[heb]עֲרָבִי[/heb] Isaiah 13:20

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Jason Hare
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Re: [heb]עֲרָבִי[/heb] Isaiah 13:20

Post by Jason Hare »

So, it should be enough to simply state that this theory is idiosyncratic and that I stand opposed to it, as it has no grounding in any linguistic theory and does not represent the opinion of any scholar of the Hebrew language. This is not a theory that has been suggested or defended at SBL, for example. It's completely your opinion and has no one else to argue for it. It's fine to have your opinion and argue in its favor, but I hope we can make room on this forum for beginners, for scholars, for those who are simply interested in the Hebrew language - and not let the place be dominated by personal hobby horses.

I'm glad you've published your book (and especially that you've re-opened your website) so that you can refer people to your writings. That's certainly the best thing to do with a theory that you wish to become competitive. Good luck to you, Isaac.
Jason Hare
Tel Aviv, Israel
The Hebrew Café
יוֹדֵ֣עַ צַ֭דִּיק נֶ֣פֶשׁ בְּהֶמְתּ֑וֹ וְֽרַחֲמֵ֥י רְ֝שָׁעִ֗ים אַכְזָרִֽי׃
ספר משלי י״ב, י׳
Isaac Fried
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Re: [heb]עֲרָבִי[/heb] Isaiah 13:20

Post by Isaac Fried »

Jason says
I hope we can make room on this forum for beginners, for scholars, for those who are simply interested in the Hebrew language
Yes, I agree. There is plenty of room in the nine (nine!) sections of this multi-forum for any beginner, scholar, or any one simply interested in the Hebrew language, to place his thoughts or questions on (biblical) Hebrew.
If you have, Jason, something interesting to say on the Hebrew language, or the biblical narrative, then share it with us. Please.

Isaac Fried, Boston University
Saboi

Re: [heb]עֲרָבִי[/heb] Isaiah 13:20

Post by Saboi »

ערבי is an adjective, αραβικός, from ἐρημικός 'living in the desert', similarly, the word φοίνικος is קיני, the ending and guttural are dropped in Hebrew.

ערבה ,ערב ἐρημία, ἧ - a solitude, desert, wilderness (Jer 25:24, Deu 2:8)
ערבי ἐρημικός, ἧ, ὅν - living in the desert (Isaiah 13:20)
ערבתי ἐρημίτης - of the desert (2 Samuel 23:31)
Isaac Fried
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Re: [heb]עֲרָבִי[/heb] Isaiah 13:20

Post by Isaac Fried »

Lee Mcgee says
ערבה ,ערב ἐρημία, ἧ - a solitude, desert, wilderness (Jer 25:24, Deu 2:8)
ערבי ἐρημικός, ἧ, ὅν - living in the desert (Isaiah 13:20)
I am sorry to have to say it directly, but it is of little interest to me how the Greeks prefer to call the Arabs: people of the desert, people of the plane, nomads of the west, tent dwellers, or what.
What is of interest is the ending -ικός of ἐρημικός, which I suspect is but a vestige of "ego". The attached -ικός was certainly, once upon a time, a distinct meaningful word.
Hebrew makes the name by combining ערב and היא, 'he', ערבי = ערב-היא.
As words grow in meaning more and more personal pronouns get attached to it. Say:
מלך, 'reign', (root)
מַמְלָכָה = מה-מלך-היא, 'kingdom', (name)
מַמְלַכְתִּית = מה-מלך-את-היא-את, מַמְלַכְתִּי = מה-מלך-את-היא, (adjective)
מַמְלַכְתִּיוּת = מה-מלכ-את-היא-הוּא-את, 'stately'

Isaac Fried, Boston University
Saboi

Re: [heb]עֲרָבִי[/heb] Isaiah 13:20

Post by Saboi »

The words themselves describe a desert temperate so they can also refer to the Syrian Desert.

In Jeremiah 25:24, all the English readings have 'Arabia' except the Septuagint, that translates ערב into συμμίκτους "commingled', this compound word in Hebrew is עם מסך and ערב is φυρμός 'mixture, confused mass'.

