Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Chavoux Luyt <chavoux AT gmail.com>]

Shalom

I have a question that is also kind of related to Archaeology and other ANE
languages. As I understand the Bible, Ivrim (עברים) (e.g. Gen.40:15) comes
from B'nei Ever ( בני עבר ) (Gen.10:21) and is normally used by the
patriarchs to refer to themselves when talking to others. It also appears
to be a wider group than just the children of Israel (B'nei
Yisrael/Yisraelim). In addition to talking about the descendents of Ever,
one of the descendants of Shem and and ancestor of Abram, it might also
refer to group of people who trekked across (avar) the River (Euphrates)
and lived in a nomadic/semi-nomadic lifestyle. I always assumed something
similar to the original "Romanies" (Gypsies/Romani people) who started out
as a specific ethnic group, but later refers to a certain lifestyle in
addition to (or in instead of) an ethnic group. Does it not follow
logically from the fact that the patriarchs are referred to as Ivrim (and
referred as such to themselves) even before the people of Israel (B'nei
Yisrael) existed, that the term (at least originally) was used to designate
a group of people wider than just the Israelites? Is there any reasons
(linguistic or otherwise) why this understanding of the term
"Hebrew/Hewbrews" does not make sense? If the origin of the term is indeed
from a Mesopotamian point of view (as those who crossed over the
Euphrates), does it follow that it is Semitic in origin?

According to e.g. Anson Rainy (Rainey, Anson F. “Scholars Disagree: Can You
Name the Panel with the Israelites?: The ‘Apiru Problem.” Biblical
Archaeology Review, Nov/Dec 1991, 59.
http://members.bib-arch.org/publication.asp?PubID=BSBA&Volume=17&Issue=6&ArticleID=9(accessed
4/6/2012) & BAR 34:06, Nov/Dec 2008  Shasu or Habiru Who Were the
Early Israelites?) there are linguistic reasons why Habiru (Egyptian Apiru)
cannot be the equivalent of "Hebrew" (Ivri) in the Bible. In the
above-mentioned articles he does not explain in further detail why he
considers this equivalence (Habiru=Ivri) as impossible (same with K.A.
Kitchen). Is there anybody on the list who know enough of the relevant
languages to tell me why? (I do not find the difference between the Bible's
description of the Hebrews and the typical disparaging viewpoint of other
sources when describing the "Apiru" as convincing, since it is likely that
the deeds of both Joshua and the Israelite settlement process in the times
of the judges might be considered as rebellious, lawless or criminal by
both the Canaanites and the Egyptians. It would also appear from the
Biblical usage of the term, especially towards "outsiders", who would
probably not (yet) know the term "Israel", as if it was a relatively
well-known term to non-Israelites).

My second question is this: If "Apiru" is not the equivalent of "Ivri", is
there any _linguistic_ reason why "Shasu" should be a better option? Even
if the patriarchal narratives are considered as not historical, the fact
remains that the writer(s) of the Torah used a term that he/they assumed to
be well known outside Israel. What other possibilities can there be?

Chavoux Luyt