I agree with Michael who wrote: >> The idea that written language evolved from oral traditions to pictographs and ideograms is not controversial. What is controversial is what we might claim are the meanings behind the pictures they represent. It is not unreasonable to say that Aleph is an representation of the head of an ox (the shape of the letter Aleph is thought to derive from a Proto-Sinaitic glyph based on a hieroglyph depicting an Ox's head). It's quite another to claim that words containing the letter aleph somehow reflect the characteristics of an ox (or its head). As far as I know, there is little archeological or linguistic research supporting this idea. <<
It is widely accepted that the names of Hebrew letters are associated with words that begin with those letters. Regarding the more controversial claim that Michael mentions, the attributes of some gods and goddesses do seem to be associated with the attributes of words whose sounds are similar to that of the deity. That is, the mythology of the god or goddess seems to be an instantiation of the attributes called to mind by his/her name. Let's examine Artemis as an example. ARTEMIS Artemis = ancient Greek goddess, identified by the Romans with Diana, characterized as a virgin huntress associated with the moon, forests and childbirth. The word "rhythm" is probably connected with the goddess Artemis. Rhythm < Latin rhythmus < Greek rhythmףs ~ Artemis. The syllables of Artemis occur in the following Hebrew words: yod-resh-het yaray(akh) = moon yod-aiyin-resh ya'ar = forest yod-resh-heh yarah = shoot (arrow) lamed-dalet-heh laydah = birth (L=>R and D=>T) resh-oh-dalet-feh rodayf = hunter (D=>T) taf-alef-oh-mem ta'omim = twins taf-oh-mem tom = perfect innocence, virgin taf-mem-oo-saf tamoos = unblemished condition (Talmudic) taf-mem-oo-saf-heh t'moosah = animal on the point of death (Talmudic) What is rhythm / Artem[is] pronounced backwards? Symmetry/meter = the rhythmic element in music < Gk mיtron = measure. Compare Diana with dance = to move rhythmically, usually to the accompaniment of music. I thought this was rather remarkable until I discovered that Artemis has a Semitic origin. I am not claiming that this is a universal or primary characteristic of word-formation ... just that it does seem to have some validity in some cultures at some period of time. Ciao, Israel "izzy" Cohen
