Biblical Hebrew Forum

[jimstinehart AT aol.com]

Isaac Fried:

You wrote:  “In my humble opinion it is out of the question that the name 
YICXAQ יצחק means 'he will laugh'.”

In fact, that’s a very fitting name, because on five occasions Isaac is 
closely linked to “laughing” or “sporting”.

 1.  At Genesis 17: 17 Abraham “laughs”/YCXQ, and then two verses later comes 
the first mention of “Isaac”/YCXQ, whom YHWH promises that Sarah will bear to 
Abraham.  

2.  At Genesis 18: 12 Sarah “laughs”/TCXQ at the thought that old Abraham 
might still be capable of impregnating old Sarah.  At Genesis 18: 13 YHWH 
then asks why Sarah “laughed”/CXQH.  Then in the next verse comes YHWH’s 
response to the thought that YHWH might not grant a son [who obviously must 
be Isaac] to Sarah:  “ Is any thing too hard for the LORD?  At the time 
appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah 
shall have a son.”  Genesis 18: 14.  The next verse after that, Genesis 18: 
15, first features Sarah denying that she “laughed”/CXQTY, but then confirms 
that she in fact did “laugh”/CXQT, regarding the prospect of bearing a son 
[Isaac].

3.  At Genesis 21: 6, Sarah uses the word “laugh” twice regarding the birth 
of her son Isaac/YCXQ:  CXQ and YCXQ.

4.  At Genesis 21: 9, Ishmael is “laughing” or “sporting”/MCXQ with 
Isaac/YCXQ, which is the immediate occasion for Ishmael being exiled by 
Abraham, five verses later, at Sarah’s insistence.  That confirms that Isaac 
will be Abraham’s sole heir.

5.  Finally, at Genesis 26: 8 Isaac is “laughing” or “sporting”/MCXQ with his 
own wife, Rebekah, which three verses later causes princeling Abimelek to 
pronounce that Rebekah cannot be harmed in GRR.

My gosh, how could a text possibly have “laughing” or “sporting” more closely 
identified with a character than do the Patriarchal narratives regarding 
Isaac?  Certainly “Isaac” is a west Semitic name, and a meaning based on 
“laughing” or “sporting” fits the context five-fold, as per above.

Maybe the name “Isaac” has other levels of meanings as well.  But on the 
surface level, a meaning of “laughing” or “sporting” fits the context 
perfectly.

Why fight the text?  When the Bible is talking about Kenites or Kenizzites or 
“Hittites” or Jebusites, then take it to the bank, the personal names the 
Bible will pair with those Hurrian names are Hurrian [non-Semitic] personal 
names, such as Y(L/A-a-li, a Hurrian name that has nothing whatsoever to do 
with the west Semitic common word for “ibex”.  Just as surely, Abraham’s male 
heir will naturally have a west Semitic name, and the name “Isaac” has an 
appropriate meaning for what is going on in the text.  Yes, in the 
Patriarchal narratives an important name like “Isaac” may have multiple 
levels of puns, but at least one set of puns is based on the Hebrew common 
word that means “laughing” or “sporting”.

Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois