Biblical Hebrew Forum

[George Athas <George.Athas AT moore.edu.au>]

Jim,

You forgot to mention that Jerusalem is renamed עיר דוד for a time. I've argued that this is then reflected in Aramaic by בית דוד in the Tel Dan Inscription. In any case, whether or not it's a nickname or something else, calling a city by the term עיר is not abnormal.

As for Shalem, your argument that he wouldn't have been known in the Bronze Age in Canaan because he doesn't appear in inscriptions is not very strong at all. Ugaritic religious texts are part of some fairly widespread religious beliefs, and Shalem is mentioned there quite a few times, often in connection with Shahar (who is probably mentioned in the Bible). The fact that the name appears as a theophoric element in a number of names across a wide swathe of the Middle East is further evidence of this. In fact, one could point to the name of Jerusalem as confirmatory evidence that Shalem was indeed known.

GEORGE ATHAS

Dean of Research,

Moore Theological College (moore.edu.au)

Sydney, Australia