Supposed Arabisms in the Old Testament

Author(s): G. R. Driver
Source: Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 55, No. 2 (Jun., 1936), pp. 101-120
Published by: The Society of Biblical Literature
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3259566
Accessed: 01-06-2019 17:30 UTC

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 .< anb LIew m

BIBLIA-

c Ztocheat ct t
WIT ant t rtb vtheattfeoztt to o o

ten b w acamnt fai .

taijc fre pafface,antebe go-,us.c.,

AT -i

Let
a t ?cto 0~~2~
erZeco Cft hit trwelluinyo u ple

Let Mot Oe borecof tbiO AV NDpart

out of thy moutt, but crercy et ,rdf
he rb c f lz.ant nlaht46c

Pla
1535 Coverdale Bible.
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 ZC c bo6e of t4c 1aeole B3bkt t cfr are ttnmcb
in engl~f an4b katn,t longe t 9 r4e w~teU in te allgaciotnew,
owiman dpte eucrp bore t8,nb in at Cfe etcr
one begynneey.

Cc booe of cyCe ftr patte.

2bbcuiactdon. 2zoet. 4oaptmga e. LFe.
(Ban. 49snefie,t e f i? bote oflttofts. 1. Orl.
tfro. - obuo,t~c fecone boet of tb oso . fL. rnt.
LtuiL uttacu,ttae t irbt bot of:Llorte. - rVif. Plii.
ILwm. )umerue c fow urtbote ofttnofes. mT. Ih.
uts. Dugtaronomion,4te ~ bote offob, f tif. I~;.ii'.
j6c xCLee otf cc fcontc parte.
abbznaiacidon I )t. claptac. Itafc.
:o50. 1 orete, bore ofof u4a. ij. i .
zut?. Jubrnamne
*3ub. zuck,ttyda bofr
boPe ooff Ttutb,
Jubfes. citq.
. Fr94.
I.
.,gr. tHkumtPe
ILReg. um,Ohctir(i
rconbebore
bore of t enges.
oftce yLngte.xlIr.
.a. flFx
IILK. cumtkc.tlabe boreofte rnge~es. rq.
mtL lg. Xeraumtefountoboceofrote. net. pv. Irf.
.: par
par.. ptar4pomenontt)t.bote
parlipommnot,0ctofboh ofIfroncltes.
Cronipclf ., [pcr. rr. Lri.
ct . F4ePre
11.46. ,tb.c ftrft
ge:e.tchc reconbt b toe Fg,
bore af(bctas, Pofen.,as. hI. ?XiV,.
eeft. iccr,thcne b ore o e4f'i$cr. . ?crq.
1be bM*ce of 4e c iroe parctte.
%bbenciaton. Z5ottc, Capters. Icafe.
Job. obtrbe b,Pc ofjob. rri. $fWi.
p"(f,.
o. :outrbt.i,th& piouerbce ofpbltcr.
~Flltfrium,the 3alomonl. Yr;.
ci r.IrKF
;rnt4.
4:ccl . Cantica Lnticedi.Salomn
~cctefCia.te~, batecLee.
the p:ctber WA. L 0 xF v.
ofbaleomorn.

bblc buiactn. boPe. Caperse. l .afe.

*frb. t3bMra6, (ZP y t p:TpboC e O . PF . C
jcre. Jere
trcrn. m 3,?ere m CBe
-renaljclamntatcione pzopbet.
of3ctm#. v. P." riiq.
aar. uc, arruuc tr e p2 opect. vr.. 1j.
3c,.
aXJr.;cLtbtel.Ce,Zc
~?t1ncll,zaeLCle tthe
poplltec.
plophet.pMpi. 7it.
py. kvtif.

am.
IZt.3pbowa3ms tltvrtke
cbuiarr.3b tohe. pphet.
pIbec '. ay
?. CF.
rci.
D3on. lone, onast the p:opmc. tty
irkd>. ?nntTchs.1TI'cta t he plophe. vio. fC V
tl.z. ta?4 um aum trb c P4. C sq. Ccuq.
:1 ba'. 2tbacuc.2Lbacuc the p:oChec. sq. Ccv.

c d. Nt4aruas:,ac4rv thep2Qpbct. -u. )Ccv*.

Vfl4 1 d):4s cipy &d) fcptr.pt. Lj. Cf.

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 Zo te rcatser.

am
of bi al?,~i tO ImaF?e
zmrcypre~rtue al ibit. !atls x awt i1 rto Sobouo tbjr armveln mucr: t e etotich troue 0Ob

t-ow to conc lube: fo fo moc ,all the rpture l sw2yttcn t fo: ttyt )octryne anbcen-
ampte,tt IMal tbenjl2lry fo: tlhe,to taPe bolbe tpon it, wvik it is offre the., ye ari tn
ten hbaNie tbanrfull to receaie it. 21nb tbougb it be not twoot tel mymtireb n to the in
t tranflac iOr(by reafon of my rubeny et tet f ubefentin t bypplayer , Goz 1all
not onely renc it the In a better bappc by themyniftracion of otXher that beganncit afo
rebutrfl a14fomouetheb be te of tm, twozcb aot mebleb not vtit~all,tot afe it in bA-
be, arn to beotowe t iftt of taeir tmbcrlfonbnge tberon, as twell in ourelangtage, as
ottder fam iInterp2eterS bo in otr lan gtiageoe.2nt 3 p2ate 5ob,tlat t botowo my poo
retmnir ftracton crce in,3mayegeuetbem that can bo better,fomeocca ion fo tobo:ertoz-
ti tge tle (mofl beare eaber)n tlte meane totpleon Mobz belalfe,vf ttou he a feoabe, a
JUge,o2 ruler of tbepeople, that tjou let not tbe boPe of tot) la e beparte out of tbv Iol r a
morutt,but crtc,r e tlIlyfe ttwrin bota, avran nigt?te, anb be meur reatinge in it ae 1 De5 U 7.d
ge as totitvuet1,patttboumaypert ltere to f~are tteLORDEtbti(5b,anb not to turneafy-
De from thec6maun"bemnt,nether to therg bt han ter tothe lefte:le t bot be a Nowtct
of perfonneiniu'bgment,ant wze1pthterigqlte of tre ftraunger,of tbe fatherlel,ot of tth
botwe, Atat fo thecurfe to comt upon tbe.'e t twhat ofFcefo cuer t ou arZ, z *ayt e i > 0
pon it, anbecute it, to C)emayntnallrnc of peace, to t~eItbtof" tb people,bef.nbrnt -P,4-b
ttelawesof
3fthou be obaibtbelouers therof,anti
a pteacter, anrl bag totthe
t? oiurfigr~ cfrlru
o ftte floc eccionof the
oftbff.zT tcFeb. fC- 20 d
aiafe,anS
be CiOjeo rltt;pe itt, p ta oot ert,ant fpare no laboure to bo t' goob,fre not thvfclfe. '? T, b
anb beoarre of fplt ly lucre :. but be vrinto the flote an enrfamplc,r i tt? wo2be,ln ebutcrfat Trt na
cion,rln oue,in feruentnee of the fpzte,ant be c urr eabrnetehbotmtne, atll teachingi itn

