Biblical Hebrew Forum

[K Randolph <kwrandolph AT gmail.com>]

David:

On Mon, Mar 14, 2011 at 9:25 PM, David Kolinsky <yishalom AT sbcglobal.net>wrote:

> Randall and Karl,
>
> I beg to differ with both of you.  There are a number of different roots
> from which any word spelled (רעיון) Ra(YoN  may have evolved:
>

I agree with you, that there are more than one “may have” possibilities, but
the question is, “did have”, and that can have difficulties. One possibility
even includes that it was an Aramaic loan word, and was’t built from any
Hebrew root. This is why I reject proposed root/derivative proposals unless
there is already a recognized connection between them of meaning that can be
recognized from their contexts.

>
> Those derived from a literal meaning of "to spread out / disperse":
> 1a - RooW(a (רוע) - found in the hiphil "to sound an alarm" and t'RooW(ah
> (תרועה) shout, alarm
> 1b - Ra(a( - (רעע) to shout
>
> 2a - Ra(aH (רעה) - to put out to pasture / feed, graze, to lead, go out
> with
>        ((2ai YaRa( (ירע)- to move back and forth))  -- NOT A POTENTIAL
> SOURCE
> 2b - Ra(a( (רעע) - to VIBRATE (move back and forth), shatter, be broken
> down, be impaired, treat badly, be displeasing
>
> Those derived from a literal meaning of "receive / perceive"
> 3a - Ra( (רע) - perception, thought
> 3b - Ra(aH (רעה) - to welcome, befriend, desire, take delight in, enjoy
>

I also don’t recognize roots that are not found in Tanakh. That does not
mean that I say that they did not exist, rather that we don’t have record
that they existed in Biblical Hebrew. Among the proposed roots that you list
above, I don’t find 1b, 3a, 3b nor the meaning that you list for 2b other
than the last one you list. How many of those roots are artifacts of the
Masoretic pointing, and how many actually existed?

>
> In all probability, both uses in Qohelet come from 3b:
>
> "taking delight in the wind" = >>>>  futility
> "taking delight of his heart" = >>>> the labor of the heart
>

I find this a stretch beyond what I personally would do.

>
> Cordially,
>
> David Kolinsky
> Monterey, CA
>

Karl W. Randolph.