Biblical Hebrew Forum

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

Isaac,

That sounds like midrashic etymology to me. Similar to Philip of Macedon who, upon hearing that his wife was pregnant, ordering his chefs to make her favourite meal by commanding, "All eggs under the grate!" He thereby determined fate that his son would be known as "Alexander the Great".

GEORGE ATHAS

Dean of Research,

Moore Theological College (moore.edu.au)

Sydney, Australia

From: Isaac Fried <if AT math.bu.edu>
Date: Thursday, 11 October 2012 8:38 PM
To: Uri Hurwitz <uhurwitz AT yahoo.com>
Cc: B-Hebrew <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: [b-hebrew] XA$MAL - electricity

I once heard it being said that 'electricity', coming from the Greek word 

'electron' for 'amber', is actually a biblical term. Phoenician hawkers 

sitting by Greek temples and selling this aromatic substance advertised 

their wares by shouting out at the worshipers: לאל-קטר, לאל-קטר

 LA-EL-QATER, LA-EL-QATER, 'offer incense to the gods', 'offer incense 

to the gods', giving this substance its name.  

Isaac Fried, Boston University