-Polysemy-
Ezekiel 27:9 - מערב/φόρημα 'freight, load, that which is carried'
Exodus 8:21- ערב/ἑρπετόν/τετράπους 'creeping thing, reptile, animal on all fours
Genesis 8:7 - ערב/κόραξ 'Raven'
Numbers 22:1 - ערבות/ἐρημῶν 'desolate, lonely, solitary'
Judges 19:9 - ערב/ἑσπέρου 'Evening, western'
Psalm 68:5 - ערבות/πορευμα 'carriage'
Leviticus 23:40 - ערבי/ὄροφος 'reed used for thatching houses, roof'
Malachi 3:4 - ערבה/ἀρέσκω 'pleasing, satisfy'
Jeremiah 30:21 - ערב/θαρσέω 'to be of good courage'
Ezekiel 27:9 - ערב/φέρω 'to bear or carry a load
Genesis 43:9 - אערבנו/ἐρύομαι 'αὐτόν 'protect, guard'
Isaac Fried
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Joined: Sat Sep 28, 2013 8:32 pm

Re: [heb]עֲרָבִי[/heb] Isaiah 13:20

Post by Isaac Fried »

Even though the present word פִּי PIY is apparently not related to פֶּה PEH, 'mouth', it is still related, methinks, to the word פֹּה POH, 'here', as in Gen. 22:5
וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְרָהָם אֶל נְעָרָיו שְׁבוּ לָכֶם פֹּה עִם הַחֲמוֹר וַאֲנִי וְהַנַּעַר נֵלְכָה עַד כֹּה וְנִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה וְנָשׁוּבָה אֲלֵיכֶם
KJV: "And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you."

Isaac Fried, Boston University
Isaac Fried
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Joined: Sat Sep 28, 2013 8:32 pm

Re: [heb]עֲרָבִי[/heb] Isaiah 13:20

Post by Isaac Fried »

Lee Mcgee says
Jeremiah 30:21 - ערב/θαρσέω 'to be of good courage'
Ezekiel 27:9 - ערב/φέρω 'to bear or carry a load
I see the root ערב as meaning: 'free, limp, loose, soft, relaxed, detached, spreadable, mixable'.
Indeed, in Jeremiah 30:21
הָיָה אַדִּירוֹ מִמֶּנּוּ וּמֹשְׁלוֹ מִקִּרְבּוֹ יֵצֵא וְהִקְרַבְתִּיו וְנִגַּשׁ אֵלָי כִּי מִי הוּא זֶה עָרַב אֶת לִבּוֹ לָגֶשֶׁת אֵלַי נְאֻם יהוה
KJV translates עָרַב as 'engaged'. Here:
KJV: "And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? saith the Lord."
In Ezekiel 27:9 NIV translates מַעֲרָבֵךְ as 'your wares'. Here
זִקְנֵי גְבַל וַחֲכָמֶיהָ הָיוּ בָךְ מַחֲזִיקֵי בִּדְקֵךְ כָּל אֳנִיּוֹת הַיָּם וּמַלָּחֵיהֶם הָיוּ בָךְ לַעֲרֹב מַעֲרָבֵךְ
NIV: "Veteran craftsmen of Byblos were on board as shipwrights to caulk your seams. All the ships of the sea and their sailors came alongside to trade for your wares"
I am sorry, but I am not seeing anything edifying in all these Greek words. One thing I do notice, which is, that they all have the letter ρ in them.

Isaac Fried, Boston University
Saboi

Re: [heb]עֲרָבִי[/heb] Isaiah 13:20

Post by Saboi »

There was a time when Greek had no "B" or "L" that is the reason for the lack of "B" in all those homologues and is instead substituted with another labial.

ἐραμία > Ἀραβία/ערבה/ع رب

Before the adoption of the Phoenician script, it was written like this, with three Symbols, alike ערב/ع رب
Image
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