From: "Jonathan D. Safren" <yonsaf AT beitberl.ac.il>
To: George Athas <gathas AT mail.usyd.edu.au>
Cc: Biblical Hebrew <b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
Subject: Re: Orpah and Naomi (wasRE: Aging and the Elderly)
Date: Wed, 05 Jul 2000 08:39:38 +0200
Whenever depicting the characters in the Book of Ruth, one should not
forget to take account of the symbolism of the names:
Orpah, one who turned the back of her neck, i.e., her back.
Ruth -re'uth with elision of the guttural - friendship.
Similarly, their husbands:
Mahlon, from mahalah -"illness"
Kilyon. from kelayah - "destruction, ruin"
--
Jonathan D. Safren
Dept. of Biblical Studies
Beit Berl College
Beit Berl Post Office 44905
Israel