Comments on: Break Your Sets; Be Free

By: Simon Holloway

Simon Holloway — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 07:22:01 +0000

Thanks for the question, John. I’m not sure that it belongs on this post, but I’m also not sure this post belongs on my blog, so I’m happy to have you sidetrack it! Several of your characters failed to display on my monitor, and I’m guessing that they were the Syriac characters from which you transliterated into the square Aramaic script. If that is the case, I’m afraid that I don’t know what you mean when you suggest that the final word (חרבא) might mean “bad” or “rotten”. Are you not thinking of באיש? I have checked my version of the Peshitta, and חרבא is what they have. So far as I am aware (and so far as Payne-Smith’s lexicon relates) this noun always means “sword”. As a verb, it means “to lay waste”.

I’d never considered an etymology that related it to √חרפ – that’s an interesting thought! It turns out that חרפא also means “sword” in Syriac Aramaic, but there’s no reason to amend the reading that we have.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 19:50:30 +0000

What has happened to Ben Abuya – has it become Bin Absentia?

By: john

john — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 13:48:53 +0000

but there is word in sureth which is Ḥēṯ Rēš Pē ’Ālap̄ ie
khrpa which means sharp, does it mean they misspelled them? so why is it spelled with Bēṯ and not Pē to indicate something sharp like knife?

By: john

john — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 13:33:26 +0000

hi there

i’m writing to you about Matthew 10:34 that reads in english:
Matthew 10:34 – Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
Matthew 10:34 – לא תסברון דאתית דארמא שׁינא בארעא לא אתית דארמא שׁינא אלא חרבא
Matthew 10:34 – ܠܐ ܬܤܒܪܘܢ ܕܐܬܝܬ ܕܐܪܡܐ ܫܝܢܐ ܒܐܪܥܐ ܠܐ ܐܬܝܬ ܕܐܪܡܐ ܫܝܢܐ ܐܠܐ ܚܪܒܐ ܀
the last word of this sentence is translated as ‘sword’. yet in sureth the last word means ܚܪܒܐ bad or rotten depending on the context. any though on what it actually mean? many thanks

By: Jen

Jen — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 13:28:40 +0000

While I don’t watch TV and don’t own a TV, I take your comments with a rock or two of salt – you ARE the man who likes neither live theatre, nor live performance of music. Expressionally challenged?