Biblical Hebrew Forum

[K Randolph <kwrandolph AT gmail.com>]

Uri:

On Sat, May 5, 2012 at 4:40 PM, Uri Hurwitz <uhurwitz AT yahoo.com> wrote:

>   Karl,
>
>   Perhaps singing at least the first line of this
>  song (which became a favorite of singer Harry
>  Belafonte among others) will clear up some of the
>  confusion.
>

This is modern Hebrew. As such, it may or may not be related to Biblical
Hebrew.

There isn’t confusion, rather questioning statements made by others, how
trustworthy are they? What is their background? What evidence from cognate
languages (I don’t know cognate languages, other than a smattering of
Aramaic)? Is YHBK in Psalm 55 a happax legomenon with HBH found in other
verses from a different root? What is the evidence? So far I have seen none
other than what I found in a word search in Tanakh. What is the evidence?

>
>   And, sorry, there is no HBH root in biblical Hebrew.
>

How do you know?

Is there a YHB root in Biblical Hebrew? Is one found in a cognate language?
YHB is found several times in the Aramaic sections in Tanakh, but only once
in Hebrew in a context that I question.

>
>   The first word of the song is simply an 'extended'
> Imperative of YHB.
>

Is it now? That’s what tradition says, but is tradition accurate?

>
>   Uri Hurwitz
>
> If YHB in Psalm 55:23 is a happax legomenon that is not related to the
uses of HBH found in Tanakh, then it is merely a question as to its
meaning. If it is related to the uses of HBH in Tanakh, then the meaning of
“weight, burden” does not make sense. That is my question.

Karl W. Randolph.