Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Isaac Fried <if AT math.bu.edu>]

Here is an example, in Hebrew רע RA is 'bad, evil, frail, flimsy, loose, shaky'; 

as the Hebrew nursery rhyme says:

אוי רע לי, רע לי, רע לי, כזאת עוד לא קרה לי

"Oi, I feel so bad, I feel so bad, I feel so bad, a thing like this never 

happened to me ..."

But רע REA is 'friend', (see Ps. 88:19). So, is REA a דבר רע a bad thing? 

Certainly not, except that רעות REUT, 'friendship', is a loose and unfettered 

association among free individuals. Such a relationship exists להבדיל among 

cows freely roaming רועות בשדה while grazing in a field. 

Similarly, RAYON רעיון (see Qohelet 4:16) is an idea that roams in the mind.

So, there is no "horizontal" relationship RA <–––> REA between 'evil' and 'friend', 

yet they are both "vertical" offshoots, or outgrowths (so to speak) of the same 

uni-consonantal Hebrew root R, endowing both words with the same fundamental 

meaning of 'loose'.

Isaac Fried, Boston University

On Nov 29, 2012, at 7:00 PM, David Kolinsky wrote:

Isaac,

Sorry I am only a physician, not a mathematician.
Please explain with some examples.

David Kolinsky
Monterey, CA

---

From: Isaac Fried <if AT math.bu.edu>
To: David Kolinsky <hadeesh AT sbcglobal.net>
Sent: Thu, November 29, 2012 3:58:50 PM
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] head and see

They are all interconnected "vertically" via the roots.

Isaac Fried, Boston University

On Nov 29, 2012, at 6:50 PM, David Kolinsky wrote:

Isaac,

Furthermore, if there is no such thing as "come from" in Hebrew then how are any of the words in your etymological scheme, which is as extensive as mine, at all connected?

David Kolinsky
Monterey, CA

---

From: Isaac Fried <if AT math.bu.edu>
To: David Kolinsky <hadeesh AT sbcglobal.net>
Cc: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
Sent: Thu, November 29, 2012 3:28:04 PM
Subject: head and see

In my opinion there is no such thing in Hebrew as "comes from". One word does not "come from" another word. If ראש RO$, 'head', "comes from"  ראה RAAH, 'see', then by this plan of things רעש RAA$, 'rattle', "comes from" רעה RAAH, 'pasture'. 

Isaac Fried, Boston University

On Nov 29, 2012, at 1:52 PM, David Kolinsky wrote:

ראש meaning head comes from ראה meaning "the place of seeing" 

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