(Sob t'oo2bc, t at ~ peopleof S(Bobrennenot rntoother octrVync,a"tb icethourtbv L

te (wbartan tbou lkulDlfreacb other) be tounbc ignroraurnt tbert. tnt ratier t ben tboti
woILbef teach the people env otther thibngeten c obs w:bote, tat'e tce boW in tbvne ban
be,anlbmacfea
meto reabe tvoob
I'V)tbseta
aycn as tlbevf~or'e
t4yfood' tttrinforz
I bci ate it too oinlTame
not vet c;perte o to be, itfez
the;lripturt, is more f.1;
1 rep:cuc
nro poeactmge withbout ttc bdoe,asilonge as tbevfave tIxN twtUt.
f t)Nou be a marithat halt mwvf anb chilb:eii, fillf loue tbv urf, o~bvnclg to thbe c- Ephe.. c
famplc ofttbe lour, wbcrmtb tot? b:t uc lc tbec congrcgaclon,anb remerriie thatlb boxn-
ge,tfbou lont enen tbyflfc:vf thbou hateer,t bhou lateat t tine aume kflb1: vf thei cheri-
be ber anaO mate mocd' ofter,thou ebernief ant mnaPef mod, oftbv1ci fe: fz e i' born of
ebvbones,anb flef tby tle'jb.At ib Who eucthou betbt lxba1~tcbgeln <b:yVrrlg tbt rphe.6 a
uvp trh thurtoure anb Info:m act6 ofthc LOR.DE21 tribf t boube -igno:Auint, o: art otler
ivy i occupieb iaufullytbattbou cartilnot tCed them tbhvl c,then bc ciewn &sitoet t to
Fc a geotmatf'erfo ', chbtt,:lastbour wail to lFeamrotherto bere tbhem:fottrtl erheth
, greawte tveiJbt in the one as in the other:7ee beter tit were fo: thim t o b rrnbmc.rtbi
not to tearc cob,o: tobe eIll biotght vp. licb tlinge(3 meanrtb:vngtrue op well o
cdilbten)yfitrbe bd rutelo' Fe to,tt Lt Ypbhobinge of allcomoonwltrL'bs:ant' cx~negl,
gcnic of tt,>cN me, the VetV becve ofallrealnIes..
fvnalliv,who fobuet'rbou be,tae tbcl trwo:bes oftcrypture to bcrt,jmbc not onelvkn
Out tarbe learer, buta boretherafter, anb pzactvi tl,~ FI t bherm: that thou rnaveft f" ict
in thine bert,te fCwtctc p:omvnestbetolffo: t voonfllacion i all trouble, at' fe: tc !"re
Itablhibinge oftbboy peit lt1h:tn :rs haucurer atC evt~ wo:btsf I f-cripture.
that vftbou b a reachet of other. thou mavetl be wiith t h rtbc ounrtco efthe
tructb. ozat the lcel tbough tbou be but artn tarer or rear at',trot bert

marbts vngeo,t hout rnmawi vet bauct eiowkge tm' g i'aJlltne,2.

atn'b f tccfcts
btc0totIZ fromantC bcuerv errouterethattote
fautlge boeottrvrm t tb t te.1'Utte ffr uto fll !r
h he
(ryptrPttr h mAve baut frc palf(age, aI t b ?az ?in
reputactont o the oth2l pC?cot cLrznthe:a

t urot, ! tch" b lellvetl t bslmrcltc:t e

whom fo'z hbismOl b!fe;}t, to:e
bet, be glovyanbboniyrl$T
0o1'tt arlb crir.,

Plate II. End of Prolog,

Continental Preliminaries, 1535 Bible.
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 mCs is confirmc otto btim tb an ootb.

fr fttft L of Tbap. xxIII. 'theeath of Sara, fo0 wt on.

Sofse, ctkeb O23nefrt.
IonD?at th*B beeof
c0ntertt. QChap. xxv. 21brtarn7beqette moetlbien
Epap. i. C< creaticon tbhe zott in
bpanoe _t f eut, 5,*4s oo fto3 aaccr
fre r avB, anb of man. S Pb ,Faac bogranetp to growedfatt ftlkltt
btes br2tb rhtt
eb4c . if. r pe reft of t Centn bay,. b .j xxvr. uiac oeth into OSerax. faneh
Che tr of Fnoolge of go90 a oauC da Iso
ten r |c r the cre4cion of?tua.
bap. [. ttu be ferpent t'tfcaurtb cbcU o heartt (zoone Fent'c.
man, tbev tranftretanb arc b2y4n out of
para, fe.
Z1ap. uu. 2(bc(s offcrnge piacrcdb 0ob.
tberfoe boot bhebtottIer ctin bott mJTur-c-
thuretfh tsmorifcurfe. pftydtiAt'of(cain .
,bapoft!ofDam.Eeth
tbe gcncracson.age
anbefblefonnes 1 vn\ -'atb
to o.
(EapvI. the occafion oft "e floube.ant
of tte p2rprmge of the 2rPc.crc.
bdp. Irtueb
vi. vn.
in sUctxthbte bouflo
tt)e trPC.mbrbcrt l-c to
aeLa tbhe pre
tCDo:lbC
rfblttboztiw tbc floube.
)acp. vi bthe fleoube abatctb.iT gotth
out of tw 2(rpt.c"c.
(1bap , i o < ob Mc~ltt) Le anb rs fon.
nes: follbt bctb to cate the bloubcofber fe
an r to fbet mano bleuIc ma4.tt)aconucna
unt nD ge~uth the rarnbowc f'o: a toPen of
the tme) that b e wl betore tOete be no
mo2ctrc wmater. t11 ixe s:onn.,amoncoan
reth Im anr Gcttothtisurtc.
Tzhap. . bercai cc ofmanoecntract
on bf tloes tbe fonnms.mbtdcgo abrobcrbIn
ePnncto buprlc.
bhap. xit Tb?hc t~N incof the tower of
43abel to brubercb thorow the cotnfuion of
th tonys.;he generacion cf ~em tmtplI
tb~rm .~vhchgcgth wtth ,ot onto 'aran,
.r2ap. xui. 2ttlam
it rauilge lonbc atgocth Wthb
tmbcorbc oftheAot
LORintoa4
DE.
wbtih appearetb votto btm in anaan, anb
p:omlctt) to gcuc tbe fame lonbt pnto blere-
~c. Nftcrmarirb 1octb 2ibam into fegipte or
av4rcthb aOmn to be bwfifler.
bap i i. I. Abramanbtothbipattce agaV
no out of'giryte .ant' haue fmaniatcll that
thc cannot btcl togetbmt. 1bram recta-
uctb thte Hcl~ngant pzomne.
1l4p. m1;|1. Lot 1 starFen p:cfoner. 2ibram
b.ivucrbth him. Lnelctbrfebec fetetb 2(6bram
at btl rtiurnpngc. tnam duettj ~im rtirbae
ofthelbcp-"v~ c .a~iboletf
Ie of ioernegoots. - notbingt oftly Pen
OCap. xv. 5otb cemtvo2tetbh bram,anb
promr"fcth ?im (tc.."gbel ucthrh i tufhfeb.
bChap xvt, Oe.rnm cuett , 21'am teue to ta-
F tl mirAc,wtbCbibeatrertbhtin3f(mae(.
o ZX XV thc co uenaut of circucifion.crc.
2bl.bhm bpettP apee flonwe to buCtyl eri
J~ap. xxiil. 24br lratam ,rllyaubi Ibonn to
mary in hle ownL Pintcb. thec feruant bringtt4
te bccaCwbom Yf1ac taPeth to ,i fe.
becca to be hts Ifter. ncreafet in rIbc'.
rth pbizliftynef_op e betrmlesc.?,mkc$cr
Chap. xxvii 3acob to blefto befouvIfau
v.tL ti)uaternt btm. bubr1the f1yoevt into aiA
to iLaban tyimaeders, b2ott)er.
Ci?p. xxvin. )Faac frirrh 3atob awa to
mary am~gs U .bans raughter9.3aobetrt)a
mo(on.6ob cjfrmet hbvm tdb pzomes ma~ von
to 2Xbabotm. webr vpon acob niat t ba oowe.
C Xap xxx 3acob gcuethl, abans ftepep to
brfEe.*eruetbt) bFpuiear fo: 2tacdfl Ca eiseou
bim.c-yet V cructt b e fcucn yearc mo foz2tad~e.
C?ap. XXX. Nacb4eg ouetb3acob1 ir maobe
anofo both Ia. they bCterc imchilbtI n biirc
warbet Lapponrtct ?titb a conb iionrt.werb
be to mabe ricth.
Cbap. xxxi. 3aceb goethb rntmabe. w a.
cbelftlettlc btr fathrsyfmoes. t banouer-
taFtc tbem ant fvtabtrh not his vmiMAstbte
fea rctoget ber.b angell metettbacob.
Chap. xxxII. 3acob fetnbethpecicntevonto -
4au puttet) )ob iu remembzauncofhbiop2o
mic.antt wtefictb iithtthbeangellhicthchoun
gott hie name anb blcfcdth btm.
Chap. xxxii. Dacob anbirfauare agreebe-c
CI)ap. xxXill( 1Dina 3acobt baugbtetr to fozceb
by elchem.mber of there comethgreatc bloub
rbhebvng.
Sbap. xxxv. ",actt l bptbat tbe btr:t) of
amtnx1bi t~etabambt bis fathoers c6cubtne.
ebap. Xxxvi. Of the pica t atcarneof9Ffau.
anmb )ow iau btartetb from hisbzothcr.
Chap. xxxvii. 3Jof pbhibatcb eft b2ictzen
anb folbe into t gaptc.
-tbap XXXViII. 3uba lpCthwt bbI aughtcr in
laame,wtbtd bearetbhtm two fennes.
Cbap. XXXIX. 3ofep1 tbelocu&.ebeCauwfebe
aMl not omn'ete to te inobirtnatc efyrt of bts
mafrefti be t put in piefon
COP ap. XL. - ofepl~ epounbcthth sbEames
ofthe taop2teomrs.
Caa p XLI. 3Jo:bfP clarethpbarao0:ca4
me. anzb tomar akLozbeof'gispte. Theberttb
betyinetb.
bhap. XLII. Jofephs bzertren comein toi
gtpte robvLcolne.anbarc trouble ofhtim.
Ct.ap. x 'ull.
ge 1en Jaminbter come
with againefoco:ne.bin
thtm.anb are put to more
trouble.

