View Message

This is a reply within a larger thread: view the whole thread

Re: Rebecca = sacrificial animal? well-fed?
Your theory about REBECCA sounds very interesting and seems to make a lot of sense. As I am especially interested in Hebrew names (and even more bacause my third daughter is called Rebecca) I would like to know where you got this information from. I am always looking for reliable books in that respect.The verbal root ravak (resh-beth-kuf) does not appear in the Hebrew Bible (ravak there means "flash, lightning"), so I suspect it is Ivrit (unfortunately I don't have my Ivrit dictionary with me). Is that the case?Martin Noth doesn't say much about the name Rebecca, he does make a connection to an Ivrit noun, though, that has to do with "to tie." The Encyclopedia Judaica doesn't say anything of the name either (with some names it does).So I am really anxious to learn more.By the way, the meaning "fat" or "well-fed" for MIRIAM has nothing to do with Rebecca, this is just coincidence.
vote up1vote down

Replies

What do you mean by Ivrit?Lightning would be barak, not ravak. And in modern Hebrew, ravak isn't a word or a root that I know of (or my dictionary, for that matter). And I don't know a connection with "to tie". Modern Hebrew doesn't help much. :/
vote up1vote down
Thank you, Noa, for correcting this. Being in a hurry, I wasn't looking right. The biblical dictionary does give a hint though: The (assumed) verbal root RVQ lies behind the term marbeq = stall, and the explanation there says, that the calves were tied up there for fattening. This makes sense to me. Our (western) beauty ideal seems to be far a way from any comparison of a beautiful woman with a fattened calf, but that may have been different in biblical times.Thanks for setting me on the right track, Noa!Andy ;—)
vote up1vote down
You're welcome :)Too bad the beauty ideal today isn't a fattened calf - it's probably healthier than those crazy anorexic ladies.But I can't imagine any good association with calves that are fattened up for eating. Ah well, I don't have a better guess.
vote up1vote down
Hi, Andy... you must remember that in my case (living in Buenos Aires, Argentina) my sources are books written in Spanish. One the books I frecuently consult is "Diccionario de Nombres Propios" by mexican author Gutierre Thibón (Fondo de Cultura de México). Now I'm in my office, not at home where I have more material about jewish names. I promise you, I'll send you some material this weekend. Regards.
vote up1vote down