Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Barry H." <nebarry AT verizon.net>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "George Athas" <George.Athas AT moore.edu.au>
To: "B-Hebrew" <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Wednesday, April 06, 2011 10:34 PM
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Ecles 10:2


> Doug,
>
> The term 'hand' (יד) is not actually there in the Hebrew text. This is not 
> a political statement (they wouldn't have had the right-left political 
> spectrum we refer to today). Instead, it is a reference to the generic 
> ancient belief that the right hand side was proper and 'right' (we even 
> preserve this notion in our English term), while the left was improper, 
> weak, or sinister. This notion of the 'sinister' is still preserved in 
> some Latin-based languages like Italian, in which 'left' is 'la sinistra'.

Indeed, the Latin word for "left" is 'sinister' and carries precisely that 
range of meaning -- it can mean literally "left-handed" or "on the left 
side," or it can mean what we mean by "improper, weak, or sinister."

N.E. Barry Hofstetter, semper melius Latine sonat...
Classics and Bible Instructor, TAA
http://www.theamericanacademy.net
(2010 Salvatori Excellence in Education Winner)
V-P of Academic Affairs, TNARS
bhofstetter AT tnars.net
http://www.tnars.net

http://my.opera.com/barryhofstetter/blog
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