Anybody speak Hebrew?

[LDNCatholic]

Hi all,

I have a question for Hebrew speakers.

I am not posting the question until I get a reply, I’m not trying to be awkward I just don’t want well intentioned people using Google to bring me an answer that may or may not be accurate.

So, any Hebrew speakers out there?

 

[Bezant]

Hi all,

I have a question for Hebrew speakers.

I am not posting the question until I get a reply, I’m not trying to be awkward I just don’t want well intentioned people using Google to bring me an answer that may or may not be accurate.

So, any Hebrew speakers out there?

Hi, pleasure to meet you.

I’m a non-native proficient speaker in Modern Hebrew, but may or may not be able to properly address your question. What’s your question?

 

[LDNCatholic]

Hi, pleasure to meet you.

I’m a non-native proficient speaker in Modern Hebrew, but may or may not be able to properly address your question. What’s your question?

Pleasure to meet you too

I’ve heard the argument made several times that Muhammad is named in the Song of Solomon, when the actual word is ‘Machamadim’, meaning ‘altogether lovely’, which has a common root with the name ‘Muhammad’. I was told by a Muslim arguing this point that the -im denotes respect. I always thought -im denoted plurality.

Is it both? like the ‘royal we’?

 

[Bezant]

Pleasure to meet you too

I’ve heard the argument made several times that Muhammad is named in the Song of Solomon, when the actual word is ‘Machamadim’, meaning ‘altogether lovely’, which has a common root with the name ‘Muhammad’. I was told by a Muslim arguing this point that the -im denotes respect. I always thought -im denoted plurality.

Is it both? like the ‘royal we’?

OK, this Biblical Hebrew, which is very close to Modern Hebrew, but meanings and especially fine nuances are often quite different.

I should like a more seasoned Hebrew speaker to elaborate on this, but I’ll keep you updated in the meantime.

The immediate answer is clear, however. There is no way to identify Muhammed with “מַחֲמַדִּים” without applying Islamic presumptions upon the Hebrew text. Christians do it as well when we identify parts of the Old Testament that “foreshadow” the Trinity; there’s really no way to interpret the Christian conception of God from the Old Testament without drawing from the New Testament. If you check the online English-Hebrew Tanakh, the translation is indeed “altogether lovely.” (mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt3005.htm)

In Hebrew, “-im” usually denotes plurality of a masculine gender, but like any language there are exceptions. God, or “elohim,” is understood as a singular entity and modified by singular adjectives and verb conjugations.

In Genesis 1:26 God says “let us make man in our image” (naaseh adam b’tsleynu), and I’ve heard one interpretation that this is a stylistic/royal speech, but another is that he’s consulting with the heavenly court of angels.

I don’t know if adjectives can be stylised as verbs can in the Genesis 1:26 example.

 

[LDNCatholic]

I also love that the average argument consists of:

Yeah I’ve heard the Paraclete vs Paraklytos argument too.

Neither convinces me I was just curious about the usage of -im in the Hebrew language to better prepare for any future debates.

 

[LDNCatholic]

I also love that the average argument consists of:

Yeah I’ve heard the Paraclete vs Paraklytos argument too.

Neither convinces me I was just curious about the usage of -im in the Hebrew language to better prepare for any future debates.

Whoops, just to edit here, that top line should have been deleted, it was part of a much longer, rambling post.

 

[LDNCatholic]

I think I remember a similar thread years back where someone posted a news article about a Bishop who converted to Islam, but no record of this supposed bishop could be found except for a dodgy article on an Iranian News website.