Page 46 - HaMizrachi #14 2019 Chayei Sarah USA

WHAT’S IN A WORD

David Curwin

WHERE DOES THAT

NAME COME FROM?

n Parashat Chayei Sarah, Avraham cognates in many Semitic languages, machoz, זֹוח ָ מ – originally “harbor,”
buries his wife Sarah in Hebron. including Aramaic, Arabic and now “region” and ma’achaz – ז ָ ח ֲ א ַ מ
ILet’s take a look at some of the Phoenician. When Phoenician sailors – “stronghold.” But how is this root
words and names from that story. settled in North Africa, they made a connected to achuz, זּוח ֲ א – “percent”?
new city, and called it just that, “Qart-
According to Prof. Nahum Sarna, The answer is found in the law of
the origin of the name Hebron is in Hadasht,” parallel to the Hebrew kirya spoils of war, at the end of the book
dispute. One suggestion is that it is hadasha, ה ָ ׁש ָ ד ֲ ח הָי ְ ר ִ ק – “new city.” In of Bamidbar. We find a description
related to the Arabic word haber – Latin, that name became Carthago – of how the spoils of war should be
granary. Another says it derives from or Carthage in English. distributed, with the soldiers and
the root רבח – “to unite.” According to As to the etymology of kirya, Ernest civilians each taking one half, and
this theory, it signifies “a confederacy Klein says it derives from the base ה ָ ר ָ ק then 1/500th of the soldiers’ take goes
of four separate settlements; hence its – “to encounter, meet, happen,” and to the High Priest, and 1/50th of the
other name, Kiryat Arba, ‘city of four’”. so the original meaning was “meeting civilian share goes to the Levites. That
If so, it would be related to the word place.” levy (pun intended) is described as:
chaver, ר ֵ ב ָ ח – “friend,” someone you םי ִ ׁ ּ ש ִ מ ֲ ח ַ ה ן ִ מ ז ֻ ח ָ א ד ָ ח ֶ א ח ַּ ק ִּ ת ל ֵ א ָ ר ְ ׂשִי יֵנ ְּ ב ת ִ צ ֲ ח ַּ מ ִ מּו
are associated with, connected to. Arba, ע ַּ ב ְ ר ַ א – “four” has the root עבר ל ָּ כ ִ מ ןאֹ ּ צ ַ ה ן ִ מּו םי ִ רֹמ ֲ ח ַ ה ן ִ מ ר ָ ק ָּ ב ַ ה ן ִ מ ם ָ ד ָ א ָ ה ן ִ מ
which gives us such words as reva,
One possible problem with this second ע ַ ב ֶ ר – “quarter” and meruba ע ָּ ב ֻ ר ְ מ ה ָ מ ֵ ה ְּ ב ַ ה, “And from the half-share of
theory is that Joshua 14:15 says that – “square.” It can also mean “to lie the other Israelites you shall take one
Hebron was formerly Kiryat Arba, down” and as such is cognate with the seized (achuz) from every fifty human
and that Arba “was the great man root ravatz ץ ַ ב ָ ר. (The letters tzadi and beings as well as cattle, donkeys and
among the Anakites.” So according ayin can switch in Hebrew.) Since this sheep – all the animals…” (Bamidbar
to this verse, Arba didn’t refer to the type of lying down was usually done 31:30)
number four, but rather to the name by animals, the connection to arba In modern Hebrew, the word achuz
of a resident of the town. But the is likely the idea of “sprawling on all was reinvented by the linguist Rabbi
Midrash itself didn’t find the verse fours.” The root ravatz in a different Ze’ev Yavetz (1847-1924) as meaning
from Joshua limiting. Bereishit Rabba form, however, can apply to humans. “rate, proportion,” and to indicate
says, “Why do we call it Kiryat Arba? Hirbitz ץי ִּ ב ְ ר ִ ה means “to hit, spank,” “percentage,” one would say achuz
Because four righteous men lived in it: with the original sense being “to cause l’mea – “a portion of 100.” As time
Aner, Eshkol, Mamre and Avraham.” someone to lie down.” went on, the ending of that phrase
So if the Arba does refer to four, then dropped off, and achuz came to just
Sarna’s connection of Hebron to In Bereishit 23:4, Avraham spoke to mean percent, as found in the phrase
“united, confederacy” can remain a the residents of Hebron, and asked mea achuz, זּוח ָ א ה ָ א ֵ מ. – “one hundred
valid possibility. for a “burial site.” The Hebrew phrase
is achuzat kever, ר ֶ ב ֶ ק תַּז ֻ ח ֲ א. An achuza percent.”
What about the name Kiryat Arba? is a “possession, property, estate.” It David Curwin is a writer living in Efrat,
We find the word kirya, הָי ְ ר ִ ק – “town, comes from the root זחא – “to seize, and the author of the Balashon blog
city” throughout the Bible. It has grasp,” which also gives us the words balashon.com • balashon1@gmail.com

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