ap xv!!-.
bil cthtc ,mi tt
bfitruc appar ,vitto Wbrati
of~ertomeis~cclaz'. Cbap. XLjIll. 2s thevgobomoe e" cauferth tt
be b:otugt 4apnc.anbpul t to more fctrc.
&>bap. XLV. 30ofcb vttereth litit fel r t hie
S.. . ? 1 '; to.:cauthttIe ti aIIngele.tt bt tbrcn ant fentb fmet P? e fa ther.
i.T. , c .'-m: -O atoutI toabufe the.tLottb Chap. XLVI. 3acob, 6mct mto? i"Io ptc itr-I
'.. "'.=r;,:, i.
r t',rhC 18f br:t.0
p t ta or Cf" rms thoveb
flt.- hibs taugl'?othter
,ters - all bhepeopIctoFbt h receauctb him.
' . :; C ntC bm. htap XLVII. pbharao OreuIt,b:cm tthelNbof
.. . 2blaltz bretrtet hata rrCAiiger ,ofcn.thebrtt tcgrecate in gFtpteO'c.
rt t, Jcrar.. nt favneth arn t obchts filter
Chap. XLVii. 3jacob i tice ,ant bifthtb 30
:h.e vngc :aKtb c br,crgeuentl hcret3aine.
p. x!. bhc t'r:th of 3rfac. 2iartis Chap. XLix. _3jcob bcfec bth eaith tellett,
put cu i ar (tt h nn c.Zibra anb2tbimlecd. i e formei what halb happen vnto rt.c- breth
cKarp. L. Ioiph bitr eth hle fat hrC.chat-
Clap. xxi. r;o troetb2btabam, bchat goeth his tvcthren conccrnpngebt bones.anb
'rethin %tgvptc.
ht' uan:be -el Iffre bt, oowneionneibe pro .

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 SUPPOSED ARABISMS IN THE OLD
TESTAMENT

G. R. DRIVER

MAGDALEN COLLEGE, OXFORD

M Y purpose in the present article is to show that the Greek

version of the LXX exhibits a number of translations
which are explicable only from the cognate Semitic, especially
the Arabic, languages and that the words thus recovered may
be added to the slender store of Hebrew words found in the Old
Testament.' Incidentally, too, the recognition of such transla-
tions in the LXX undermines the argument, applied especially
to the 'Wisdom of Ben Sirach,' that works showing words other-
wise known only in Arabic literature are necessarily late, even
post-Biblical, compositions. For such words may well belong
to the earliest period of the Hebrew language but have been lost
in the chances of transmission, only to reappear perhaps in its
latest literary form. Such Arabisms are notoriously common
in the early Aramaic inscriptions.

I.

The following list contains a few examples of translations

found in the LXX which clearly go back to Arabic or Ethiopic
words.

Josh. 17 15, 18s: f01 and U11. 1=Kca .KKAOapov and "KKa-
OapEids a'rb6y, after the Arab. '", 'he cleared, cleansed.'
Is. 43 12: 1r.YD='0t, after the Arab 1, 'he reviled.'
Zeph. 2 1: OD). M70=rTo &ratevrov, after the Arab 4-',
'he rebuked.'

I Cp. Swete 'Introduction to the Old Testament in Greek'2 3193; s. Driver

in ZAtW, LII, 56, 308-9, JTS, XXXV 393 XXXVI 82, JBL, LIII, 289-90,
Anal. Or., XII, 62-3.

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102 JOURNAL OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE

Zech.Vj 10
&14S,12:
'he V.-Ml'a LKTraKavXv
swaggered in his gait.' OTLt, after the Arab.
Ps. 25 14: TiD=KparaLw/.za, after the Arab 3,'chieftaincy.'2

Ps. 73 21: E_'.=i?EKabO77,

roasted, toasted, shrivelled. after the Arab. VAf"t 'was
Dan. 7 22: 1 7 =85b60q after the Eth. dome: (matawa), 'he
gave.'3

Similarly Symmachus renders Frtl 1'p ' .'.0 , (Is. 16 7) by

,rots efkpatVwotvots v c r ELetXe 7T 6brpa KLV/4 where the
Arab. 41, 'lived well, comfortably,' alone can explain his
translation of the verb.s
All these renderings are demonstrably incorrect in the con-
text, but they are at any rate suggestive when the extent of
the LXX's Hebrew vocabulary is under consideration.

II.

Occasionally the LXX's translation of any given passage may

be demonstrably wrong so far as that passage itself is concerned;
if however it can be shown to depend on an Arabic word cognate
with the mistranslated Hebrew word, it may preserve a lost
Hebrew word which will prove itself of use in solving the dif-
ficulty of another passage in the Old Testament. Such a case
is the following.
Jes. b. Sir. 3 27:ly 1 Y 9'ly @1'3) nnEm11 1 1~?3 1~1' TD =, 'a
stubborn heart-its troubles are many; and a sinful man adds
guilt unto guilt.' The meaning of Winnvr has been a matter of con-
jecture, such as &6zaprwXbs in the Greek translation of the author's

grandson and obstinatus (apparently resting on the Syr., &,^

robustusfuit).6 In Yvnn1 m 1n1 l 'ynta ' 5, 'a wicked man travaileth
with pain all his days' (Jb. 15 20), this ??inn~i is mistranslated

2 Cp. Langdon, Babylonian Epic of Creation, 217 (on 90 150 alq.)

3 Cp. Littmann in OLz, XXXVIII, 510-11.
4 Field, Orig. Hex., II, 459.
s Freytag, Lex. Arab.-Lat., I, 12; Hava, Arab.-Engl. Dict.2, 3.
6 Brockelmann, Lex. Syr.2, 230.

