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שֶׁלֶג snow

Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 12:29 am
by Isaac Fried
Now that we are expecting a snow storm here in Boston I recall that שֶׁלֶג $ELEG, 'snow', is actually a שֶׁלֶךְ, pieces of frozen water vapor cast down מוּשלך from the clouds. See Ps. 147:15-18
הַשֹּׁלֵחַ אִמְרָתוֹ אָרֶץ עַד מְהֵרָה יָרוּץ דְּבָרוֹ
הַנֹּתֵן שֶׁלֶג כַּצָּמֶר כְּפוֹר כָּאֵפֶר יְפַזֵּר
מַשְׁלִיךְ קַרְחוֹ כְפִתִּים לִפְנֵי קָרָתוֹ מִי יַעֲמֹד
יִשְׁלַח דְּבָרוֹ וְיַמְסֵם יַשֵּׁב רוּחוֹ יִזְּלוּ מָיִם

KJV: "He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth: his word runneth very swiftly.
He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes.
He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold?
He sendeth out his word, and melteth them: he causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow."

שלג is a member of the root family:
דלח, דלק, דלג
זלג
ילק, ילך
סלח, סלק
צלח, צלק
שלג, שלח, שלך, שלק


Spoken Hebrew uses שַׁלֶּכֶת (see Isaiah 6:13)
כָּאֵלָה וְכָאַלּוֹן אֲשֶׁר בְּשַׁלֶּכֶת
to describe the fall of the autumn leaves; exfoliation. It uses זְלִיגָה of the root זלג for 'trickling'.

Isaac Fried, Boston University