The Hebrew word NHhM, from which we get the transliterated name we know of as Noah, is also translated basically as 2 different words with opposing meanings, one meaning "comfort", the other meaning "regret".
The parent root is Strong's number 5146, and it conveys the idea of exhaling air, from N [moving seed] and Hh [separating wall]. The M [water FROM which things come] seems to indicate that this particular exhaling of air produces comfort or regret "from" some source. A related word is Strong's number 5170, NHhR, meaning "to snort". This I believe is conveyed by the same N [moving seed] and Hh [separating wall] but from the nostrils, the uppermost place (R [top]) to exhale. I believe there is one English concrete word that conveys the idea behind the word NHhM, and that word is "Sigh". The free dictionary gives this as it's first meaning of the word: a. To exhale audibly in a long deep breath, as in weariness or relief. Consider these two expressions, and see how they fit. 1. Noah brought a sigh of relief [NHhM] from the grief brought by humanity. 2. God breathed a sigh of regret that he shaped man on the earth. Ron
