Biblical Hebrew Forum

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

Chris,

There is debate about the connection between ברך (knee) and ברך (to bless); they may or may not be related. However, ברכה (pool) is probably a distinct word which, although using the same root letters, is unrelated. However, that's not a definitive conclusion, as the etymology of ברכה (pool) is not fully known.

GEORGE ATHAS

Dean of Research,

Moore Theological College (moore.edu.au)

Sydney, Australia

From: Chris Watts <dekruidnootjes AT eircom.net>
Date: Saturday, 29 June 2013 2:56 AM
To: B-Hebrew <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: [b-hebrew] To Bless and Pools of Water

Dear all, is there any tentative connection between the word:  

ברך   and  ברכה  (bless and pools respectively)?  I remember  

very long ago reading an article by a Rabbi (name forgotten) who made  

a distinct an interesting case for the fact that Bless was not the  

root but that bless came from the idea of a collection of water, this  

latter concept being the root.  It is because I can not find any  

references to this idea that I am asking board members for their  

qualified input, also I have read that the noun 'Knee' gave rise to  

the verbal idea?  Again am not able to access any reliable sources  

about this.  And thankyou in advance.

Chris Watts

Ireland