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 DRIVER: ARABISMS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT 103

&Xafoveberat by Symm., N6o~oa in the Pesh., and super

the Vulg., obviously by referring it to the Arab. JU- (j), I su
fuit7 and J U-(), V and VI superbus fuit.8 Clearly this se
impossible in the passage just cited, but it may be sugg
that it is the proper meaning in the passage under discussi
and this admirably suits the context, since thus v. 26 and v
deal with the stubborn heart and v. 27b goes on to the hau
man which leads up to the proud man in v. 28. Thus a mistr
tion in the one passage suggests the true meaning of an
passage.
Another way in which this line of investigation may be found
profitable may be demonstrated by a single example. The su

gestion of Nowacklo to alter 7V42, in ,X4I J -N-4 13 'ti. Ti'

(Mic. 2 12), into 71(')1.X, 'in a fold,' after the Arab., ;, (plur.
.,)
that'enclosure
the LXX(for
oncecattle),'
render,is"1',
greatly strengthened
'messenger' (Ob. 1),by
as the fact
rept-
7rXOKlv; for this translation, though here obviously erroneous,
shows that ,rYx, 'enclosure,' must have existed in the Hebrew
language at any rate in the time of the LXX. Nowack's assump-
tion then that it is zweifellos alt may well be right.

III.

The next stage in the present enquiry is to examine a number

of passages in which the LXX offer a translation of the M.T.
which is different from, but probably preferable to, that which
is traditionally given. These passages may be divided into two
classes, according as one accepts or rejects the Massoretic
vocalization.
A. Accepting the Massoretic vocalization.

Jud. 9o~r'?
n',"m-r1& 46-49C
V Ir1 'ni'~n'- "., 'and
mi 'and theytocame
they came toofthe
the hold hold oft
7 Freytag, op. cit., I, 573-578.
1 Freytag, op. cit., I, 543-544.

9 Ultimately
derived from the same ofroot,course
which hasthe Syr.different
developed L , and theof Arab.
shades meaning ', or - j are
in the two languages.
11 In Kleine Propheten3, 212-3.

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104 JOURNAL OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE

the house (= temple) of El Berith.. .and put them (sc. the

boughs) to the hold and set the hold on fire upon them.' The

R. V.'s translation of nix as 'hold,' which rests on the 6Xbpw/ta

of LXX (A), is preferable to Burney's 'crypt,'" as it is difficult
to see how the attackers could have set the crypt on fire 'upon
them'; moreover, it may be doubted whether the Arab. ,
'trench,' really justifies 'crypt,' since 'trench' and 'crypt' are
very different things. Yet the context in I2nfiyv Y;n t3inn'n
Mn-221 nWI,=m ,?o1 0m1nnI (I Sam. 13 6) requires something
like 'in trenches,' as the LXX's &v roZt ~36bpots recognizes.'3
Burney however, following 'Abf-'l-Walid, remarks that the
Arab. eCP, arx, palatium, structura excelsior,'4 as well as cabinet
de roseau de branches et de feuilles de palmier au haut de la maison
et ayant issue sur le toit oi~ on passe la nuit,'s which is identical
with the Eth., 4C+j: (?erh), 'upper chamber'6 suggests (in
view of the root 7j., 'was clear') a structure standing clear
of or apart from the main building, e. g. 'citadel' or the like;
unfortunately he rejects this translation, having failed to observe

that another Greek translator has els rly7 dKpav.17 Accordingly

some such meaning as 'tower' or 'citadel,' rising up or standing
apart from the main T73n, may be accepted, so that I nx,
'tower' (Jud.), and II nx 'trench' (Sam.), must be kept distinct.

shallIs.
cry13 22: castles.'
in their l'Mi My That D,.
mmy,ti71, 'and
can denote the wolves'
howling of (or rather 'jackals)
wolves is in itself unlikely and the parallel verbs, mini, wvw, also
militate against such a sense. The LXX's Kal KaTOCLKO-oo
obviously gives the correct sense and may be defended by

reference
of the place), to theand
vixit;'1 Arab
this ,;, substitit,
explanation immoratus
agrees fuit
with the accen- (with .
" In Judges2, 286-287.
12 Driver in JTS, XXVIII, 286-7.
'3 Cp. Pesh.'s 2iks, 'in pits.'
"4 Freytag, op. cit., II, 491.
'S Dozy, SDA, I, 826.
A6 Dillmann, Lex. Ling. Aeth., 1273.
I7 Field, op. cit., I, 434.
1s Freytag, op. cit., III, 299.

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 DRIVER: ARABISMS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT 105

tuation of the M.T. It seems then that pyn, 'dwelling,'"9 m

come from an otherwise unattested root 'wn parallel with
root 'ny as found here."2

Jer.as 4of31:
a voice 11"Tin' travail,
a woman 'Fl?~.t)g
the ~SinT
anguish '1J
as of iher
'p that
, 'for I have heard
bringeth forth her first child.' That the R.V.'s 'anguish' for
nix is probably wrong is suggested by the fact that it is against
the parallelism with 91p, 'voice;' but the interesting thing is
the LXX's rendering of *nx by r7o v arva'yLoD, in the passage
under discussion;21 the basis of this reading is clearly a root
?rr cognate with the Arab. ",, 'cried out', (cp. Arab. r.,
'yelled,' and Syr. 5 y, 'emitted a sound,' whence i;, 'noise,'
is derived) This suggests the existence also of a Heb. "nx,
'shrieked,' which may explain rxr in this passage of Jeremiah.

Ezek.
this vine17 7:bend
did 1l'byitsn'~r~
roots,ttowards
Ii 7Dtolhim.'
I, ,1r,1, 'and behold,
All commentators
seem to have been puzzled by mru, although in fact it means
approximately what the R. V. suggests; but the LXX's 7repTre-
7rXc-yvy gives the exact sense. For the root kpn means
both 'to be twisted' and so 'to be hungry;' for the Hebr. lj,
and the Syr. ?S, 'was hungry,' are to the Arab. &, I 'spun
(wool),' II 'wrapped up,' as the Hebr. mint, 'span,' and the Arab.,
al., 'wound,' is to the Syr. 2oa, 'fasted,' where the underlying
idea is that of having the intestines twisted. The proper mean-
ing then of n'v mrow is 'was twisted as to its roots,' i. e. 'had
her roots twisted.'

to Hos.
walk5after
11: 1'"1.vI ~]~. i 'in The
the command.' 'M, R.
'because he was content
V.'s translation cannot
be right, as the reference is to Ephraim's sin as the cause of his
punishment. However the LXX's 6irirco Twv yaratov, and
the Pesh.'s a ,'ib 5M, for x ,inn , suggest not so much that
they may have read mai (although of course iadratos and
zaEratSbr-s are used often enough for avI by the LXX), since
it is difficult to account for the corruption of so common a word,

19 Cp. Jer. 9 10o, 10 22, 49 33, 51 37 (all of jackals).

20 Cp. ' = = ,"My =Tly and so on.
21 Cp. Jer. 49 24, where n'rrr nnnm clnm rrinx is omitted by the LXX.

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106 JOURNAL OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE

but that they recognize a lost Hebrew word which the Arab.
io, vacuus,22 will explain.

Hos.
sliding 11me.'
from 7: So'i.gt.)
the R. DI'.7I1 'mry,
V. more or 'my people
less correctly translates are bent to back-
the passages. At the same time Aq.'s &artKpe/.qdpevoL
7T Trurrpoj ~1t4ov and Symm.'s eTILKpe/lh&EPeos els 76
eIrtrrpEcLy vrpbs /.tE are based on the recognition of mnn=
6n, which there is no reason to doubt; for the Arab. c 'A,
'desisted from (a thing)',23 and the Eth. trA: & (talawa la),
'hung (on) to (a person),'24 show that the Hebr. n'n=n n,
'was addicted to (a thing),' is a perfectly possible idiom.
Jes. b. Sir. 4 29: a3 l627 1-3 'n 'M (which must be corrected
to i~:al ), 'be not overbearing with thy tongue.' The Gk.
7paXbs, 'rough,' here used by the author's grandson, shows
that the Hebr. 7n'i has already acquired the sense which
the Arab. o.U, qui traite (un autre) d'une manidre indigne,2'

and 4.}., vir immitis, saevus,26 normally have.

Jes. b. Sir. 37 30: Nr WIL y3'1 y~=rn, 'he who is immoderate
(in drink) comes nigh unto loathing.' The meaning of ytn
can be guessed from the variant Hebr. rnnen, which refers, as
the parallelism of the verse shows, to excessive indulgence in
dainty foods. The Greek translator's -I A'rXqcara, which is
merely a periphrastic treatment of the concrete participle as
an abstract noun, shows that the root may be sought in the
Arab. l: (W), I perdidit (opes), IV bibit omnem (in cisterna) aquae
copiam, and L1I (c), IV ebibit universum (quod in aquae receptaculo
erat), absumsit (opes),27 and this verb is clearly cognate with the
Eth. PO : (zo'a), III iii sermonibus oblectatus est; nugatus est;
lasciviit, petulans fuit.28 The fundamental significance then of

2 Freytag, op. cit., II, 534. Cp. also the LXX's &IrTKpexIj ev'os 7K
KaroKLas Mov.
23 Hava, op. cit., 62.
24 Dillmann, Lex. Ling. Aeth., 550-551.
25 Dozy, op. cit., I, 172.
26 Freytag, op. cit., I 242.
27 Freytag, op. cit., II, 100-101; Hava, op. cit., 232.
28 Dillmann, op. cit., 1060-1061.

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 DRIVER: ARABISMS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT 107

the root is that of extravagance or self-indulgence, which sui

also the present passage.
B. Rejecting the Massoretic vocalization.

II Ki.wove
women 23 hangings
7: k-1t '1
for. the
n 0Asherah.'
nln] t D'.i,
The R."1, 'where
V. is either the
guessing the sense of ana from the context or perhaps following
the Gk. TrroXs29 of Lucian; this however is neither a con-
jecture nor a basis for altering the word into numn, as the Arab.
',, 'cloak of coarse silk or wool thrown over the head or shoulders
and hanging down the back,'3o and grand manteau de femme,31
and it4, 'apparel'32 clearly imply a Hebr. 0'l31(?) cognate with
this word. The word seems to be derived from the root btt,
meaning 'cut' or 'cut out,' here applied to robes cut roughly
to shape.
Jer. 51 13: Tyy2? 1 1qP ? .P N , 'thine end is come, the measure
of thy covetousness' or 'dishonest gain.' This, the R.V.'s trans-
lation, can hardly be considered satisfactory even though it
agrees approximately with that of the majority of the ancient
Versions except the Pesh., which has om N am . kto 2o z ,
'thine end is come and thy wound is heavy' or perhaps 'sure;'33
and the suggestion of two parallel verbal clauses is grammatically
easier than the construction here usually assumed, even though
the translation may not be quite accurate. Moreover, this
translation of ntN is no mere guess; for the Arab. .,i, I determi-
navit, intendit; II determinavit, and cJy , praestituto tempore
definitus,34 seems to be at the bottom of it. Is it then not per-
missible to assume here an otherwise unknown Hebrew verb
cognate with the Arabic root just cited (vocalized either as a
passive participle of the Q. or a perfect of the Pu.)? Then VX3

*9 Cp. Aq.'s o1Kovs and variant Alta (Field, op. cit., I, 694); and Pesh.'s
2L.2, 'clothes' (although this word means other things beside clothes).
30 Freytag, op. cit., I, 81.
3' Dozy, op. cit., I, 50.
32 Hava, op. cit., 20.
33 Cp. IoZ =statutum habuit, of a person (Ru. 118, ap. Lagarde Bibl.
Syr., 187) and .Otyrk -, 'corroboration' (Brockelmann, op. cit., 551-552).
34 Freytag, op. cit., I, 57-58.

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108 JOURNAL OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE

cannot denote 'dishonest gain,' but must be explained after

YZC in
when heVcomes
1'. ' Mf1
to anl.',11n , 'what
end?' (Jb. is the
27 s)35 hope of 'being
as meaning the godless
cut
off,' of which the Pesh.'s ZNoom gives a hint, and so 'end.' Thus
xr is parallel with yp, as nri is with ia, and the clause may be
translated: 'thine end is come, thy cutting off is determined.'

'(it Eccl. 318:...

is) because nfli5f1
of the 1 D'fl
sons of men that m!, D13?-,n
God may '13 ny,'
prove them .,
and see . . .' So the R.V. correctly translates the text, fol-
lowing the LXX's 6rL 85aKPLvEZ acrovs, or rather the variant
roi eoy~aC ~abrobs 6 O eb. This rendering clearly implies
oD (= Dm~n.) from a Hebr. 1-, cognate with the Arab.
)., I and VIII 'tried (a pers.), knew (a th.) by experience,'36
and the solution is strengthened by the fact that, as Mar-
goliouths7 has seen, the same verb occurs again in nt--ri3tn ,
nK-b-nN 1~1 -% 'nrim, 'for I have laid all this to my heart,
even to explore all this' (Eccl. 9 1), where the R.V.'s 'to explore'
is tolerably near the true sense of the verb.

IV.

Finally, there are almost innumerable words in the Old Testa-

ment which can be explained only by an appeal to the Arabic
dictionary, even though the ancient Vss. may not support such
interpretations. The following selection contains a few such in-
stances.

(orJud. 9 :the
'oppress') J' city
T' ,'0l't1f I 3l. against
(to take part) , 'behold!
thee.' they constrain
Thus the
R.V. read more into nlx than the root can bear; yet the main Vss.
(LXX, "repK&O'l0vrat; Pesh., '-7h-) confirm the M. T. Here
then aixs must come not from II, 1ix, 'to enclose,' but from I, "1x

35 Cp. Jo. 2 8. The Q. of Y:; is probably intransitive (cp. Arab. at, 'cut'
and 'was clear cut'), as the Pi. is transitive; then :$:, 'made gain' is a denom-
inative verb from Y9, 'gain.'
36 Freytag, op. cit., I, 171.
37 In Hastings', DB, III, 28.

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 DRIVER: ARABISMS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT 109

cognate with the Arab. A",, I effecit ut inclinaretur, propend

(with acc. case); rupit, labefactavit; IV propensum rediit, desid
affecit; VII inclinavit, labefactatus fuit, propensus et desider
affectus fuit,3* so that the sentence will mean 'behold! they
inclining (i. e. winning over) the city (to take part) agai
thee.'

shallI eat
Ki.Jezebel
21 23: r7irampart
by the t' 1?-ofrJezreel.'
!'N.'n~f lt D'V.
The R.V.'s trans-, 'the dogs
lation of 1n as 'rampart' is hardly likely, as the prediction was
not fulfilled there. The M. T., however, is supported by the
LXX's and Lucian's v 7r-0 IrporetaLoC art, against the proposed
NrYIr' 19?:1, which has the support of the Pesh. and the Targ.,
as well as of the Vulg., but raises the suspicion of being a har-
monizing correction to fit the prophecy to the fulfilment.39 It
may then be suggested that the Hebr. 'n is here from the root
,wl,4o which is seen also in the Arab. Jy-, 'around,' and JL.,
'in front of',4' and especially in J -., iuxta;42 thus y7rir ' ?n
will mean something like 'in the neighbourhood of' or 'in front
of Jezreel.'

S ,I'such
Chron. 12 34:
as were able VVhZ .].. the
to. . . set n.nn '' ,lrY.
battle ',n 7
in array
with all manner of instruments. . and that could order (the
battle-array and were) not of a double heart.' The first clause
is clear enough, but the R.V.'s translation of the second clause
implies an emendation which is almost tautologous; moreover,
the LXX's fpot0raat which is obviously due to taking 7ry
from the Aram. "77 (=Hebr. "7M), 'helped,' confirms the
M. T. Obviously 1i1y cannot be this word but can be easily
explained from the Arab. j,, 'was bold;'43 thus 2i1 2=2 7tnyb
means 'and (such as were likely) to be bold with a single heart.'

38 Freytag, op. cit., II, 530. The Hebr. 1K35, 'neck' comes from the same
root, which is thus independently confirmed (Brown-Driver-Briggs, Hebr.
Lex., 848).
39 II Ki. 9 10, 36-37.
40 Cp. '1, from the root nwr, and so on.
4' Hava, op. cit., 151.
42 Freytag, op. cit., I, 446.
43 Freytag, op. cit., III, 118.

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110 JOURNAL OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE

I Chron. 12 39: f? M) r 'VT7? -ryp Fnn 9 e rn

INM, 'all these, (being) men of war, that could order the battle-
array, came with a perfect heart.' Here again the R.V. accept
nnn '? ny, which is supported by the LXX's 7raparaacr6bevoLp
and is found in a few Hebrew manuscripts, but it is an obvious
correction of an unknown into a known phrase, and is ruled
out by the fact that 6Vo n my ' *y evidently refers back
to =21 2= a v "-ry*; thus the M. T. is retained and may be trans
lated 'all these, (being) men of war bold in battle44 with a per-
fect heart, came.'

Is. 7Judah
against 0: ':13
and13~i'p
vex it, 1M. ,Y'p.!
and let ,171'
us make T?. 'let
a breach us go
therein up
for us.' The basis of the R.V.'s rendering of ar'p is obscure
and is apparently without philological support. The Arab.
Ai (j), I diruit; V and VII dissoluta fuit (compages, acies); VII
diffisus fuit sed non corruit (murus); and uLA (S), I rupit (pullus
ovum), ruptus fuit; incidit (puteum) in petram; V dissolutus,
dirutus fuit (murus); VII dirutus fuit, fissus ac dissolutus fuit
citra ruinam, in longum fissus fuit (puteus); VIII radicitus fun-
ditusve evulsit,45 however, suggest a suitable meaning for the
Hebr. r'p, according to which the passage may mean 'let us
break down her (walls) and make a breach into her' in reference
to Jerusalem.

Is. 281 flood

overflowing 8: " shall
1D pass
? anIm.!
through,1Tr'
then '3 Itqi)d
ye shall itd, 'when
be obliterated the
by it.' The R.V.'s translation of ow as 'scourge' must be cor-
rected to 'flood,'46 but otherwise the text remains sound; for,
although the Hebr. omrv can always elsewhere be explained as
denoting trampling underfoot, there can hardly be any objection
to extending it to other kinds of effacement in view of the various
uses of the Arab. , I 'effaced' (of wind effacing traces);
VIII 'was dipped into water' (of being effaced by submersion
in water).47

44 Cp. I Sam. 17 20 for this use of xyn.

45 Freytag, op. cit., III, 515, 522.
46 Barth in ZAtW, XXXIII, 306; XXXIV, 69.
47 Hava, op. cit., 270.

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 DRIVER: ARABISMS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT 111

thePs. 55 4:
enemy, Yl r?1.
because 'MD-
of the 2'N 'ipp,
oppression of the'because ofR.V.'s
wicked.' The the voice of
'oppression' is based on the assumption that ,j'I) is an Aramaism
for 7pX, while most modern editors postulate textual corruption;
yet the LXX's aro' OXLi/es Xpopo as well as Aq.'s iro'6 rpoo-
(crov V6p/yKfa s dE~po/s and Symm.'s br'6 vox87rews acrepois
all confirm the M. T. It may then be suggested that lpY here
comes from a root 'wq seen also in the Arab. 3c, 'squealed'
and .c, 'vociferated' and means 'cry (of glee).'48
Ct. 3 o1: 7727N 9 1iDifn, 'the midst thereof being paved
with love.' This, the traditional translation of ,-r, which the
R.V. adopts, cannot be right; the metaphor with y~r is incredible
and the other parts of Solomon's p]1'ri are described in concrete

terms, namely gold and silver and purple. Obviously ,-ou-

must denote something eiusdem generis, as the LXX has seen;

but their XLtabrporov is in itself hardly possible and therefore

represents probably a guess rather than an original 0'13 2YM'1.49
The text however may be left as it is if the Arab. J !, pellis

(humana),equipment')so
'soldier's corium, corium
maycruduml
be allowednontoinspissatum (cp.the
suggest that 4.,
Hebr. nini means here 'leather' or 'fittings, lining of leather;'
for any form of upholstery in a sedan-chair must have been a
royal luxury in the ancient world.

Jes. b. Sir. 8 2": rliK7 t6 t~r rnn ? (where t6 must be altered

to 1? with the Greek and Syriac versions, as also the parallel
line requires), 'provoke not a rich man.' The Gk. gptle for
the Hebr. i'nn (not roinn) seems to be a mere guess; its true

48 Hava, op. cit., 513; Dozy, op. cit., II, 190, 195; cp. Am. 2 13, where the
same root has been invoked to support the suggestion that the Hebr. p'yn
may mean 'creaked' (Hoffmann); but the Arab. o-. c or ; does not appear
to be attested in such a sense.

49This has obviously suggested such emendations as ,ian (Gratz) and

o~=m1M (Winckler), which are substances of dubious utility in a palanquin.
so50 Freytag, op. cit., I, 67; Hava, op. cit., 16; Dozy, op. cit., I, 42. Apparently

.Al , this
from II paravit,
word. instruxit; V se paravit, instruxit, is a denominative formation

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112 JOURNAL OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE

meaning is without doubt given by the Arab. pd, VI 'pro-

voked' (with .c introducing the personal object.)s'
Jes. b. Sir. 14 1: in? 1p iiv nN bt (where 1i7 stands for 1fl),
'and the grief of his heart (=remorse) weighs not upon him.'
The radical sense of ormt is 'inclined,' the Hebr. mnN meaning
'inclined towards'= 'consented to (a person or thing)' and the
Arab. Lc ti meaning 'inclined against'= 'set his face against
(a person or thing) ;'s52accordingly Y iN is here used in the
same sense as Ic 0 I, 'inclined against,' which means not
only recusavit (with Jtc introducing the thing), but dificile
fuit (with I introducing the person).s5

Jes. b. Sir. 43 is: 'Wary V/r12/nrm, Iin, 'the beauty of its,

sc. the snow's, whiteness dazzles the eyes.' Both ,a' and the
variant rnV' are still unexplained; but it may be suggested that
they come respectively from nom, 'shone' and r~n, 'burned,' used

in the
the oneHi. (,7rthe
with andSyr.
7l'.)%mkI
in theand
sense ofand
kako 'dazzled,' being cognate
wk., illuxits4 and
the Arab. se-, IV 'became clear' (of the sky), 'was conspicuous'

(of a road) and .., 'shone'55 and the other with the Arab.
.,, 'was hot' (of a day).s6
V.

The opportunity may now be taken to attempt the interpre-

tation of two obscure passages in the 'Wisdom of Ben Sirach'
on similar principles.
First, the meaning of mrn in ir Yo n13 (var. u?n31 mu1 rnn)
(Jes. b. Sir. 37 4) is a matter of difficulty from the philological
point of view, although the variant uonh gives what is obviously
the correct sense. May it not be derived from the root wzl,
of which the Arab. J'-, 'mud, mire' gives the fundamental

s5 Dozy, op. cit., I, 270.

s5 Joiion in Bibl., VIII, 338-339.
ss Freytag, op. cit., I, 10.
s4 Brockelmann, op. cit., 106, 414; Dillmann, op. cit., 1136.
ss Hava, op. cit., 101, 103.
s6 Hava, op. cit., 818.

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 DRIVER: ARABISMS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT 113

sense, and thus denote 'muddied himself' (cp. Arab. '-

'sank into the mire;' IV 'cast down in the mire')57 and so 'wre
tled'? An analogous figure appears in the Hebr. p'm, 'ma
himself dusty'= 'wrestled' and the Gk. Koviewv, 'to beco
dusty'='to wrestle.' The sense of the saying then is: 'a goo
friend wrestles' (var. 'fights) with a stranger,' i. e. takes up t
cudgels on behalf of his comrade.
Second, the sense of w'yn n in

(Jes. b. Sir. 40 29). The author is discussing the life of the begg
who is polluted or nauseated with the tit-bits thrown to h
from the rich man's table. The Gk. ?rreratevMbos suppo
although it mistranslates the easier variant "11u, but it d
not follow that the harder reading of the text can be disregar
and left unexplained. Clearly -1n', 'reprover' here means 'som
thing which chastens,' so that tyr 1nw, 'a chastening of t
intestines's5 may be taken as an allusion to the Psalmist's '3'10
nryii (Ps. 16 7). Consequently, a,yp rn will be a parallel expre
sion, and the Arab. 0l.y' or 01y)"., 'spleen, melancholy
suggests a suitable meaning. If this is right, the proper rende
ing of the sentence will be
'(as for) a man who looks to a stranger's table,
'his life is not to be counted a life;

'his tit-bit(s) are a pollution of thhi soul,

'a chastening
(cause of of)
the melancholy } sense.
intestines to a man of
Indeed, it may be suspected that the origin of the Hebr. "Io,
'secret counsel' is to be sought in this root, which underlies

57 Hava, op. cit., 857. The Syr. io., despaired' appears to be derived
from the same root; cp. Arab. 4, 'l, 'he was muddied in his right
hand'= 'he made a conditional (i. e. not clean-cut) oath' and the Engl. 'slough
of despond' for other metaphorical applications of the same conception.
ss If the variant text reads o'lyr, it is apparently an error for t'yZ' (wo0'),
even though 'lyr n~o1 may be translated 'a chastisement causing anger.'
s9 Hava op. cit. 343.

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114 JOURNAL OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE

alsoitsthe
so, Arab.sense
primary . LJI
willaty, 'theofblack
be that depth
blackness of the and
or darkness heart'; if
the 'idea of secret counsel or familiar converse will be secondary
developments.
In all these cases the choice lies between altering the text and
accepting an interpretation based on comparative philology;
and the two facts, that in many places the Vss. confirm the
M.T. and that they and especially the LXX suggest a greatly
extended Hebrew vocabulary, ought to make the student cautious
of emendation.

VI.

Several confusing and indeed confused words may here be

discussed as they can be cleared up, often with the help of the
LXX, in the light of the cognate Arabic roots.
I. Iyn. In several passages of the Psalms it seems that l1Yi
cannot have the meaning of 'dwelling place' usually assigned to it.

First, " Thast been

'O Lord, thou I T.,' T Tplace
a dwelling T TT
to us in every generation'

(Ps. 90 1, where the true reading must be 163, not 131, '1r);

and
'for second,
as for thee, iYahweh
nt _is 1i'V 'Dn_ ,i,' I 'rT
thy refuge,
thou hast made the Most High thy dwelling place'
(Ps. 91 9, where ',on must be altered to loni).
To call the Lord a 'dwelling place' is odd, and can hardly
be defended by citing such expressions as 'he that dwelleth
in the secret place of the Most High' (Ps. 91 1). It is however
instructive to remark that pnp is translated Karav/vy' in both
places by the LXX, which agrees with the parallel ,imn in the
second passage. This Greek translation however does not imply
that pyn is an error for rnyo; rather does it rest upon the Arab.
oA (j), II 'helped'; X 'asked for help,' whence are derived jyc
(cp. 41l ap, 'by the help of God'), and tLu, 'help.' Similarly

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 DRIVER: ARABISMS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT 115

i "7iX (Ps. 71 3) will mean not 'a rock of habitation,' b

rock of help.'
From this lipp 'help' there must be distinguished the
mon lVi, 'dwelling-place,' of which the origin is uncer
for no root 'wn, 'to dwell' appears to be known in the Se
languages, and the Arab. .Au, 'halting-place, abode' prob
comes from the root 'yn, whence l'J = ~, 'well' is deriv
and so means literally, 'place of wells,' thus corresponding
the Hebr. 1'yn 'spring.' The only other possibility is to
ulate a root 'wn cognate with the Hebr. 1JV6'= Ara
"dwelt."
II. y~m. In two passages there seems to be a YQ1, of which the
meaning has not yet been detected.

First, 1"-D I 11 13 " . 1---T rn ! -1-:21 -I 1, (which

ought
"and probably
Judah to cities
and all the be corrected todwell
thereof shall r19"Y ' Y,1together,
therein with several Vss.),
the husbandmen and those who go about with flocks." (Jer.
31 i),

and second,
"therefore they go about,Mlike'1sheep;
p'H they
1W areZ afflicted
UP' ."V 1 Y. i j-
because there is no shepherd." (Zech. 10 2.)

Here YPI can

journeyed,'61 buthardly be thebe
may rather common
equated YQ_
with'pulled up; ,set out,
the Arab.
andpasturage
in -, I 'went
(sc. about' ( ,VI1
cattle);'63 ), 'inalone
for this the yields
land');a VIII 'dispersed
suitable sense.
III. nxy This root is a cause of difficulty in a number of
passages.

First, ini'?Z 1'4 M Iy !1, 'and his father had not upbraide
(or 'thwarted) him at any time in his life' (I Ki. 1 6).
Here the impossibility of referring the verb to =1:, 'grieved

6o Hava, op. cit. 514; cp. Bauer & Leander, Hist. Gr. d. hebr. Spr., I, 49
who tentatively suggest Quellort.
6z S. p.
62 Generally equated with the Arab. and the Eth. t0JO: (naz'a),
'pulled up'; cp. Acc. naz/sls/du, 'to pull out.'
63 Hava, op. cit., 766.

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116 JOURNAL OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE

has led to its alteration into in*, 'had restrained him,' which
is supposed to be supported by the LXX's a7rfEK4XVcEV aT6bv,
for which there is also a variant eTr7i~teL?7V a r1q.64 This
however is not so; for both these readings can evidently be
explained in the light of the Arab. ';U )L , I 'reviled' (cp.

.ut., mxy,
Hebr. 'reviler'); III 'prevented,
'upbraided' or 'thwarted' ordeterred.'6s This
the like (distinct suggests
from a
mxy, 'hurt, grieved,' which is usually equated with ., 'was
angry').

Second, rl? mnfarp_?', -VY -r1-=.V1 101p =1'MO1M ?

(Ps. 56 6), which must be altered to

'all the day those who speak to me revile (me);

against me are all their thoughts,'
by transferring yn? rhythmi causa to the beginning of the
following verse with Briggs and reading 'i..r in order to
obtain a personal antecedent to the pronominal suffix
in annv1n. Thus =xy is here the same verb as that which
has already been explained from the Arab. 4 U). ., 'reviled,'
and the confusion will have been due to the failure to recognize

'I.-; thisfrom
assumed actual form
' 2'777, 'heindeed doeswith
who speaks not me'66
occuronbut
the may be safely
analogy

of '~W.1 for '~~ " 'f.p

Third, 91477%2 :=V'-1=11 rm n'v 'I -n'ln
'a soft answer turneth away wrath,
but words of reviling stir up anger'
(Prov. 15 1).
The usual explanation of =xy n as 'a hurtful word' hardly
gives a sufficiently strong meaning to =Xy in view of the context;
nor is this root apparently applied elsewhere to speech. It is
also possible to translate the phrase 'a passionate word' after
the Arab. ?.L, 'was angry' but the root does not seem to have
quite this sense elsewhere in the 0. T.; perhaps therefore it is

64 Cp. Pesh.'s oi .19a, 'reviled him.'

65 Freytag, op. cit., III, 171; Hava, op. cit., 478.
66Zech., 1 9, 13, 14, alq.

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 DRIVER: ARABISMS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT 117

best to see another case of sy = ~ , 'reviled,' and to take I

=xy in the sense of 'word(s) of reviling.'
It may be added that this Hebr. 2:X is probably identica
with =D, 'shaped, fashioned,' as the Arab. , I 'cut off
disabled; pierced (with a spear); reviled' (with the tongue)6
III 'deterred' suggests.68

Fourth
'behold!tItiO
in the D
day'.-MX
of your D
fastl you
Yinfind
1w.1H
delight ,Df D 3'm ]13
and you oppress all your toilers'
(Is. 58 3).
Here clearly = XD(?) cannot be referred to any of the roots
just discussed; is it not rather cognate with the Arab. . , I
'bound'; II 'starved'; V 'was obstinate'; VII 'became difficult,'
(cp. '" 'sinewy' and upc, 'ugly and lean')69 and the Eth.
oflft: ('asaba), or OR)X: ('asba), 'was difficult,' which sug-
gests an obvious root for a Hebr. 2:2X, 'toiler?' If so, there
will also belong to this root =XY , (distinct from =0) in vian
=xy) and mn 70o as well as ]ily?, 'toil.'71
There are then three roots which must be carefully distin-

guished:
'cut I, and
to shape,' y (=x .), 'grieved';
metaphorically 'cut II,
withyx (=.ac),
words,' i. e.literally
'reviled,
upbraided,' and perhaps 'cut off,' i. e. 'thwarted, deterred';

III, 1my (== . ), 'toiled.'

IV. pll, yp,. This verb occurs in several obscure and difficult
passages.

First, YIwvpFrjv ? It"p.13.in- hi ..n" . i~i1

'take fright, 0 peoples, and be ye dismayed,
and equip yourselves, all ye of far countries;
gird yourselves and be ye dismayed,
gird yourselves and be ye dismayed!
(Is. 8 9)
67 As cutting a person with the tongue (Angl. 'with cutting words').
68 As cutting off a person from a thing.
69 Hava, op. cit., 475-476.
70 Dillmann, op. cit., 1019.
7, Except Ps., 139 24 (?).

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118 JOURNAL OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE

The LXX render 'ri by yvz^ore, having read V, but this is

due to the supposed parallelism with i1r~In which ought probably
to be vocalized 13tH,72 since 9y-~ is not supported by the other
Vss. Indeed, F' has cvvaOpohr'are~s which goes back to the
Arab. 1ti (), II and V congregatus fuit, convenit (populus);74
but the Pesh. has o~ao, which rests upon the Arab. tel( ),
'was moved, was afraid'; II 'frightened, surprised'; V 'moved
to and fro, quivered, was perplexed;75 and this, which yields
an appropriate sense and has sound philological support, may
be accepted.

Second, . ,I' 10 3 . "B.' fll1D ' x n p.

'therefore the armed men of Moab take fright,
his soul is affrighted within him'
(Is. 15 4), and third,

'now why art thou affrighted with fright?

is there no king in thee?
is thy counseller perished, that there have taken
hold of thee
pangs as of a woman in travail?
(Mic. 4 9).
In neither passage can vpi, 'to shout' be intended, as that is
used only of shouts of triumph or the like; nor do the Vss. offer

any help. It may then be assumed that the Hebr. Ynl here is
identical with the Arab. 1) j(), I 'feared'; X 'was perplexed,'76
and that these are merely by-forms respectively of pri and
1t)(a), just discussed; probably 1:' too is a parallel form of the
same root.

72 Schmidt in Festchr. d. Akad. Theol. Ver. Giess., 1930, 1-10.

73 Field, op. cit., II, 445.
74 Freytag, op. cit., II, 217; Lane, Arab.-Engl. Lex., I, iii, 1201.
75 Hava, op. cit., 278; Lane, op. cit., I, iii, 1187-1189; Dozy, op. cit., I,
76 Lane, op. cit., I, iii, 1201; Hava, op. cit., 280-281.

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 DRIVER: ARABISMS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT 119

VII.

In this connection it may be well to draw attention to a render-

ing in the LXX which can be explained only by reference to a
Persian word.

In the description of Leviathan 0 '11'-ITnrlI l'r1 (Jb. 41 22)

is translated Jorpoiur) acroD vfeXXoKOL 61 e, where the
Hebr. rnnn, '(the parts) beneath him' is erroneously taken from
the Pers. A;5 ,'bed.' Is it then impossible that 'IT t$ N '0P
lip'l! (Is. 1 11) may be explained after the Pers. fAl (Syr. opI),
'fire'77 as meaning 'ye that kindle a fire, that set firebrands alight,'
as the Pesh.'s onSx z 9a o a suggests such a translation (unless
indeed it is held to imply a different reading)? For, whatever
the exact date of these chapters of Isaiah may be, it cannot be
far from the 5th. century B.C. in which the Aramaic papyri
from Egypt reveal the Jews freely using foreign, both Babylonian
and Persian, words in their daily business.

In this article I have discussed a number of peculiar transla-

tions in the LXX and shown how they may be explained in
the light of the Arabic and occasionally of the Ethiopic (and
the same thing can be done in that of the Accadian and espe-
cially of the Aramaic and Syrian) languages78. The first point
to remark is that, even when such translations are demonstrably
wrong, it may be assumed that, if they are sustained by com-
parative philology, they probably preserve words formerly cur-
rent in Hebrew speech but now lost so far as extant literature
is concerned. The second point is that the LXX often offer
translations of individual words different from that hallowed
by tradition; if such renderings are philologically sound, they
must be discussed on their merits and be accepted or rejected
as the context requires. All such words, though useless in their
present context, may be employed to solve the difficulties in
other passages of the 0. T. and may even be serviceable in
interpreting inscriptions and documents as yet undiscovered.

77 Brockelmann, op. cit., 6.

78 Cp. Wutz Transkriptionen 148-154 and Fischer In Welcher Schrift? 9-10.

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120 JOURNAL OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE

They ought therefore to be collected and entered in the Hebrew

dictionaries for future use.
If then it can be shown that the LXX must have been
acquainted with a number of Hebrew words other than th
found in the present text of the 0. T., the modern scholar m
take courage likewise to extend the vocabulary known to h
by the application of the principles of comparative philolo
to all unknown words. This indeed is far preferable to emend
tion (although that of course will often be necessary in the l
resort); for it is a priori natural to suppose that the riche
the ancient Hebrew language must have far exceeded the r
tively small and restricted vocabulary of the 0. T. Emendatio
can only get rid of difficulties by the known, and therefore serve
at best to preserve, at worst to impoverish, the language; com
parative philology, reaching out into the unknown, aim
and often succeeds in enriching it by the recovery of lost an
the discovery of new treasures.

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