_'dm_ can denote mankind or humanity. It can, however, also be used to denote
a single
individual. However, this is more often expressed by the word _'y_. I don't
think _'y_
ever denotes mankind as a whole - someone else may be able to confirm or deny
that. The
word _'y_ denotes a single male person translated as "a man". The fact that
it signifies
an individual is attested by the fact that it sometimes needs to be
translated as "each
(man)". The word _'n_ I think has the same semantic range as _'dm_.
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GEORGE ATHAS
Dept of Semitic Studies,
University of Sydney
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