Prof. Yigal Levin:
You wrote: “You've already explained in detail why you don't think that
the Patriarchs' Hebron is where everyone else thinks it is. Please DO NOT
do so again, under any subject line.”
Fine. I hope, however, that we might nevertheless be permitted to discuss
on the b-hebrew list how the Biblical Hebrew words (LH and (MQ and HR work
in the rest of the Bible [excluding Genesis]. O.K.?
In the entirety of the rest of the Bible, no human being is e-v-e-r said
to “go up”/(LH to “a broad true valley”/(MQ. So if one sees the word
(MQ in the rest of the Bible, then take it to the bank, no one will ever be
said to “go up”/(LH to such locale. Unlike in English, in Biblical Hebrew
[always excluding Genesis for all purposes of this post] the words HR
[mountain, mountains, hill, hills] and (MQ are antithetical. Whenever one
sees
the Biblical word (MQ, one will never see the Biblical word HR, and vice
versa. Whereas the Biblical Hebrew words (LH and HR go together like hand
and glove, the word (MQ, by sharp contrast, is absolutely antithetical to
both (LH and HR in the rest of the Bible. That’s not English usage, but who
cares about that, because it is Biblical Hebrew usage.
Note also that in the entirety of the rest of the Bible, whenever an (MQ
in southern Canaan [south of the Jezreel Valley] is referenced, it is
a-l-w-a-y-s located either west or east of the Watershed Ridge Route [which
runs from north of Shechem south through hill country to the site of King David
’s first capital city of Hebron in mountainous southern hill country].
N-e-v-e-r in the rest of the Bible does one find an (MQ located on the
Watershed Ridge Route itself. Thus completely unlike the English word “valley”
, the word (MQ in the rest of the Bible necessarily implies [in the
context of southern Canaan] a place that both (i) is located east or west of
the
Watershed Ridge Route, and (ii) is at a lower elevation than hill country.
There’s not a single exception to that in the entire rest of the Bible. So
if one sees the word (MQ in the rest of the Bible, then take it to the
bank, that (MQ in southern Canaan is n-o-t located on the Watershed Ridge
Route, much less near the top of the highest mountain in Canaan on the
dramatic southern end of the Watershed Ridge Route.
Finally, in the rest of the Bible [always excluding Genesis in this post],
whenever there is an extended discussion of something going on near the
top of the tallest mountain in Canaan, which beginning with II Samuel is
portrayed as being King David’s first capital city of Hebron: (a) one almost
a-l-w-a-y-s sees the nomenclature (LH and HR, as people naturally “go up”
/(LH to that site located high up in the “mountains”/HR of mountainous
southern hill country; and (b) one n-e-v-e-r sees a reference to (MQ: “a
true broad valley which, if located in southern Canaan, is located either west
or east of the Watershed Ridge Route at an elevation lower than hill
country”. In the rest of the Bible, it would be i-m-p-o-s-s-i-b-l-e to
reference that site near the top of the tallest mountain in Canaan by (1)
never
using the words (LH or HR, and (2) explicitly stating that such site in
southern Canaan is an (MQ.
To me, these Biblical Hebrew words (MQ, (LH and HR have a clear meaning.
In particular [always excluding Genesis, per your request], the Biblical
Hebrew word (MQ in the context of southern Canaan has a very specific
meaning. It means that no one will ever be portrayed as “going up”/(LH to
that
(MQ, it means that such (MQ is not located in the HR/mountains, and it
means that such (MQ will of necessity be located either west or east of the
Watershed Ridge Route at an elevation lower than hill country, not on the
Watershed Ridge Route, much less way up/(LH near the top of the highest
mountain/HR in Canaan on the dramatic southern end of the Watershed Ridge
Route.
In the entirety of the Bible outside of Genesis, the Biblical Hebrew words
(LH and (MQ and HR appear to me to have the above unambiguous meanings.
Prof. Yigal Levin, what am I missing here? Any help from you or anyone
else would be greatly appreciated.
Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois
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