B-Hebrew: The Biblical Hebrew Forum

Mephibosheth

2 Samuel 4:4
יפל ויפסח ושמו מפיבשת
He fell and became lame, his name was Mephibosheth.

This character was named because he was 'lame' and thus the verb, פסח must poetically relate too מפיבשת.

This prefix, -מפי is a preposition, the same as αμφί- "on both sides", this preposition
is used in one of the epithets of Hephaestus who is depicted lame on both sides of his feet
and thus titled Amphigúeis (Ἀμφιγύεις) "the lame one ".

2 Samuel 9:13 - פסח שתי רגליו : χωλὸς ἀμφοτέροις τοῖς ποσὶν αὐτοῦ
Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem: for he did eat continually at the king's table; and was lame on both his feet.

Hephaistos amphigyēeis
איש מפיבשת

The preposition αμφί can derive from על־פי

סביב = ἀμφι βᾶ, ἀμφιβαίνω 'to go about or around, to encompass, wrap round'
פיפיות = ἁμφί γνάθος, ἁμφί ξίφη
פילגש = 'ἁμφί λέχος, παλλακίς 'concubine' (Gen 35:22)
אפיקי = ἀμφικίων
פסח = Ἀμφιγύεις 'Lame'

Benjamin

It says in 35:18, 'But his father called him Benjamin' without any given poetry for the name but the name given by his mother, 'Benoni' as plenty of bilingual poetry. The Septuagint translates 'בן־אוני' into 'Υἱὸς ὀδύνης μου ' (Son of my sorrow) but transliterates the name בנימין into Βενιαμιν rather then 'Υἱὸς δεξιός' (Son on the right hand).

ימין also written תמין means 'South' and the meaning behind the word is explained in Job

Job 9:9 - Chambers of the south

The Greek word for 'chambers' is ταμίεια (תא - H8372) further explained in Job 37:9, מן־החדר ' (From the South)
is translated into ἐκ ταμιείων and the Hebrew word 'חדר is ἕδρᾳ and the word North in this verse
is מזרים which is κυνόσουραν (νσραν/מזרים) 'Dog-tail', the northern constellation of Ursa Minor.

ἕδρᾳ/חדר, Quarters of the sky in which omens appear, seat, abode. esp. of the gods, sanctuary, temple, throne and is probably the Hydra constellation, Ὑδρα/חדר 'sea serpent' and the word 'ταμίαι' also associated with the Sea, 'ἁλὸς ταμίαι (Lord of the Sea).

A rare poetic word for southern, southerly is εὐώνυμον > εβώνυμον > βνυμον > בנימין
*' of good name, honored, euphem. of bad omens, left ' (ἕδρᾳ/חדר, Quarters of the sky in which omens appear)
* εὐώνυμον means 'left' in Greek rather then 'right', perhaps due too culture.

Job 37:9 uses those words describing the direction of 'Wind' and the Ancient Greeks and Phoenicians used a 12-Wind rose, one of the winds Ζέφυρος so named another son of Jacob, Zebulun (ζέφυρον/זבולן) who dwelt at the Havens of the Seas (ימים) which in the West (Ζέφυρος - Westerly Wind) .

תימנה : νότος, ταμίεια (South)
נגב : λίψ, λιβός, לובי, Λίβυες , לוי (South West) *λ>ג + initial גב/לב , נ .
זבולן : ζέφυρον (West)

Alcimus is the name of a high priest of Israel and the name derives from ἄλκιμος 'stout-hearted' that appears as אלקום in Proverbs 30:31 in the phrase 'אלקום עמו (ἀλκίμων θύμου), a synonym is used in the Septuagint version of this verse, εὔψυχος 'stout of heart' and ψῦχος is the synonym for θυμός which is חמד.

Then the name Alcimus can derive from אל־חמד, identical too the Arabic name, Al-Hamad and מ־חמד from ἔκθυμος 'spirited, ardent.

