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October 10, 2008
Friday Loanword: šigāru
Akkadian šigāru/sigāru can stand for some part of a lock but it also means neckstock. For example, referring to Lugalzagesi, king of Uruk, a Sargonic text says,
Now let's take a look at Ezekiel 19:9.
They put him in סּוּגַר , in fetters, and brought him to the king of Babylon. They brought into custody,
so that his voice should not be heard again on the mountains of Israel.
Exactly who "him" refers to not clear: Jehoahaz? Jehoiachin? Zedekiah? Someone else?
The LXX reads εν κημω, "in a muzzle," for the Hebrew בַסּוּגַר. It is common to translate סּוּגַר "cage" or the like. But in the light of Akkadian šigāru, E. Gordon argued, correctly I think, that סּוּגַר should be understood as meaning "neck-stock."
One would expect something like סְּגוֹר rather than סּוּגַר. Mankowski, 109, observes,
The only reasonably certain BH attestation of the word occurs in the Ezekiel passage cited above. The MT סוגר is probably a scribal error for סגור. The JA (Young Aramaic) vocalization (with ô) may indicate Canaanite influence.
As is often the case, the Akkadian word is itself a loan from Sumerian sagar.
References:
Mankowski, Paul V., Akkadian Loanwords in Biblical Hebrew, Harvard Semitic Studies, 47, Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns, 2000
Posted by Duane Smith at October 10, 2008 8:34 PM | Read more on Hebrew Bible |
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