu, 3/10/11, Yigal Levin <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il> wrote:

> From: Yigal Levin <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il>
> Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] The meaning of Beersheba
> To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
> Date: Thursday, March 10, 2011, 10:54 PM
> Now wait a minute, George,
> 
> Since Beersheba is often used to symbolize the southern
> extent of the land, it must be synonymous with "Teman". Now
> Teman nowadays refers to Yemen, which is more or less where
> ancient Sheba might have been. But since they don't drink
> beer in Yemen, and certainly would never allow themselves to
> be ruled by a woman, we must look for another beer-drinking
> southern country ruled by a woman, whose name means "south"
> - if not in Hurrian, than in another Indo-European language.
> Now the only country I know of that is ruled by not one but
> THREE sheilas (Queen, Governor-General and Prime Minister)
> AND whose name means "south" - nah, but George, you wouldn't
> know about that place, would you?
> 
> Yigal Levin
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: b-hebrew-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org
> [mailto:b-hebrew-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org]
> On Behalf Of George Athas
> Sent: Friday, March 11, 2011 1:11 AM
> To: B-Hebrew
> Subject: [b-hebrew] The meaning of Beersheba
> 
> Scholars have for a long time wondered about the meaning of
> the name 'Beersheba'. It has traditionally been thought to
> mean 'Well of Seven' or 'Well of the Oath'. However, as we
> shall see, there are serious problems with these hypotheses.
> There is, however, a better explanation. Let me explain.
> 
> We know that Beersheba was settled originally because it
> provided a watering source for a small population. However,
> what was that water source? It has been thought that it was
> simply a natural water spring. However, if we think about
> the term באר, which is often translated 'well', we start
> to see a link with another type of 'water', namely 'beer'.
> In fact, the modern term 'beer' is probably a derivation
> from the Hebrew term באר. The vocalisation into two
> syllables in Hebrew may have been the result of Hurrian
> influence in the area (see below). It is just possible,
> therefore, that Beersheba was the site of an ancient pub or
> tavern that served beer, rather than simply the site of a
> well.
> 
> But this then raises the question of the 'sheba' element in
> 'BeerSHEBA'. Scholars have noted that the ayin (ע) at the
> end of the word suggests the root שׁבע, which can mean
> to take on oath, or the number seven. However, there are not
> seven wells here, so that theory should be discounted. But
> what, then, is the reference to an oath? Scholars often
> point to the narrative in Gen 21.31, which sees an oath
> being sworn at 'Beersheba'. However, given that this occurs
> in the vicinity of the Wilderness of Paran, which clearly
> means 'dense forest', that incident must have happened in
> Lebanon somewhere, where more trees do grow. Therefore, it
> inconceivable that any oath was made at Beersheba. So, what,
> then does the element שׁבע refer to?
> 
> The site of Beersheba lies sort of on the trade route to
> southern Arabia where the kingdom of Sheba was located.
> Sheba is usually spelled שׁבא with an aleph. However, if
> the element שׁבע in the name באר שׁבע is a
> reference to the kingdom of Sheba, then the shift from aleph
> (א) to the more deeply guttural ayin (ע) can be explained.
> If Beersheba was the site of a pub or tavern, and we know
> that Beersheba had a road leading to it from the south, then
> it's possible that beer brewed in Sheba was brought to the
> pub. Beer brought from such an exotic location would no
> doubt have made Beersheba famous, attracting even Hurrians,
> who were known for drinking themselves silly with fermented
> drinks. After all, Sheba was too far for them to travel to
> drink the beer in Sheba itself. Beersheba would have been a
> far more attractive location because of its geographical
> proximity (relatively speaking) to the Hurrian heartland. It
> is, therefore, plausible to suggest that many of the patrons
> of the pub in Beersheba were Hurrians who frequently became
> drunk. And in a drunken state, perhaps even with incipient
> vomiting occurring, a shift from a passive glottal stop
> aleph (א) to the more deep uvular guttural ayin (ע)
> occurred as Hurrians praised the 'Beer of Sheba'. This
> pronunciation evidently crystallised and remained permanent.
> This would explain the shift from באר שׁבא to באר
> שׁבע.
> 
> This also means that trade contact between Palestine and
> southern Arabia was occurring at a very early stage, at
> least before the patriarchal era.
> 
> I know this sounds a little far fetched, but it sounded
> really good to me when I thought of it. I'm going to let it
> ferment a little and see what happens.
> 
> 
> 
> GEORGE ATHAS
> Moore Theological College (Sydney, Australia)
> www.moore.edu.au
> 
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