An Excellent Blog About The Hebrew Language

[shmuel]

For those interested in the Hebrew language as well as language generally, here is an excellent blog.

http://balashon.blogspot.com/

Here is an interesting quote from a recent entry:

The Hebrew root גרש means "to expel, to drive away". An related meaning is "to divorce". Divorce is gerushin גירושין and a divorcee is a garush גרוש. The connection between expulsion and divorce led to some humor during the protests over the Gaza disengagement. A popular bumper sticker read: יהודי לא מגרש יהודי - "A Jew does not expel another Jew". But someone read the sticker to me and said, "I thought it was the Catholics that don't divorce..."

 

[Sephania]

The Hebrew root גרש means "to expel, to drive away". An related meaning is "to divorce". Divorce is gerushin גירושין and a divorcee is a garush גרוש. The connection between expulsion and divorce led to some humor during the protests over the Gaza disengagement. A popular bumper sticker read: יהודי לא מגרש יהודי - "A Jew does not expel another Jew". But someone read the sticker to me and said, "I thought it was the Catholics that don't divorce..."

 

[Sephania]

( had to enlarge it to read the Hebrew)

 

[Tishri1]

thank you thank you thank you I was looking for a better sight on hebrew just yesterday...Hey do you know anything about the 100+ "Special Markings " in the TNK? Would love a web sight on them!

 

[Sephania]

Where did you hear that from Tish?

 

[christinepro]

The Hebrew root גרש means "to expel, to drive away". An related meaning is "to divorce".

HeHe!! I guess it could have been worse.

 

[Tishri1]

Where did you hear that from Tish?

an example would be where Jacob goes to meet his brother Essau and it says something like Essau kissed Jacob(I'm going off memory here) and the Hebrew word for kissed has 5or 6 dots over it ...those are Teeth Marks because that is what Essau really wanted to do...so then you look for other teeth marks and see a pattern for the future.....something like that anyway...I want to find out more about those things....like the inverted "Nun" (in Jonah I think), that means resurrection...stuff like that....

 

[shmuel]

an example would be where Jacob goes to meet his brother Essau and it says something like Essau kissed Jacob(I'm going off memory here) and the Hebrew word for kissed has 5or 6 dots over it ...those are Teeth Marks because that is what Essau really wanted to do...so then you look for other teeth marks and see a pattern for the future.....something like that anyway...I want to find out more about those things....like the inverted "Nun" (in Jonah I think), that means resurrection...stuff like that....

The above is an example of an extraordinary point.

http://www.heavendwellers.com/appendix_31.htm

There are fifteen words which present an abnormal appearance in the printed Hebrew Bibles. These are of the utmost importance, as they represent the most ancient result of Textual Criticism on the part of the Sopherim. Ten of these words are in the Pentateuch, and five occur in the Prophets and Hagiographa.

Genesis 16:5. 18:9. 19:33,35. 33:4. 37:12. Numbers 3:39. 9:10. 21:30. 29:15. Deuteronomy 29:29. 2Samuel 19:29. Isaiah 44:9. Ezekiel 41:20. 46:22. Psalm 27:13.

There are four explanations given for the dots:

1. The dots indicate letters to be deleted.
2. The dots indicate questions about the accuracy of transmission of the word.
3. The dots relate to midrashic commentary and indicate nothing about the certainty of text transmission.
4. The dots were added to indicate doctrinal reservations.

Each of the explanations can account for one or more dotted words, but none of them can explain every occurrence.

In addition to the extraordinary points there are also inverted nunim, suspended letters, large letters, small letters and other orthographic irregularities. Probably the best known suspended letter is the suspended nun in Jud 18:30 that changes mem-shin-he (Moses) to mem-nun-shin-he (Manasseh). The motive was to spare Moses the bad reputation involved in having an idolatrous priest for a grandson.

 

[Sephania]

When did the dots come to be used? I have been studying ancient hebrew and that is sans dots.

 

[shmuel]

When did the dots come to be used? I have been studying ancient hebrew and that is sans dots.

At least as early as the time of copying of the Great Isaiah Scroll from Qumran.

http://www.ao.net/~fmoeller/qum-intr.htm#dots

 

[Sephania]

So that is post- exile.

Shmuel, what do you think of the change from pre-babylonian letters to post-babylonian?

 

[shmuel]

More about dots at:

http://www.bayit02.freeserve.co.uk/html/dots.html

The left-hand picture at the top of the page is the word that Tishri asked about.

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]There are some 15 words in the Tanach which are nakud (dotted). The most probable explanation is that they were inserted to call attention to some important homiletical teaching in connection with the words, but possibly they indicate that the words or letters were doubtful and are to be deleted, presumably when Elijah comes and resolves the various scribal disagreements that have sprung up. Ezra is hedging his bets saying that if Elijah says ‘why have you written these words’ he will reply ‘I have placed dots over them’ and if he says ‘you have written them correctly’ then he will remove the dots! (Avot d’Rabbi Natan 30b).[/SIZE][/FONT]

. . . .

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]4. Gen. 33:4 - vayishakehu (Esau ran towards him [Jacob], embaced him, fell upon his neck, and kissed him and they wept) has six dots, one over each letter. This is perhaps the most famous of the dotted letters as it is explained by the Rabbis that it intimates that Esau did not kiss his brother Jacob, rather he bit or at least intended to (Ba’al Haturim) bite him the same Hebrew word but a completely different meaning showing that Esau remained insincere in his reconciliation with Jacob and the dots indicate in some sense that the word is not fully there, as Esau’s intention contradicted his action. Alternatively he did not kiss him with sincerity (ARN 30b) or according to R. Simeon b. Eleazar this was the only time it was sincere and all other times it was insincere.[/SIZE]

However, the word for "kiss" is nun-shin-qof, while "bite" is spelled nun-shin-kaf. While in the present pronunciation system qof and kaf with dagesh are both pronounced the same (as k or q) anciently there was a distinction. The qof was an emphatic.
[/FONT]

 

[shmuel]

Shmuel, what do you think of the change from pre-babylonian letters to post-babylonian?

No opinion. Hebrew has been written with a number of scripts. The Great Isaiah Scroll is not written in the paleoscript, but it it is also different in certain aspects from the square script used today. I believe that it is called the Hamonean script. But I am not certain, since my main concern is to read material written in either the square script or modern cursive.

 

[Sephania]

OK, thanks anyway!

 

[shmuel]

So that is post- exile.

As far as I know the only objects from the period of the First Temple that contain a Biblical text are the Ketef Hinnom silver scrolls.


http://www.israel-mfa.gov.il/MFA/History/Early%20History%20-%20Archaeology/Archaeological%20Sites%20in%20Israel%20-%20Jerusalem%20-%20Silve

This biblical text, dated to the 7th century BCE, is the oldest known to date and pre-dates the texts found in the Dead Sea area by about 500 years. The word yhwh (the name of the Lord in Hebrew) appears in writing for the first time ever. The benediction quoted from the Book of Numbers was recited by the Temple priests when blessing the congregation; here it is found in writing and for individual use. The tiny silver scrolls were probably worn as amulets around the neck.