The name יונה Yonah

[Isaac Fried]

Having read yesterday the book of Yonah it occurred to me that the name is from the Hebrew root YNH, 'deviate, mislead, deceive'. The root is kindred to זנה ZNH (of which זונה 'prostitute'), and שנה $NH, 'different, distinct'. His father was the steadfast and truthful אמיתי AMITAIY.

Isaac Fried, Boston University

[Isaac Fried]

Here are two instances of the act שנה $ANAH used for deceit.

1Sam. 21:12-14
וירא מאד מפני אכיש מלך גת וישנו את טעמו בעיניהם
KJV: "And David . . . was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath.
And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands"

and 1Kings 14:2
ויאמר ירבעם לאשתו קומי נא והשתנית ולא ידעו כי את אשת ירבעם
KJV: "And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam"

Isaac Fried, Boston University

[Mark Lightman]

Does the נ express here the fundamental concept of newness?

If you accept (as Isaac does not) a נמ interchange, one can perhaps connect the word to יום, by which the dove is to the day as the raven (עוֹרֵב) is to the evening (עֶרֶב.)

But compare Gesenius (my second favorite Hebrew etymologist:) "As to the etymology I give no opinion."

[Isaac Fried]

Mark says,
Does the נ express here the fundamental concept of newness?

Says I,
What is the physical manifestation of "new"? It is something that just came up. The uni-literal root N is extended by filler letters to the bi-literal root נא of Ex.12:9, the tri-literal root נאה (and נאוה both so near to the English 'new' and the Russian 'novi') as in Ps. 65:13, and the tri-literal root אנה of which the INAH, 'bring forth, bring over, deliver', of Ex.21:15(13).
From the doublet נן NN we have the נין NIYN, 'offspring', of Job 18:19, and the ינון YINON, 'thrive, flourish, prosper, luxuriate' of Ps. 72:17.

Isaac Fried, Boston University