Biblical Hebrew Forum

[jimstinehart AT aol.com]

Chavoux Luyt:

1.  The word “molodet” is used 9 times in the Patriarchal narratives, and 9 
out of 9 times, including at Genesis 12: 1, it means “one’s father’s 
descendants”.  Genesis 11: 28 does not say that southern Mesopotamia is 
Haran’s “native land”.  Rather, Genesis 11: 28 says that Haran died in the 
presence of his father and in the presence of his father’s 
descendants/molodet in Ur of the Kassite-country-people.  The fact that 
Terah, Haran, Nahor and Abram are all west Semitic names in and of itself is 
inconsistent with the conventional, completely erroneous, view that the 
Patriarchal narratives present the Hebrews as being indigenous to 
Mesopotamia.  Not only is that historically false, but equally importantly, 
the Patriarchal narratives accurately portray the Hebrews as being indigenous 
to Canaan.

2.  The first time that the word “Hebrew” appears in the Bible is at Genesis 
14: 13, when Abram is in the process of forming an alliance (or “covenant”) 
with three princelings in Canaan, one of whom is a Hurrrian (A-ni-ir).  It is 
important in that context for Abram to assert that he himself is as strong 
and capable as a Hurrian princeling, whereas it would be senseless for Abram 
to tell the other princelings that he is a “wanderer” who has “crossed over 
the Euphrates River”, which are the conventional west Semitic 
misinterpretations of this Hurrian-based name.  The original pronunciation of 
(BR-Y was E-bi-ri-ya, where e-bi-ri means “lord” in Hurrian, and -ya is a 
Hurrian theophoric suffix.  [The initial ayin is used to represent the 
Hurrian vowel E as its own separate syllable.]  (BR-Y/E-bi-ri-ya, as a 
Hurrian-based name that the Hebrews adopted for themselves when Hurrians 
dominated the ruling class of Canaan in the Amarna Age, means “God Is Lord”.  
Yet a necessary implication of this fine name is that Abram himself is a 
“lord”, being the equivalent of a powerful “Hurrian lord”, with this name 
being based on the Hurrian word for “[Hurrian] lord”. 

(BR-Y has nothing whatsoever to do with “habiru” or with west Semitic words 
for “wanderer” or “across [the Euphrates River]”.

3.  The Hebrews are indigenous to Canaan, and are accurately portrayed that 
way in the Patriarchal narratives.  The name “Hebrew” is a Hurrian-based name 
that the Hebrews proudly applied to themselves, asserting that the new 
Hebrews were the equals of the Hurrian princelings who at that time 
historically [per the Amarna Letters] dominated the ruling class of Canaan.  
The literal meaning of (BR-Y/E-bi-ri-ya/“Hebrew” is:  “God Is Lord”.

Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois