Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Isaac Fried <if AT math.bu.edu>]

I think we mentioned this before. I understand the root CB to mean  
'large, inflated, copious, swollen, tumescent'. We have from it the  
verb CABAH צבה, 'to swell', of Nu. 5:27, the noun CABA) צבא,  
'army, multitude', the verb CAB( צבע, (at least in the present-day  
sense) 'to paint, to cover by paint', and ECBA( אצבע 'finger', all  
related to the root YCB יצב, 'erect, set up', and TOB טוב 'good,  
solid, stable' (in present-day Hebrew TOBIYN, 'goods' is טובין).
Hence the name CB-IY (the addendum -IY is, in my opinion, the  
personal pronoun 'he' for the thing itself) for the buxom (boxsome)  
animal with the tall and spreading antlers.
I suspect that the letter ayin in (OPER עפר of Cant. 2:9 is but a  
muted tsade, so that OPER = COPER = CPIYR, essentially a CBIYR.
The root CB is a variant of DB, ZB, TB, SB, $B, and we have from  
these the other animal names: CAB צב 'turtle, lizard?', DOB דוב  
'bear', ZEEB זאב 'wolf', CABOA( צבוע 'hyena?'.
The neophyte CIBYON צביון is, in my opinion, but $IWYON  
שוויון 'form', (see Is. 40:25) and has nothing to do with desire.

Isaac Fried, Boston University

On May 9, 2011, at 11:54 PM, Pere Porta wrote:

> My dictionary has three entries for CBY:
>
> 1. a noun meaning gazelle (Dt 12:15)
> 2. a noun meaning beauty, honor (Is 28:5)
> 3. a noun meaning north (Dn 8:9)
>
> and has noun CiBYWN, desire. This is not found in the Bible.
> Hebrew has also noun PiRYWN, fertility, of PRY, fruit.
> Remark that CBY and PRY belong to the same vowel pattern.
>
> Kind regards from
>
> Pere Porta