Isaac Fried: You wrote: “I tend to think that the fraction אש of אשבלE$BEL is the theophoric E$ or IY$, appearing as A$ in the name אשר A$ER(=E$-OR?), and as IYS in the name ISRAEL.” O.K., but what everyone wants to know,however, is how you interpret in Hebrew the names “Rachel” and “Leah”. 1. [“Rachel”]: RXL : RX -L : RX -)L Responding to your stern admonitionthat most names in the ancient world featured a theophoric, I have interpretedthe final lamed/L in Rachel’s name as being a theophoric, namely an abbreviatedform of )L/“El”. If so, then instead ofmeaning “Ewe” as ordinarily supposed, the intended Hebrew etymology and meaningof the name “Rachel” as RXL : RX -L : RX -)L is: “Millstone of God”. How do you interpret the name “Rachel”? Do you see it as having a theophoric? 2. [“Leah”]: L)H : L -)H : L -)X Just as it would not make sense for thename “Rachel” to mean “Ewe”, it likewise would not make sense for the name “Leah”to mean “Cow”. Those two women aren’tcattle, they aren’t treated like cattle, and they don’t act like cattle. On the contrary, rather than being passiveand docile like cattle, to their credit each such woman is aggressive andassertive to a fault, and is revered therefor. Once again proceeding on the basis of yourstern admonition that most names in the ancient world featured a theophoric [Isure hope you’re not going to abandon that view that you forcefully asserted],I see the Hebrew etymology and meaning of the name “Leah” as being comprised oftwo separate Hebrew common words. Thefirst is lamed/L, which means “belonging to” in a wide variety of senses. Then we need a theophoric, and there it is,once we recognize that in cuneiform writing [which is how all these names inthe Patriarchal narratives would have been originally recorded, if these namesare really, really old and were reduced to writing way back in the Bronze Age],there was no difference whatsoever between he/H and heth/X. So interpreting the he/H in the receivedalphabetical text here as originally having been intended in the originalcuneiform text as being a heth/X, the second half of Leah’s name is )X. That’s the Hebrew common word for “brother”,and in proper names “brother” is routinely a theophoric, meaning “the divineBrother”, that is, God. So the intended Hebrew etymology andmeaning of the name “Leah” has nothing whatsoever to do with “Cow”, but ratheras L)H : L -)H : L -)X means: “Belongingto the divine Brother”, that is, “Belonging to God”. How do you interpret the name “Leah”? Do you see it as having a theophoric? * * * Isaac Fried, certainly you don’tinterpret the names “Rachel” and “Leah” as meaning “Ewe” and “Cow”, doyou? Shouldn’t we be looking fortheophorics, and thereby coming up with decent Hebrew etymologies and meaningsfor these two names? JimStinehart Evanston,Illinois
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