Biblical Hebrew Forum

[jimstinehart AT aol.com]

Isaac Fried:

You wrote: “I would be careful in reaching the conclusion that PL$ is  
specifically 'invade' in its modern sense. It could mean just  
'spread, roll over', as in Micha 1:10, being a variant of PLS as in  
Ps. 78:50.”
 
I see the Biblical Hebrew meaning of PL$ as being “to burrow”.  That fits 
Jeremiah 6: 26;  25: 34;  Ezekiel 27: 30;  and Micah 1: 10.  I myself do not 
see PLS as being related to PL$, since their meanings are completely 
different.
 
If the 3-letter root means “to burrow”, and if PL$-T-YM is a derogatory 
Patriarchal nickname that means “the burrowers people”, then let’s see if 
that fits Genesis 26: 15: “For all the wells which his father's servants had 
digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines [PL$TYM/“the 
burrowers people”] had stopped them, and filled them with earth.”
 
The concept of filling wells with earth to stop them from working fits 
perfectly with a derogatory nickname of “the burrowers people”.  These 
foreign mercenaries were hired for the express purpose of burrowing into the 
wells in GRR and “filling them with earth”, in order to stop these wells from 
working, so that Abimelek would not have water.
 
The PL$-T-YM are “the burrowers people” who burrow into wells to sabotage 
them from working, by “filling them with earth”.  The verbal root PL$ means 
“to burrow” every time that verb is used in the Bible.
 
To me, this west Semitic etymology works perfectly on all levels.  Although 
the PL$-T-YM may well have been non-Semitic peoples, featuring non-Semitic 
names like “Phicol”, nevertheless the name PL$-T-YM/“Philistines” is a virgin 
pure west Semitic/Hebrew name, being a derogatory Patriarchal nickname for 
these foreign mercenary saboteurs.
 
I agree with your point that the modern meaning of “invade” is not good here. 
 But the Biblical meaning of “to burrow” works perfectly in the context of 
Genesis 26: 15, as far as I can see.
 
Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois