Etymology of הָלַךְ

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Jemoh66
Posts: 307
Joined: Sat Sep 28, 2013 11:03 pm

Re: Etymology of הָלַךְ

Post by Jemoh66 »

Hi Karl,

You wrote
We shouldn’t speculate where history is silent.
Absolutely. That's my point.
The historical record is this:
Gen. 1:3 וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֖ים יְהִ֣י א֑וֹר וַֽיְהִי־אֽוֹר
God said: "let there be light." ןיאמר is the first timeline event in the narrative. Light heard God speak and obeyed. Creation is the result of the spoken word.
To argue that God's word was in written form before He spoke would be to argue from silence; pure speculation.

Gen. 1:5 וַיִּקְרָ֨א אֱלֹהִ֤ים ׀ לָאוֹר֙ י֔וֹם God called the light day. God speaks again. If he has written anything up to this point, the historical record is silent.

From a text-linguistic perspective, there are four events recorded on Day One. God said, God saw, God divided, God called. No record of anything being written down.

The second day: ויאמר, ויעש, ויבדל,ויקרא God said, God made, God divided, God called. No record of God writing on the second day.

The third day: ויאמר, וירא, ויאמר,וירא God said, God saw, God said, God saw

The fourth day: ויאמר, ויעש, ויתן,וירא, God said, God made, God gave, God saw

The fifth day: ויאמר, ויברא, וירא, ויברך . . . לאמר, ויאמר, God said, God created, God said, God blessed ... saying, God said

The sixth day: ויאמר, ויברא, ויברך, ויאמר, ויאמר, וירא, God said, God created, God blessed, God said (interesting here "and he blessed ... and he said," while above "and he blessed ... saying"; that would make an interesting discussion), God said, God saw.

Here the text speaks plainly; God speaks 14 or 15 times.

Furthermore, he speaks with Adam and Eve after their sin; he speaks with Cain; he speaks with Enoch; he speaks to Noah; he speaks to Abraham; finally he speaks to Moses.
At Sinai, the host heard voices "speaking" the ten commandments. Then later Moses brings them down carved in stone.
Also in Leviticus, to Moses He says, "SPEAK to the children of Israel." Moses speaks, then writes.

Jonathan E Mohler
Springfield, MO
Jonathan E Mohler
Studying for a MA in Intercultural Studies
Baptist Bible Theological Seminary
kwrandolph
Posts: 1531
Joined: Sun Sep 29, 2013 12:51 am

Re: Etymology of הָלַךְ

Post by kwrandolph »

Jemoh66 wrote:Hi Karl,

You wrote
We shouldn’t speculate where history is silent.
Absolutely. That's my point.
The historical record is this:
Gen. 1:3 וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֖ים יְהִ֣י א֑וֹר וַֽיְהִי־אֽוֹר
God said: "let there be light." ןיאמר is the first timeline event in the narrative. Light heard God speak and obeyed. Creation is the result of the spoken word.
To argue that God's word was in written form before He spoke would be to argue from silence; pure speculation.
Who claimed that God’s word was in written form before spoken? Anyone?

Karl W. Randolph.
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Ben Putnam
Posts: 47
Joined: Sun Oct 06, 2013 11:08 am

Re: Etymology of הָלַךְ

Post by Ben Putnam »

Mahlon Smith wrote:Etymology Question. In parsing out הָלַךְ, I noticed that it is somehow related to another root, יָלַךְ. Does anyone have an idea how these two roots are related?
Mahlon,

Yes, the qatal and participle are from a root ה-ל-כ, while the yiqtol, infinitive, and imperative are from a root י-ל-כ. I don't think it means the two roots are necessarily related. And of course, finding the root(s) of a verb can be interesting (like realizing that English de-ceive, con-ceive, and per-ceive all developed from the same root) as long as one understands that it is just a historical piece of how a verb may have developed. Meaning is derived from usage within a language community, not from etymology, and one develops fluency in a language by exposure to that language in comprehensible contexts—and not by becoming skilled in rapidly identifying etymological roots. You may already be aware of this, but it is worth repeating for others who haven't yet realized it for biblical Hebrew.
Ben Putnam
kwrandolph
Posts: 1531
Joined: Sun Sep 29, 2013 12:51 am

Re: Etymology of הָלַךְ

Post by kwrandolph »

Ben Putnam wrote:
Mahlon Smith wrote:Etymology Question. In parsing out הָלַךְ, I noticed that it is somehow related to another root, יָלַךְ. Does anyone have an idea how these two roots are related?
Mahlon,

Yes, the qatal and participle are from a root ה-ל-כ, while the yiqtol, infinitive, and imperative are from a root י-ל-כ.
I don’t recognize that these are two different roots, rather treat הלך as an irregular verb.

All languages that conjugate verbs that I know of have some verbs that are irregular. Why should Biblical Hebrew be different? Because I treat Biblical Hebrew like any other language, I accept that there are some irregular verbs, among them הלך.

Karl W. Randolph.
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