Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Garth Grenache <garthgrenache AT hotmail.com>]

Interesting thoughts!

I don't find in any of them yet a good explanation for the R in Abraham.

'Ra' the Egyptian sun God doesn't convince me, because the 'a' in 'Ra' is not 
a vowel (as in the ra of Abraham), but is a consonant(pharyngeal fricative) 
sound like `ayin.

This is confirmed by the Hebrew spelling Ra`meses.

Indeed it is uncertain whether even the vowel between the r and ` in Egyptian 
Ra was originally 'a'.  Some spell it Re`.

So one who suggests that the 'ra' in Abraham is from Egyptian 'Ra', must also 
at least suggest why the `ayin sound is missing from Abraham.

Gesenius ( 
http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H85&t=KJV ) 
cites Arabic ruhaam- to mean 'a large number'.
Perhaps as is often so, Arabic has preserved a root that Hebrew has lost from 
general usage?

Kind regards,
Garth Grenache,
Australia.