Persians, Essenes, and Biconsonantal Roots

On Fri, 28 Jul 2000 04:14:06 GMT Leo Caesius <leo_caesius@...>
writes:
>      Here's a language-related question: Semitic languages are
> traditionally
> classified as possessing triconsonantal roots.  If that is the case,
> what is
> the triconsonantal root of ben/bar/bin/byn/ibn?  Why does Aramaic
> have the
> consonants b-r whereas everyone else has b-n?  And where does the
> Akkadian
> cognate (if it is cognate) come from?  I genuinely don't know,
> although I do
> know that ben is not the only biconsonantal word in Hebrew (and
> several
> common words, including the PS word for scorpion, have been
> reconstructed
> with four root consonants!).
> -Chollie
-

First to get through the non-language related stuff:

I remember learning when i learned Second Temple period Jewish History
that the Jews most of the time supported the Persians, especially when
there was a chance that during Persian-Roman fighting the Persians could
conquer Judea.

I remember reading about the Essenes' "Children of Light/Darkness"
beliefs, but i wasn't sure whether you had heard some other
interpretation of it.

Now on to the important things :-)

I seem to remember reading somewhere that there's a reconstruction of
either Proto-Semitic or Proto-AfroAsiatic which works on a biconsonantal
root system.  The later three-consonant roots would be an elaboration on
that, and helps explain relationships between similar roots.


-Stephen (Steg)
 "anxiety is the dizziness of freedom."