Biblical Hebrew Forum

[David Kolinsky <hadeesh AT sbcglobal.net>]

I am not near my Hebrew Tanakh, but \YN also means "appearance."  "Like the appearance of a Tarsheesh stone" has almost the same meaning.

David Kolinsky

Monterey Ca

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From: Stewart Felker <stewart.felker AT gmail.com>
To: "b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org" <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Saturday, July 13, 2013 11:12 AM
Subject: [b-hebrew] כְּעֵין אֶבֶן תַּרְשִֽׁישׁ - "like the gleam of a Tarshish stone"? (Ezek 10:9)

"Then I looked, and behold, four wheels beside the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub; and the appearance of the wheels was like the gleam of a Tarshish stone."

Is there any evidence from the ancient Near East of cognates of עין being understood similarly as 'gleam'? I know that the eyes can be 'made bright' (from אוֹר) - cf. Ps 13.3. Further, I know that some Egyptian traditions envision the sun as an eye (of Ra, etc.) - but obviously neither of these are really parallel to the use of עין in Ezek 10 (and 1:16, as well).

Stewart Felker

University of Memphis

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