Jim: 1) I refer to Asher not as 'that', but as the proper name.
2) There's nothing bizarre about my assertion -- no need for an exclamation mark. If Ba'al was widely used in Eretz Yisrael, then it wouldn't be surprising if a name such as Asher, a masculinized form of Ashera, Baal's consort, might be too. I don't share your your assumptions about Asher's birthplace. 3) I know Moshe is Egyptian. Osnat is too, though she wasnt a Hebrew, just married to one. 4) You think Terah Haran and Nahor are indigenous to Canaan? I agree they werent from southern Mesopotamia (a later gloss), but more likely from NE Syria, around, well, the Haran area. Uzi Silber On Tue, Mar 20, 2012 at 10:03 AM, <[email protected]> wrote: > ** > > Uzi Silber:**** > > ** ** > > 1. You wrote: “So are you of the opinion that any linguistic connection > between Asher and Ashera is entirely coincidental?”**** > > ** ** > > (a) There is no linguistic connection whatsoever between Asher at Genesis > 30: 13 and Ashera.**** > > ** ** > > (b) If Nir Cohen wants to talk about the Hebrew common word “asher” that > means “which”, he’s free to do so, but that does not establish any linguistic > connection between Asher at Genesis 30: 13 and Ashera.**** > > ** ** > > 2. You wrote: “That there's no way that Asher is the masculine form of > Ashera?”**** > > ** ** > > Asher at Genesis 30: 13, as the name of one of Jacob’s sons who is portrayed > as being born way out east in Naharim in eastern Syria, has no connection > whatsoever to the pagan goddess Ashera, and is definitely not “the masculine > form of Ashera”.**** > > ** ** > > 3. You wrote: “Yet if it's so strange for Israelites to sport Canaanite > names….”**** > > ** ** > > What kind of a bizarre assertion is that? Terah, ****Haran****, Nahor and > Abram are all Canaanite names. The Hebrews are indigenous to Canaan, and are > accurately portrayed in the Patriarchal narratives as being indigenous to > **Canaan**. So naturally the early Hebrews have Canaanite names. The early > Hebrews don’t have Akkadian names, because the Hebrews are not indigenous to > southern **Mesopotamia**, nor are they portrayed as such in the Patriarchal > narratives.**** > > ** ** > > 4. You wrote: “…what should we make of Yeruba'al, Ish'ba'al and Mefiba'al > who lived centuries later, in a **Canaan** far less Canaanite than it was > during Asher's time?”**** > > ** ** > > Ba’al was a very popular pagan god in 1st millennium BCE Israel, and was also > known, though to a lesser extent, in ****Judah****. For better or worse, > **Israel** (as opposed to ****Judah****) was a pluralistic society. In that > context, it’s not surprising that the names of many people in **Israel**, and > of some people in ****Judah****, honored the pagan god Ba’al.**** > > ** ** > > What’s any of that have to do with the truly ancient Patriarchal > narratives?**** > > ** ** > > 5. You wrote: “Not to mention of course all those that had Egyptian names > -- Pinkhas comes to mind.”**** > > ** ** > > I believe that Panhesy may be virtually the only Egyptian name that became > the name of a Hebrew. [By the way, Panhesy at Amarna may be the historical > model for the “Baker” in chapter 40 of Genesis.] The name “Moses” may also > be Egyptian. Hebrews having Egyptian names is an extremely isolated > phenomenon. That may suggest that the Book of Exodus is allegorical, rather > than reporting an historical 400 years of bondage of the Hebrews in > ****Egypt****. Note that Biblical Hebrew is a virgin pure west Semitic > language, showing little influence of either Egyptian or Akkadian. That > supports the view that, consistent with the Patriarchal narratives, the > Hebrews were indigenous to **Canaan**.**** > > ** ** > > None of that is inconsistent with my view of the Patriarchal narratives, nor > does it undercut my insistence that there is no linguistic connection > whatsoever between Asher at Genesis 30: 13 and Ashera.**** > > ** ** > > Jim Stinehart**** > > ****Evanston**, **Illinois******** > > _______________________________________________ b-hebrew mailing list [email protected] http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-hebrew
