Biblical Hebrew Forum

[JimStinehart AT aol.com]

Isaac Fried:
 
1.  You wrote:  “I don't think there is a Hebrew root meaning ‘mighty’.”
 
)YL, and sometimes its alternate form )WL and its shortened form )L, are 
the basis for many Hebrew words and names based on the concept of “mighty”.  
 
(i)  )WL means “mighty, strength”.
 
(ii)  )WLM and )LM mean a portico, vestibule or porch created by “mighty” 
posts or columns.
 
(iii)  )YL usually means “ram”, the “mightiest” adult male sheep, but at 
Isaiah 1: 29 and Isaiah 61: 3 it means “oak tree”, the “mightiest” tree.
 
(iv)  )YL means “strength”, which is the quality of being “mighty”.
 
(v)  )YL means either “deer” or “stag”.  Some scholars think that the 
meaning is the “mightiest” adult male deer.  But others, reasoning from the 
cognates that you dislike, see a different root for this word, which simply 
means “deer”, and is not a play on “mighty”.
 
(vi)  )YLH means either a female deer, or the female of a “mighty” male 
deer.
 
(vii)  )YLT is also a female deer.
 
(viii)  )YLWT means “strength”, which is a play on “mighty”.
 
(ix)  )YLM in full form, but usually it’s shortened to )LM, dropping the 
interior yod.  Scholars split on whether it means “arch” or “vestibule”, but 
the meaning is probably based on “mighty” columns.
 
(x)  Elon at Joshua 19: 43 [or Aijalon/Elon, or “tiny Aijalon”] is )YLWN.  
The meaning is likely “mighty tree place”.
 
(xi)  Aijalon at Joshua 19: 44 has the same spelling at #x above:  )YLWN.  
Yet the meaning of the name of this famous city may be different.  It may 
mean “deer place”.  Per the Amarna Letters, it was pronounced a-ia-lu-na, 
with a consonantal yod, which is the hallmark of cognates that mean “deer”.
 
(xii)  Another place with the spelling )YLWN at the beginning of its name 
is at I Kings 4: 9.  This part of its name means “oak-grove”, that is, “
mighty tree place”.  (This may or may not be the same place as x or xi.)  The 
Shephelah was famous for its oak trees that lined the edges of the valleys, 
so 
many names based on “mighty tree” or “oak tree” appear in the Shephelah.  
We would not expect to see any such names in southern hill country, and we 
don’t.
 
(xiii)  )YLT is the desert equivalent of “mighty tree”, in context 
referring to palm trees.
 
(xiv)  )YLM has the same meaning as #xiii.
 
Please note that with the possible exception of the “deer” words and 
names, every single one of the west Semitic words and proper names in Hebrew 
that 
begins with )YL is a play on “mighty”.  Note that while retention of that 
interior yod is the most common pattern, (i) that interior letter can in two 
cases be a vav, and (ii) we have already seen two cases where the interior 
letter can be dropped entirely, with no change in the underlying meaning, 
which remains a play on “mighty”.
 
In a handful of cases, the interior yod in )YL is dropped, yet the 
remaining )L still means “mighty”.  In that handful of cases, the )L word can 
nicely recall a )YL proper name.  As such, )LNY at Genesis 13: 18 can recall 
)YLWN in the plural, that is, the two Aijalons in the Aijalon Valley.  )LNY 
means both “mighty tree places of” and “Aijalons of”.  [Mamre/MMR( refers to 
the Amorite princeling ruler of Gezer who dominated the Aijalon Valley in the 
Amarna Age:  Milk-Ilu.  The pinpoint historical accuracy of the Patriarchal 
narratives is absolutely stunning.]
 
(xv)  )L is traditionally seen as meaning “mighty, strength, Almighty”, 
though some scholars deny that.
 
(xvi)   )LH is a “mighty tree”, the “oak”, and has the identical meaning 
as a proper name.
 
(xvii)  )LWN is a “mighty tree”, such as an “ oak”.  As a geographical 
place name it has the same meaning.
 
Based on the foregoing 17 cases, )YL is a root that means “mighty”, and on 
occasion, )WL and )L can be variants of )YL and mean “mighty”.  Most 
importantly, in those limited cases where a )L word is based on “mighty”, 
such 
)L word can nicely recall a proper name that starts with )YL, because the 
meanings are identical.
 
2.  You wrote:  “The single consonant Hebrew root L represents elevation or 
loftiness, as in the words EL, UL, OL, (LEH, LUL, etc.”
 
No, the most common meaning of )YL is “ram”, which has nothing to do with “
elevation” or “loftiness”, but rather is the “mightiest” sheep.
 
3.  You wrote:  “The yod in AYAL איל is possibly a softened $ or C. 
Compare with the tree name E$EL of Gen. 21:33, and ACIYL, 'noble?' of Ex. 
24:11.”
 
No, )YL is either a play on “mighty”, as shown above, or else means “deer”
.  The yod is not a “softened $ or C”;  in fact, the yod often drops out.
 
4.  You wrote:  “Possibly related to this is the ATAL- in the name 
ATAL-YAH.   
The YAEL of Job. 39:1 is, in my opinion, a variant of $UAL, 'fox?' of Cant. 
2:15.”
 
None of that has anything to do with )YL.
 
5.  You wrote:  “It is a good idea to leave out any reference to ‘cognates’
.”
 
Who’s afraid of cognates?  None of my views require avoiding cognates.
 
Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois