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In this Issue

Biblical Hebrew Word – Earth

Modern Hebrew Word – Airport

Featured AHRC Product – A History of Hebrew

Name Study – Og

Verse Study – Genesis 3:15

Q & A – Yehovah

In the News – Naboth's Vineyard

MT Excerpt – Genesis 19:21-28

AHRC Excerpt – Mine Entrance Inscription

AHRC Updates

Comments & Editorial

Biblical Hebrew Word – Earth

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth (Genesis 1:1)

The Hebrew word translated as "earth" is ארץ (erets, Strong's #776). While this word can mean

the whole "earth," it is usually used in the context of a "land" or a "region" and for this reason; in

my Mechanical Translation I translate this word as "land." The King James Version of the Bible

will translate this Hebrew word as; land (1543 times), earth (712), country (140), ground (98),

world (4), way (3), common (1), field (1) and nations (1).

This word is derived from the parent root רץ (rats, Strong's #7518) meaning a "fragment," as in a

piece of broken pottery, which was commonly used to write messages. In the image below is

such a fragment, which is a receipt for a 3 shekel donation to the "House of Yahweh."

Issue #081, Dec, 2017

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A "land," such as the "land of Israel," had defined borders, and all of the "lands" are pieced

together, much like a shattered piece of pottery that has been glued back together. It is interesting

to note that the English word "earth" appears to be closely related to the Hebrew word erets.

Modern Hebrew Word – Airport

The Modern Hebrew word for an "airport" is שדה תעופה (sadeh t'uphah). The Hebrew word שדה

(sadeh, Strong's #7704) means "field," and תעופה (t'uphah), which is a Modern Hebrew word, means "aviation." This Modern Hebrew word is derived from the Biblial Hebrew verb עוף (Ah.W.Ph, Strong's #5774) meaning "to fly." Therefore, a more literal translation of השדה תעופ

(sadeh t'uphah) would be "aviation field."

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Featured AHRC Product – A History of Hebrew (DVD)

This 83 minute video explores the history of the Hebrew Bible, called the

Old Testament by Christians and the Tanakh by Jews, and its language

and philosophy. The Hebrew Bible is an Ancient Near Eastern text, which

was written millennia ago within a time and culture that is vastly different

from our own. The authors' perspectives on life and the world around

them are steeped with their own traditions, lifestyles, manners and

thoughts. When reading and studying this text we cannot interject our own

cultural perspectives into the text. To do so would bring about

interpretations and conclusions that are far removed from the authors

intended meaning.

We will be examining the Hebrew alphabet, language, philosophy and culture to uncover the

evidence that supports a perspective of these ancient Near Eastern texts that is very different

from the way they are normally perceived, and we will dig into the deeper meanings of these

texts from an ancient perspective.

Hebrew Name Study – Og

And they turned and went up by the way of Bashan: and Og the king of Bashan

went out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. (Numbers 21:33,

ASV)

In Hebrew, this name is written as עוג ('og, Strong's #5747). This name is derived from the

Hebrew verb עוג ('ug, Strong's #5746), which means "bake," but probably more specifically "to

bake round breads on hot stones." Derived from this verb is the noun העוג (ugah, Strong's #5692)

meaning "baked bread," or more specifically a "round bread" that is baked on hot stones. The

masculine form of this noun is עוג (og) and is the source for the name עוג ('og, Strong's #5747).

The meaning of this masculine noun is unknown, but most likely has the same or similar

meaning as the feminine form of the noun. If that is the case, the meaning of the name of Og, the

king of Bashan that fought with Israel in Deuteronomy 3 and was defeated, means "a lump of

dough thrown on the hot coals."

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Hebrew Verse Study – Genesis 3:15

שה ובין זרעך ובין זרעה הוא ואיבה ית בינך ובין הא אש ישופך ראש ואתה תשופנו עקב׃

and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: he shall

bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. (ASV)

meaning (v) ו meaning "hatred" with the prefix (eyvah) איבה This is the noun (v'ey'vah) ואיבה

"and" – and hatred.

ית (a) א meaning to "set in place" or "put." The prefix (S.Y.T) שית This is the verb (a'siyt) אש

indicates that the verb is in the imperfect tense – will put, and the subject of the verb as first

person, singular – I will put.

meaning (kha) ך meaning "between" with the suffix (beyn) בין This is the word (beyn'kha) בינך

"you" – between you.

"meaning "and (u) ו meaning "between" with the prefix (beyn) בין This is the word (u'veyn) ובין

– and between.

שה (ha) ה meaning "woman" with the prefix (ishah) אשה This is the noun (ha'i'shah) הא

meaning "the" – the woman.

"meaning "and (u) ו meaning "between" with the prefix (beyn) בין This is the word (u'veyn) ובין

– and between.

meaning (kha) ך meaning "seed" with the suffix (zera) זרע This is the noun (zar'a'kha) זרעך

"you" – your seed.

"meaning "and (u) ו meaning "between" with the prefix (beyn) בין This is the word (u'veyn) ובין

– and between.

– "meaning "her (ah) ה meaning "seed" with the suffix (zera) זרע This is the noun (zar'ah) זרעה

her seed.

".This is the pronoun meaning "he (hu) הוא

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indicates (y) י meaning "crush." The prefix (Sh.W.Ph) שוף This is the verb (y'shuph'kha) ישופך

that the verb is in the imperfect tense – will crush, and identifies the subject of the verb as third

person, masculine, singular – he will crush. The suffix ך (kha) means "you" – he will crush you.

".This is the Hebrew noun meaning a "head (rosh) ראש

meaning (v) ו meaning "you" with the prefix (a'tah) אתה This is the pronoun (v'a'tah) ואתה

"and" – and you.

(t) ת meaning "crush." The prefix (Sh.W.Ph) שוף This is the verb (t'shu'phe'nu) תשופנו

indicates that the verb is in the imperfect tense – will crush, and identifies the subject of the verb

as second person, masculine, singular – you will crush. The suffix נו (nu) means "him" – you will

crush him.

".This is the Hebrew noun meaning a "heel (a'qeyv) עקב

The following is a literal rendering of this verse from its Hebraic meaning.

And I will put hatred between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed, he, he will crush you, a head, and you, you will crush

him, a heel.

Note that for the end of this verse most translations read, "He will crush your head and you will

crush his heel," but this is grammatically incorrect for the Hebrew. If in fact this was what the

author intended to say, it would have been written as, ועקב ףרושך ותשו ףישו (yeshuph rosh'kha

v't'shuph eqevo).Young's Literal Translation reads, "he doth bruise thee--the head, and thou dost

bruise him--the heel." With that said, what do the words "head" and "heel" mean in this context?

The word rosh (head) can mean "first" (see the KJV translation of 1 Chronicles 12:9) and the

word eqev (heel) can mean "last" (see the KJV translation of Genesis 49:19). With these

interpretations, the final part of this verse could be translated as, "he will crush you first and you

will crush him last."

Q & A - Yehovah

Q: Is the pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton Yehovah?

A: The pronunciation of the third letter in the Tetragrammaton, the letter vav, as it is known

today, has been debated for a long time by many people. There are some, myself included, who

believe that the original name of this letter was waw and as a consonant it had a "w" sound and

not a "v" sound as it does today in Modern Hebrew.

In a video interview with Michael Rood, Nehemiah Gordon presented his research into the

original pronunciation of the sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the letter ו (vav/waw). Before I

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go any further I need to mention that I have a lot of respect for Nehemiah and I look to him as

one of my teachers. So while we may have differing opinions on this issue, I still hold his

perspectives in high regard.

One of the evidences that he presented was that the Hebrew word for a "back" can be spelled as

both of which are pronounced gav. The Hebrew ,(see Ezekiel 23:35) גו or (see Ezekiel 10:12) גב

letter ב (beyt) can have a "b" sound or a "v" sound, depending on its position within the word.

His argument is that if the Hebrew word gav could be spelled with a beyt or a vav, and we know

for certain that the beyt has a "v" sound, then the vav must also have a "v" sound.

The first thing that I want to point out is that we do not know if in ancient times the letter beyt

was pronounced with a "v" when at the end of a syllable, we only know that it is pronounced this

way in modern times. The second thing I want to point out goes a little deeper into these two

words.

The word גו (Strong's #1458) is used in the Hebrew Bible only three times, 1 Kings 14:9,

Nehemiah 9:26 and Ezekiel 23:35 and in each case this word is translated as "back" and always

in the context of "behind the back."

The word גב (Strong's #1354) is used thirteen times in the Hebrew Bible; six of these times are in

the book of Ezekiel. In Ezekiel 1:18 it is translated in the KJV as "ring," in Ezekiel 10:12 as

"backs," in Ezekiel 16:24, 16:31, 16:39 as "eminent place" and in Ezekiel 43:13 as "higher

place." In other books of the Bible this word is translated as; naves, eyebrow, bodies and bosses.

In other translations the word גב is translated as; arch, spoke and rim. This word is translated as

"backs" only once (Ezekiel 10:12), The word גב does not mean "back," but instead means "arch,"

which may be the "back" (as when bent over) or something else that has the shape of an arch.

My conclusion is that גב and גו are two very different words, one meaning "arch" (גב), which is

pronounced gav, and the other meaning "back" (גו), which may be pronounced as gav or gaw.

I also had a question for Nehemiah concerning the use of the "o" in Yehovah and emailed him.

Below is my question, but I am adding some clarifications for your benefit in brackets.

I have noticed that words in the Masoretic text that include the nikkud cholam

[The nikkud are the dots and dashes added to Hebrew words in the Masoretic

text. The cholam is a single dot placed above a letter to represent the "o" sound]

are spelled with a vav in the Dead Sea Scrolls. For instance, אלהים includes the

cholam in the Masoretic text, but in the Dead Sea Scrolls it is spelled אלוהים [In

the Masoretic text this word is written as אלהים, with the cholam above the letter ה

(h)]. The same can be seen in the name יעקוב, the word כול, and many others.

If in fact "The Name" is pronounced Yehovah, then this name must include the

cholam, but we never see a double vav in "The Name" in the Dead Sea Scrolls.

[The pronunciation Yehovah would be written as יהוה. If this were the

pronunciation we would expect to see it written as יהווה in the Dead Sea Scrolls,

but we do not.] Based on this, my assumption has been that Yehovah (or any other

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form that includes the vowel "o" or "u" and the consonant "v") could not be the

pronunciation as the Dead Sea Scrolls always show only one vav and therefore

can only be pronounced as the vowel "o" or "u" *OR* as the consonant "v."

The following is Nehemiah's response.

Regarding the double Vav, this is an interesting suggestion. The Qumran scrolls

are not consistent about inserting Vavs to indicate Cholam or Shuruk/ Kubutz. In

the case of the Name, the matter is complicated by the fact that it would produce a

double Vav. I would be very surprised to find such a thing in Qumran. In the

Masoretic Text we find these double Vavs representing the sound Vo (as in Avon,

Mitzvot, etc.) and Vu (as in Yishtachavu, Nilvu). That means the double Vav in the

hypothetical form יהווה* might be pronounced YHVuH or YHVoH. I checked

Hovah (usually translated "ruin"), since this has a similar consonant and vowel

pattern. The way it appears at Qumran is quite interesting. It is written as HVYH

in 1QIsa-a, which presumably is Hoyah, a linguistic variant to Hovah, and

identical to what we find in the Masoretic Text in Ex 9:3.

If you suggestion is correct, I would expect to find a double Vav in another

instance where cholam is followed by consonantal Vav: -ov-. Here are some

examples I found that should employ a double Vav if your suggestion is correct:

Isa 24:2 KaLoveh לוה (כלווה not) כלוה MT; 1QIsa-a כ

Isa 49:23 Kovay קוי MT; 1QIsa-a קוי (not קווי).

Ps 69:7 Kovecha קויך MT; 4Q83 f19ii_20:28 קויכה (not קוויכה)

These are the only examples I could find in the Tanakh of Cholam followed by

Consonantal Vav where the text was also preserved in the DSS. I actually had no

idea what I would find until I looked and the evidence seems to disprove your

suggestion or at least not support it. There were three opportunities for the DSS

to use a Vav to mark a Cholam followed by a consonantal Vav and in all three

case it failed to do so.

I searched for Kubutz followed by consonantal Vav and only found one example

in the Tanakh (Nu 26:23), but this word is not preserved in the DSS.

And here is my response back to Nehemiah

How confident are you that the nikkudot preserve the original pronunciation of

Hebrew words? I ask because I have the opinion that while they do preserve the

pronunciation fairly well, history suggests that the pronunciations of words do

change over time, especially from one dialect to another. So, while כלוה (Is 24:2)

is pronounced "kalovah" in the Masoretic text, could it have originally been

"kalavah" (or something similar)?

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And that is where we are at on this issue at this time.

In the News – Naboth’s Vineyard

Archaeologist Uncovers Clues Pointing towards Evidence of Naboth’s Vineyard (From

Breaking Israel News)

And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard,

which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab, king of Shomron.” II Kings

21:1 (The Israel Bible)

Using laser technology, an archaeologist has discovered

that the Biblical story of Naboth’s coveted vineyard is

quite probably a factual account describing conditions

that did exist at the time. Her findings suggest a slightly

different reading of the story, which not all Bible

scholars may agree with.

Dr. Norma Franklin, one of the heads of the Jezreel Expedition, recently reported on some of the

remarkable archaeological discoveries made in the Jezreel Valley. The expedition established

that the valley was a major wine producing area in Biblical times. This opens up speculation as

to the veracity of the Biblical story of Naboth’s vineyard, which was said to have taken place in

the Jezreel Valley.

The clues to the Biblical connection originally came to light in 2012 when a LiDAR (Light

Detection and Ranging) scan, using pulsed lasers, revealed several features that had remained

hidden for centuries. Several wine and olive presses were discovered including the largest

ancient winepress in Israel found to date. The survey also revealed over 100 bottle-shaped pits

carved into the bedrock. Dr. Franklin theorized that many of these pits were used to store wine.

As a result of her findings, Dr. Franklin is convinced that the Biblical story of the conflict

between Naboth and King Ahav over a vineyard in the Jezreel Valley could very well have taken

place precisely as described.

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LiDAR map of Jezreel area.

Winery is in Area K. (Photo: Jezreel Expedition)

“As an archaeologist, I cannot say that there was definitely a specific man named Naboth who

had a particular vineyard,” Dr Franklin told Breaking Israel News. “The story is very old but

from what I have found, I can say that the story as described in the Bible quite probably could

have occurred here in the Jezreel.”

Despite technological advances in recent years, archaeology still has limitations. Vineyards do

not leave behind any lasting signs, so it is impossible to determine the exact site of Naboth’s

vineyard. A soil analysis by the Kibbutz Yizre’el did discover an area of land with the ideal

qualities for growing grapes.

It was difficult to determine the construction date of the winepress, which measures at about 12

meters square, since it was carved into the bedrock. Based on the structure of the press, Dr

Franklin suggested the site was established before 300 BCE, a timeframe that would certainly

allow for Naboth to be producing wine at that site.

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The area of the discovery (Photo: Jezreel Expedition)

The discovery of wine-related artifacts and their important role in Biblical narrative comes as no

surprise. Grapes are one of the seven species that bear a special blessing in the land of Israel.

A land of wheat and barley, and vines and fig-trees and pomegranates; a land of

olive-trees and honey; Deuteronomy 8:8

In fact, this blessing has a practical benefit in that wine production has always been prominent in

Israel, constituting one of the major exports of in ancient times. This blessing was unrealized for

centuries while the region was ruled by Muslims, who forbid the consumption of alcohol.

But Dr. Franklin’s discovery bears special significance since nowhere is the Biblical significance

importance of vineyards more evident than in the story of Naboth and King Ahav. The Biblical

narrative takes place in the fertile Jezreel Valley, an agricultural center to this day. According to

the 21st chapter of the Book of Kings, Naboth owned a vineyard on the eastern slope of the hill

of Jezreel near the palace of King Ahav. The king coveted the land but Naboth did not want to

sell the plot, and since it was an inheritance, Torah law forbade him from selling it outright.

Queen Jezebel intervened, staging a mock trial in order to seize Naboth’s property. The prophet

Elijah confronted Ahav, who repented.

According to the Bible, King Ahav wanted to turn the vineyard into a vegetable garden.

And Ahab spoke unto Naboth, saying: ‘Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it

for a garden of herbs. (I Kings 21:2)

Dr. Franklin doubts the precision of several aspects of the narrative.

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“This makes no sense when we know the importance of viticulture at that time and likely points

to it having been a later addition to the narrative,” she told Breaking Israel News, noting that a

king of that time had special needs for large quantities of wine for entertaining and for his troops.

Dr. Franklin noted that Naboth probably did not live in the Jezreel.

Treading floor draining to into vat 1

(Photo: Jezreel Expedition)

“Calling him a Jezreeli implies that he was from there but he did not live there,” said Dr

Franklin. “Owning a vineyard would make him wealthy since wine was an important

commodity. I reckon that since he was from the aristocracy he probably lived in Samaria and had

more than one vineyard. This would give a slightly different picture than the Bible, which

implies, though does not state explicitly, that he was a poor man being abused by the wealthy

king.”

Dr. Franklin also suggested an alternative interpretation of another aspect of story.

“Most Biblical scholars agree that the story was written down after the return from Babylon

which coincides with Nehemiah telling Israel to turn away their foreign wives,” Dr. Franklin

said. “It could be that the story of Jezebel, painting her as a horrible woman, made her appear

worse than she really was. In some sense, she was a good wife, helping her husband who was

sulking and depressed.”

Not religious in her personal life, Dr. Franklin reads the Bible with a critical eye. Nonetheless,

she does see the Bible as having relevance for her research in Israel.

“There is no doubt that the Bible is a useful source,” Dr. Franklin said. “All archaeologists use

the Bible, but some use it more cautiously.”

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MT Excerpt – Genesis 19:21-28

19:21&and he said to him, look, I lifted up your face also to this word for I will not overturn the

city which you spoke, 19:22&hurry, slip away unto there given that I will not be able to do a

word until you come unto there, therefore he called out the title of the city “Tso'ar [Tiny]”,

19:23&the sun went out upon the land and “Loth [Covering]” came unto “Tso'ar [Tiny]”,

19:24&and “YHWH [He exists]” caused to precipitate upon “Sedom [Secret]” and upon

“Ghamorah [Rebellion]” brimstone and fire from “YHWH [He exists]” from the sky, 19:25&and

he overturned these cities and all of the roundness and all of the settlers of the cities and the

spring up things of the ground, 19:26&and his woman stared from behind him and she existed as

a post of salt, 19:27&and “Avraham [Father lifted]” departed early in the morning to the place

where he stood there with the face of “YHWH [He exists]”, 19:28&and he looked down upon

the face of “Sedom [Secret]” and “Ghamorah [Rebellion]” and upon all of the face of the land of

the roundness and he saw and look, a smoldering of the land went up like a smoldering furnace,

AHRC Excerpt – Mine Entrance Inscription

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Description: Drawing of a steliform rock panel near a mine entrance showing Proto-Sinaitic

inscription, No. 349.

Era: Early Semitic Script

Image Credit: William Foxwell Albright

Date of Inscription: c. 1500 BCE

Location of Discovery: Sinai Penninsula

Date of Discovery: Early 20th Century

Translation: "Thou, O offerer, (or) chief miner, an offering prepare for Ba'alat, on behalf of

Ahena- O offerer,- an offering of a wild ewe. On behalf of his son, [Elya]tu (?), give, O offerer, a

wild ewe for [Ba'alat (?)]." Translation by William F. Albright

AHRC Updates

New web content, articles, books, videos and DVDs produced by AHRC as well as any new events.

Covenants from a Hebrew Perspective - 11/11/2017

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