The רע REA of Lev. 19:18 is not רע RA

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

The רע REA of Lev. 19:18 is not רע RA

Post by Isaac Fried »

The famous verse is
ואהבת לרעך כמוך
"thou shalt love thy neighbour (friend) as thyself"

It is from the uniliteral Hebrew root R, 'distinct'. Also from this root are:
ראה 'observe the details'
רעה 'move freely'
רעע 'flimsy, incoherent, insubstantial', as opposed to טוב TOB = COB, יציב 'stable, solid.'

ואהבת = W + AHAB + ATAH
לרעך = L + RE + AKAH, where אכה AKAH is an obsolete variant of אתה ATAH, preserved only in attachments.
כמוך = KA + MO + AKAH.

Isaac Fried, Boston University
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