Biblical Hebrew Forum

[jimstinehart AT aol.com]

Prof. Yigal Levin:

 

You wrote:  “By the way, Jim, a few verses before Bityah, in verses [I Chronicles 4:] 13-14, we read, "The sons of Kenaz: Othniel and Seraiah; and the sons of Othniel: Hathath and Meonothai. Meonothai became the father of Ophrah; and Seraiah became the father of Joab father of Ge-harashim, so-called because they were artisans." Seraiah is clearly a YH-suffix name. His son Joab (Yo-av – "YW is father") is a YW-prefix name. Both are Yahwistic.”

 

In the rest of the Bible, but not necessarily in Chronicles, “Kenaz” is a Hurrian name, and “Seraiah” is either a Hebrew name that honors YHWH or else it’s a Semiticized Hurrian name.

 

It is my humble opinion that Chronicles was composed so very late that by that time, all the Hurrian families in Jerusalem had died out, and there no longer was any knowledge in Jerusalem of Hurrian names, or even who the Hurrians had been.  Whereas the Bible through II Kings seems very knowledgeable about Hurrian names, Chronicles, by sharp contrast, appears to have no grasp of Hurrian names whatsoever, on any level.

 

Although I defend virtually everything in the truly ancient Patriarchal narratives, I am not prepared to defend anything in Chronicles, especially regarding names that may or may not be Hurrian names.  I do not think that the author of Chronicles [unlike the various authors of the Bible through II Kings] knew anything about Hurrian names.

 

Jim Stinehart

Evanston, Illinois