Biblical Hebrew Forum

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

1. Laban spoke Aramaic.

2. I recall that when I was about 8 years old, a bedouin girl used to  
come with a flock of some 20 goats to graze on a field near our house  
at the edge of town, at the foot of the hills of Lower Galilee. I am  
almost sure she was younger than I. I did not dare come close and  
only looked at her from a safe distance as I was afraid of her  
stones. I vaguely remember that from time to time she had an older  
boy with her. One day I saw her with three women. They motioned (they  
spoke no Hebrew and I spoke no Arabic) to me to come closer. I went  
to them and they felt my soft blond hair with their brown fingers and  
giggled heartily to each other. Then I run back home.

Isaac Fried, Boston University

On Oct 1, 2011, at 9:50 PM, Will Parsons wrote:

> Hi Isaac,
>
> On Sat, 1 Oct 2011 18:53:37 -0400, Isaac Fried <if AT math.bu.edu> wrote:
> > The ending -IYN may be a plural marking. She called her son BEN- 
> > ONIY, the
> > son of my youth, and he called him BINYAMIYN, the son of my (many)  
> > days.
>
> My impression is that -in as a plural marking is Aramaic, which  
> surely would
> not be likely in a Hebrew name at this early an age?
>
> > I estimate that RAXEL was about 5 years old (proof: she was still  
> > single)
> > when YAAQOB first set eyes on her.
>
> I find that thought quite extraordinary - I realize that that in  
> ancient times
> people matured at an earler age than they do now, but I find the  
> thought that
> Jacob would be enraptured by a 5-year old, ... disconcerting to say  
> the least.
> And even then, would a 5-year old be entrusted with the task of  
> taking care of
> a flock of sheep on her own?
>
> --
> Will Parsons