Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Uri Hurwitz <uhurwitz AT yahoo.com>]

  Hi Yigal,

  A good question. The late Theodor Gaster once
 mentioned in conversation that the inserted He
 is a result of a switch in writing from the
 Sumero-Akkadian syllabic to the the proto-Canaanite
 alphabetic script. This, if memopry serves, was also
 his opinion about the change from Sarai to Sarah.
 I don't know if he has written on the subject. 

 On the other hand, that the full biblical name with
 the He is derived directly from ABRM is clear from 
the text. At least that's what the author/editor thought.
 
  I don't think there is a need to search
for a meaning for a speculative 'rhm'.
 
 Uri Hurwitz


  Hi Uri,

  While this is probably true for the name Abram, how
 do you explain the He inAbraham? Does the word "raham"
 have any meaning?

Yigal Levin