Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

b-hebrew - Re: [b-hebrew] Why Etymologies for Jacob's 11 Oldest Sons?

b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Biblical Hebrew Forum

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Isaac Fried <if AT math.bu.edu>
  • To: Yigal Levin <Yigal.Levin AT biu.ac.il>
  • Cc: b-hebrew <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Why Etymologies for Jacob's 11 Oldest Sons?
  • Date: Wed, 12 Oct 2011 08:44:39 -0400

It all depends on the degree of credulity with which one is prepared to look at the ultimately compact and often intentionally oblique and tendentious biblical narrative.

As I said before, biblical names are compounds and need not mean what they appear to mean were they words, the biblical midrashic etymology notwithstanding. Even NABAL may not be of the root NBL.

I am unable to bring myself to believe that Zbulun is "derived" from the root ZBL. Seems to me that it hides some theophoric or "positive" concepts, but what they are is not clear. Are they ultimately AZ, AB, EL, ON?

I believe that there is agreement on the names DAN (ADON=AD-ON?), GAD (GA-AD?), A$ER (AZ-AR, E$-OR, I$-IR?), YHUDAH, ISSAKAR (I$-SAKAR?, with I$ being a deity, as in IY$AY of Beit Lexem) that they are theophoric.

Possibly, IYZEBEL = I$-ZEBEL the same way that $IMON = I$-MAON (see Ps. 90:1).

Isaac Fried, Boston University

On Oct 12, 2011, at 6:02 AM, Yigal Levin wrote:

Why would it be? Zebulun and Iyzebel (Jezebel) are probably both derived
from Zebul, but Eshbaal, the son of Saul whom the book of Samuel calls
Ishboshet, probably means "Man of Baal" - "Baal" in this case referring not
to the Canaanite deity but to YHWH. Nowhere in the Bible are Saul and his
family accused of idolatry.

Yigal Levin





Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page