George, I view the Torah on two levels: the Pashat and a metaphorical level that perhaps sometime I will elaborate on. On the Pashat, I see (iYSh TaM YoShaeBh (oHaLeeM as "a simple man, one dwelling (in) tents" implying not much more then a contrast to his brother, who was engaging the world, being a hunter, out in the field. The metaphorical level is beside the point in this conversation, but let it suffice that I do not believe that it represents community as Jim states.
Nevertheless, here are the cognates to (oHaeL: Sabaic - folk, people, community Akkadian - tribe, confederation Arabic - take a wife, be familiar, inhabited; enable, qualify, competence, aptitude The later 4 in Arabic help to suggest the basic meaning of the word - "extend outward" as in 1 - tent 2 - extended family, community 3- one's extending / extent, reach, ability This is further indicated by the Hiphil in Job (Jb25:5) "And how can a man be justified with G-d, and how shall one born of a woman be clean / pure? (From) here unto the moon, and he cannot reach / extend, and so even the stars are not clear in his sight (eyes)." The Hiphil meaning "to project / reach / extend over / toward" Cordially, David Kolinsky, Monterey, CA --- On Mon, 3/21/11, George Athas <[email protected]> wrote: From: George Athas <[email protected]> Subject: [b-hebrew] Tents = Community? To: "B-Hebrew" <[email protected]> Date: Monday, March 21, 2011, 5:45 PM Jim, Could you please provide some evidence for your claim that אהלים ('tents') has the connotation of 'community' -- that is, larger than a family clan. There is nothing in the Genesis narrative that I can see which necessitates your rendition. Is there any actual linguistic or contextual evidence for your claim? GEORGE ATHAS Moore Theological College (Sydney, Australia) www.moore.edu.au _______________________________________________ b-hebrew mailing list [email protected] http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-hebrew _______________________________________________ b-hebrew mailing list [email protected] http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-hebrew
