Biblical Hebrew Forum

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

Whoa! Hold your סוסים!

> In Exodus 8:1 The imperative "let my people go" שַׁלַּ֥ח  shallach is a causative of "go" halach. 

> Interesting that this primitive prefix SHA- causative shows up in Bantu languages as a causative suffix.  Another discussion;-)

Um, that's pretty way off the mark. The shin is not an affix, but part of the root. Also, הלך ends with a kaph (כ), not a heth (ח). The two are very different letters and should not be confused. There is nothing here to suggest that שׁלח has anything to do with הלך. Yes, there is a Shaphel stem with causative shin prefix in some Semitic dialects, but that is certainly not what we have in the root שׁלח.

GEORGE ATHAS

Dean of Research,

Moore Theological College (moore.edu.au)

Sydney, Australia