B-Hebrew: The Biblical Hebrew Forum

Upon seeing today in the park a shirtless man, my four-year-old grandson Hill, visiting for the summer from Israel, pointed to him saying
הוא יחף בבטן
HU YAXEP BA-BETEN, a perceptive and creative usage which did not fail to astound me.
The word יָחֵף YAXEP, as in Isaiah 20:2 is 'barefoot', and so it is exclusively in spoken Hebrew. It appears to me that the word is related to the act סחף SAXAP, 'sweep away' (related, in turn, to סחב SAXAB, 'drag'), as in Prov. 28:3, and Jer. 46:15.

Isaac Fried, Boston University

In Gen. 2:25 we read
ויהיו שניהם ערומים האדם ואשתו ולא יתבששו
NIV: "Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame."
Four-year-old Hillel is at this stage, yet he speaks correct Hebrew. He recounts to us clearly and fluently all he saw in the park and on the trolley, but he never pauses his narrative to ask "what is this thing called?" This is still beyond him.

Isaac Fried, Boston University