פשנ - ψυχή (שוח)
שמתנ - θυμός (חמד)

*Initial נ
*ψ is ש with a tail

ἄλκιμος - אליקים
εὔθυμος - יהויקים

ϝἄναξ εὔθυμος - מלך יהויקים (Hom. Od. 14.63)

εὔ/יהו
εὐσεβής > יהושוע < יהושבע < הושבע (Deu 32:44, 1Ch 3:5)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eusebeia

popular title of Syriac kings
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariarathe ... Cappadocia

Εὐσεϐής Χρηστός (חרש טוב)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithridates_Chrestus

Mark 6:3 - Is not this the carpenter
לא זה היש החרש

חרש - Handyman

χρηστήριον (khrēstḗrion) חרש הרים
- Harosheth of the Gentiles (Judges 4:2)
- ἄριστος
- The Seat of an Oracle, such as Delphi (Δελφοῖσι)
- χρηστηριάζω (to have an oracle given one, consult an oracle )

David into the wood (חרשה) and strengthened his hand (יד) in God. (1 Samuel 23:15)
*χεῖρας/חרשה (pun)

Judges 14:18 - דלילה, δελφίδος, Δαλιδα
And the men of the city said unto him on the seventh day before the sun (חרס) went down, What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than a lion? And he said unto them, If ye had not plowed (חרשתם) with my heifer, ye had not found out my riddle.

2 Samuel 2:3 - Δαλουια, Daliyat al-Karmel (Vine of the Carmel) (κρεμαστήρ)
And his second, Dalujah of Abigail the Carmelite (Dead Sea Scrolls)
*changed to Daniel (ἀριστᾶν) in 1 Chronicles 3:1

In 1 Samuel 23:15, David consulted his oracle in Ziph that appear alongs with Maon and Carmel' in Joshua 15:55
*Carmel is an oracular mountain in Josephus.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daliyat_al-Karmel

חרש - craftsman, artisan, engraver, graver, artificer

Artificer - חרשיועשהר (חרש "handy" + עשה ""to make, do")
Dexterous - צדק חרש (right hand, skillful)
Articulus - חרש על (Joints in the Hand)
Condyle - יד על (Joints in the hand)
Aedifico - בית עשה (build a house)


Lot of words root from חרש

חרש - Plow, Plowman

Isaiah 28:24
הכל היום יחרש החרש לזרע
sollus diem arator arat serat

זרע > Serat 'to sow, plant' t/שעיר) ע/Satyr)
כל > Sollos, ὅλος 'all, whole'
יום > Diem 'day'

חרש
Ara, Aro, Arat, Arator, Aratri, Arado
ἀρόω, ἀροτήρ , ἀρότριος. ἀροτριάζω

Plow, Plough - על (ζυγός, ὁλκός)

I am just curious as to what made you decide that the חרשה of 1 Samuel 23:15 is 'wood'?

Isaac Fried, Boston University

I did not decide the translation, it's in the King James and many other, but some transliterate as 'Horesh'

ἐν τῷ ὄρει τῷ αὐχμώδει ἐν τῇ Καινῇ Ζιφ
במדבר זיף בחרשה

ἐν τῷ ὄρει - בהר (In the mount)
αὐχμώδει - מדבר (drought, arid)
Καινῇ - חדשה (New, Fresh)

בהר למדבר בחדשה זיף

The Septuagint always reads חרש in this chapter as Καινῇ which is a translation of חדש
thus the common scribal error with ר/ד.

αὐχμώδει only appears in this verse in the Septuagint meaning 'Drought' and a synonym is ξηρᾶς (Xeras) and sound allot like חרש (Cheres) and the cognate would be חרב. Well if this is a drought or a dry place, then it wouldn't be a forest.

ξηροῦ > ξηροβ > ξρβ = חרב (Oracular mountain in the story of Moses)

Therefore זיף (Ziph) can be derived from διψῶ (Dips) 'Dry, Thirst' or יבש (Yibs) (Dry, Dried)
which means David visited the same Oracular mountain of Moses.

1 Samuel 23:24
(Ziph) - Wilderness of Maon, plain on the south of Jeshimon.

The word ישימון in the Lexicon is defined as 'Wilderness, Desert', In Numbers 21:10 the word ישימן translates ἐρήμου(ערבה) 'Wilderness' and also translates as Desert in Psalm 78:40, the Greek here is ἀνύδρῳ(מדבר) and also in Psalm 106:14

Thus the word ישימון comes from αὐχμῶν 'drought' but the root is יבש through metathesis, becomes ישב then into ישמ and the combination of 'ש & מ' can produces the Psi in the word διψῶ e.g. Samson & Sampson.