Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Words I don't know: Who knew there was a glossary?

     I was really surprised when I finished Rahab's Story several pages sooner than I expected, and then I felt really dumb when I realized it was because there's a glossary in the back of the book.  That would have come in handy more than once, not to mention it could have saved me two pages of notes.  So here's a mix of Canaanite, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Urgartic.   

Ayin-yada:  voyeurism
Asherim:  wooden posts in Canaanite temples, used for sacrificial rituals
Astarte:  Canaanite goddess, Queen of Heaven
Baal:  Canaanite fertility god
Beqa:  Unit of monetary weight, equal to one-half sheqel
Bet:  house
Bet ab:  house of one's father
Bid'lem:  sacred word for servant of the gods
Boset:  shame
Dagon:  Canaanite godhead; "father" of all Canaanite gods.
Din:  judgment
Hapiru:  nomadic raiders
Hazrat(a):  courtesan(s)
Hesed:  kindness
Hokhmah:  wisdom
Hohkmah nisteret:  sacred wisdom
Jehovah:  god of the Semites
Khamsin:  sandstorm
Kelb'lim:  dog of the gods (profane term)
Kele:  jail
Khopesh:  a sickle-shaped sword
Kiatta immadi:  Semite phrase; literally "for you are with me"
Kluv:  cage
Lehem:  bread
Marianu:  elite Canaanite warrior caste; king's guard 
Masseboth:  stone pillars in Canaanite temples, used for sacrificial rituals
Meloyikah:  an edible Egyptian vegetable that is also a source of jute fiber
Mina:  monetary weight, equal to sixty sheqels
Mirii:  Canaanite underworld
Miskin:  poor, miserable
Moloch:  Canaanite god of fire
Mut'a:  euphemism for a specific type of prostitution; a temporary marriage in which time with a "wife" is purchased with money
Qedesh:  holy prostitutes who serve in the temples of Baal, Astarte, and Moloch
Riha:  native name for the city of Jericho
Shakab:  sex 
Taliyah:   garlic fried with salt and coriander
Tiph'eret:  splendor, pleasure (sexual) 
 

No comments:

Post a Comment