I still think that he who talks about Hebrew etymology
should explain what he means by this "etymology".
Etymology, I think, is not meaning but rather interconnectivity.
As an example consider the
ויהי בבקר ותפעם רוחו
of Gen. 41:8, "And it came to pass in the morning that his (Pharaoh's)
spirit was troubled."
There is no doubt as to what happened in the morning, except
that we are left curious about the nature of the physical evocation
of the intangible emotional state WA-TI-PAEM, above and beyond
the facile "troubled". In particular, how, we want to know, is this
related to the זאת הפעם ZOT HA-PAAM, "this is now", of Gen. 2:23.
Also פעמות PAM-OT, "corners", of Ex. 25:12. Also פעמון PAAM-
ON,
"bell", of Ex. 28:34.
I think that פעם is a variant of the Mishnaic פטם PTM,
(from which we have פטמה PITMAH, 'nipple, teat'),
'inflated, swelled, fat, plump, obese', (related to the פצם PCM
of Ps. 60:4(2)), so that פעמון PAAMON is but a chubby מפוטם
thin walled metal ball (bell = bellowing ball?) with bits of metal
put inside it to make a rattling noise.
Isaac Fried, Boston University
On Dec 28, 2012, at 1:37 PM, Nir cohen - Prof. Mat. wrote:
On Thu, 27 Dec 2012 21:06:32 -0500, Isaac Fried wrote
> 1. The problem is not with not having an etymology "that we can
analyze", but with knowing what you mean by "etymology".
that's it, we stay at base one all the time. i find it very
frustrating. some of us do not accept general methodologies, invent
their own,
then want them to be the general rule.
nir cohen
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