Isaac Fried:
1. You wrote: “I don't think there is a Hebrew root meaning ‘mighty’.”
)YL, and sometimes its alternate form )WL and its shortened form )L, are
the basis for many Hebrew words and names based on the concept of “mighty”.
(i) )WL means “mighty, strength”.
(ii) )WLM and )LM mean a portico, vestibule or porch created by “mighty”
posts or columns.
(iii) )YL usually means “ram”, the “mightiest” adult male sheep, but at
Isaiah 1: 29 and Isaiah 61: 3 it means “oak tree”, the “mightiest” tree.
(iv) )YL means “strength”, which is the quality of being “mighty”.
(v) )YL means either “deer” or “stag”. Some scholars think that the
meaning is the “mightiest” adult male deer. But others, reasoning from the
cognates that you dislike, see a different root for this word, which simply
means “deer”, and is not a play on “mighty”.
(vi) )YLH means either a female deer, or the female of a “mighty” male
deer.
(vii) )YLT is also a female deer.
(viii) )YLWT means “strength”, which is a play on “mighty”.
(ix) )YLM in full form, but usually it’s shortened to )LM, dropping the
interior yod. Scholars split on whether it means “arch” or “vestibule”, but
the meaning is probably based on “mighty” columns.
(x) Elon at Joshua 19: 43 [or Aijalon/Elon, or “tiny Aijalon”] is )YLWN.
The meaning is likely “mighty tree place”.
(xi) Aijalon at Joshua 19: 44 has the same spelling at #x above: )YLWN.
Yet the meaning of the name of this famous city may be different. It may
mean “deer place”. Per the Amarna Letters, it was pronounced a-ia-lu-na,
with a consonantal yod, which is the hallmark of cognates that mean “deer”.
(xii) Another place with the spelling )YLWN at the beginning of its name
is at I Kings 4: 9. This part of its name means “oak-grove”, that is, “
mighty tree place”. (This may or may not be the same place as x or xi.) The
Shephelah was famous for its oak trees that lined the edges of the valleys, so
many names based on “mighty tree” or “oak tree” appear in the Shephelah.
We would not expect to see any such names in southern hill country, and we
don’t.
(xiii) )YLT is the desert equivalent of “mighty tree”, in context
referring to palm trees.
(xiv) )YLM has the same meaning as #xiii.
Please note that with the possible exception of the “deer” words and
names, every single one of the west Semitic words and proper names in Hebrew
that
begins with )YL is a play on “mighty”. Note that while retention of that
interior yod is the most common pattern, (i) that interior letter can in two
cases be a vav, and (ii) we have already seen two cases where the interior
letter can be dropped entirely, with no change in the underlying meaning,
which remains a play on “mighty”.
In a handful of cases, the interior yod in )YL is dropped, yet the
remaining )L still means “mighty”. In that handful of cases, the )L word can
nicely recall a )YL proper name. As such, )LNY at Genesis 13: 18 can recall
)YLWN in the plural, that is, the two Aijalons in the Aijalon Valley. )LNY
means both “mighty tree places of” and “Aijalons of”. [Mamre/MMR( refers to
the Amorite princeling ruler of Gezer who dominated the Aijalon Valley in the
Amarna Age: Milk-Ilu. The pinpoint historical accuracy of the Patriarchal
narratives is absolutely stunning.]
(xv) )L is traditionally seen as meaning “mighty, strength, Almighty”,
though some scholars deny that.
(xvi) )LH is a “mighty tree”, the “oak”, and has the identical meaning
as a proper name.
(xvii) )LWN is a “mighty tree”, such as an “ oak”. As a geographical
place name it has the same meaning.
Based on the foregoing 17 cases, )YL is a root that means “mighty”, and on
occasion, )WL and )L can be variants of )YL and mean “mighty”. Most
importantly, in those limited cases where a )L word is based on “mighty”, such
)L word can nicely recall a proper name that starts with )YL, because the
meanings are identical.
2. You wrote: “The single consonant Hebrew root L represents elevation or
loftiness, as in the words EL, UL, OL, (LEH, LUL, etc.”
No, the most common meaning of )YL is “ram”, which has nothing to do with “
elevation” or “loftiness”, but rather is the “mightiest” sheep.
3. You wrote: “The yod in AYAL איל is possibly a softened $ or C.
Compare with the tree name E$EL of Gen. 21:33, and ACIYL, 'noble?' of Ex.
24:11.”
No, )YL is either a play on “mighty”, as shown above, or else means “deer”
. The yod is not a “softened $ or C”; in fact, the yod often drops out.
4. You wrote: “Possibly related to this is the ATAL- in the name
ATAL-YAH.
The YAEL of Job. 39:1 is, in my opinion, a variant of $UAL, 'fox?' of Cant.
2:15.”
None of that has anything to do with )YL.
5. You wrote: “It is a good idea to leave out any reference to ‘cognates’
.”
Who’s afraid of cognates? None of my views require avoiding cognates.
Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois
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