אֲגָם Ex. 8:1(5)

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Isaac Fried
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אֲגָם Ex. 8:1(5)

Post by Isaac Fried »

We read there
וַיֹּאמֶר יהוה אֶל מֹשֶׁה אֱמֹר אֶל אַהֲרֹן נְטֵה אֶת יָדְךָ בְּמַטֶּךָ עַל הַנְּהָרֹת עַל הַיְאֹרִים וְעַל הָאֲגַמִּים וְהַעַל אֶת הַצְפַרְדְּעִים עַל אֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם
KJV: "And the Lord spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt"
The root אגם is a close relative of עגם and the extra-biblical עקם, and hence אֲגָם, 'pond, lake', is possibly so called because it is an accumulation of water bent עקוּם, or עגוּם, all around, and down into the ground.
Similarly is the flexible אֲגְמוֹן 'reed' עקמוֹן, of Isaiah 58:5
הֲכָזֶה יִהְיֶה צוֹם אֶבְחָרֵהוּ יוֹם עַנּוֹת אָדָם נַפְשׁוֹ הֲלָכֹף כְּאַגְמֹן רֹאשׁוֹ
KJV: "Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush"
The English "lake" is likewise related to "lack, lacuna", and to the German Loch, 'hole'.

Isaac Fried, Boston University
Isaac Fried
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Re: אֲגָם Ex. 8:1(5)

Post by Isaac Fried »

The root עקם, of common use today, is but a close variant of קם, 'stand up', as what is bent or curved, rises up or dips down as it deviates from the flat.

Isaac Fried, Boston University
Isaac Fried
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Re: אֲגָם Ex. 8:1(5)

Post by Isaac Fried »

Add to this the גם, 'also, too, include, add, put together as one', namely, as water is held together in an אגם, of Gen. 27:25
לָמָה אֶשְׁכַּל גַּם שְׁנֵיכֶם יוֹם אֶחָד
NIV: "Why should I lose both of you in one day?”

Isaac Fried, Boston University
Isaac Fried
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Re: אֲגָם Ex. 8:1(5)

Post by Isaac Fried »

Consider also the גמא, later גמע, 'held a mouthful, swallowed it, gulped', of Gen. 24:17
וַיָּרָץ הָעֶבֶד לִקְרָאתָהּ וַיֹּאמֶר הַגְמִיאִינִי נָא מְעַט מַיִם מִכַּדֵּךְ
KJV: "And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher"
In any event, I consider the root גם as consisting of גאה-מאה, tall-massive, as when a great amount of material is held together.

Isaac Fried, Boston University
Isaac Fried
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Re: אֲגָם Ex. 8:1(5)

Post by Isaac Fried »

The bi-literal Hebrew root חם is a close relative of both גם and קם. We have from this root the word חוֹמָה = ח-הוּא-מ-היא XOMAH, 'tall wall', actually a קוֹמָה, high and massive, as in Deut. 3:5
עָרִים בְּצֻרֹת חוֹמָה גְבֹהָה דְּלָתַיִם וּבְרִיחַ
NIV: "All these cities were fortified with high walls and with gates and bars"
Also חוֹם XOM, 'heat, warmth, high temperature', rising קוֹם in the thermally affected body, as in Gen. 8:22
וְקֹר וָחֹם וְקַיִץ וָחֹרֶף
NIV: "cold and heat, summer and winter"
Also חָם, 'father-in-law, the big man', as in Gen. 38:13
וַיֻּגַּד לְתָמָר לֵאמֹר הִנֵּה חָמִיךְ עֹלֶה תִמְנָתָה
KJV: "And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thy father in law goeth up to Timnath"
Also חֶמְאָה XEMAH, 'butter, solid milk fat', as in Prov. 30:33
כִּי מִיץ חָלָב יוֹצִיא חֶמְאָה
NIV: "For as churning cream produces butter"

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Jason Hare
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Re: אֲגָם Ex. 8:1(5)

Post by Jason Hare »

The root of קם is קו"ם.
The root of חם is חו"ם.
The root of גר is גו"ר.
The root of בא is בו"א.
These are tri-literal middle-weak roots.
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Isaac Fried
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Re: אֲגָם Ex. 8:1(5)

Post by Isaac Fried »

Jason,

I think you mean
קום, חום, גור, בוא
not
קו"ם, חו"ם, גו"ר, בו"א
There is no " in the Hebrew root -- the Hebrew root is not an acronym.

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Jason Hare
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Re: אֲגָם Ex. 8:1(5)

Post by Jason Hare »

It is common and acceptable to use the gershayim to indicate that we're talking about a root rather than about the word בוא, for example. From the Hebrew Language Academy:
אין לסמן את אותיות השורש בנקודות (ש.מ.ר). שתי הדרכים – שמ״ר, ש־מ־ר – כשרות.‏
You can mark a word's root by using maqqaf (ב־ו־א) or by using gershayim (בו״א). Both are acceptable ways of doing this.

Therefore, I did not make a mistake by mentioning קו״ם (and others); however, your claim that these middle-weak ("hollow") verbs are bi-literal is indeed wrong.
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Isaac Fried
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Re: אֲגָם Ex. 8:1(5)

Post by Isaac Fried »

Jason,

You are correct in your report that the Hebrew Language Academy insists on a root to be singled out with quotation marks or hyphens inserted between the radical letters, thus: שמ״ר, ש־מ־ר. I don't see any reason and need for this marring of the Hebrew root by foreign markings and never do it. For me שמר is plenty good.

Isaac Fried, Boston University
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Re: אֲגָם Ex. 8:1(5)

Post by Isaac Fried »

The bi-literal Hebrew root הם (consider how graphically similar ה and ח are) is also a close relative of חם ,גם and קם. We have from this root the הָמוֹן HAMON, 'crowd, throng', as in 2Sam. 18:29
וַיֹּאמֶר אֲחִימַעַץ רָאִיתִי הֶהָמוֹן הַגָּדוֹל
KJV: "I saw a great tumult"
NIV: "Ahimaaz answered, I saw great confusion"
Also הָמָה, 'swell', said also for voice, 'hum', as in Ps. 46:7(6)
הָמוּ גוֹיִם מָטוּ מַמְלָכוֹת
NIV: "Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall"
and in Songs 5:4
דּוֹדִי שָׁלַח יָדוֹ מִן הַחֹר וּמֵעַי הָמוּ עָלָיו
KJV: "My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him"
NIV: "My beloved thrust his hand through the latch-opening; my heart began to pound for him"
and Ps. 42:6(5)
מַה תִּשְׁתּוֹחֲחִי נַפְשִׁי וַתֶּהֱמִי עָלָי
KJV: "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me?"

Isaac Fried, Boston University
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