Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Uri Hurwitz <uhurwitz AT yahoo.com>]

Dear Rolf,

   The root HWH is attested in Aramaic at least since
 the eighth century (KAI) with the same meaning as the
 biblical HYH. In fact a few cases of the Aramaic form
 are preserved in the HB, compared with thousands of
 cases of the standard HYH. With the exception of the
 medial consonant, they are quite similar.

   Therefore I am at a complete loss to understand 
 when you state:

"..... And continuing the line of uncertainty, we do
 not know whether there is a wordplay (similarity of sounds)
  between the use of HYH in Exodus 3:14 and the name
 YHWH in 3:15. We do not even have any clues that could
 suggest that there was a connection between the verb HYH 
and YHWH."
 

   Best,

  Uri Hurwitz                    Wilmington, VT