The Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls: The ... - josephprestonkirk

HÅKAN BENGTSSON 187
wOm#$ ;ki yki @ lbfnf-l(a hze @hA l(aya @lib; @ha #$y)i-l)e
wOm@(i hlfbfn;w% wOm#$ ; lbfnf )w%h-Nke@
Now, is “Nabal” this man’s proper name, or is it a disparaging nickname?
Stamm shows that it is quite possible that Nabal was his proper name
from the beginning; however, it was not associated with foolishness, but
with another Semitic root meaning “noble.” 11 This particular passage
makes the association with “foolishness.” Stamm gives a parallel to the
Latin name Brutus; a person called “Brutus” does not have to be stupid
and thus encapsulate the etymological sense of the name. 12 (This is said
without referring to the negative historical connotations connected with
this particular name!) Consequently, here we cannot keep the linguistic
notion that a proper name does not have sense. Hebrew names have a
sense, but this particular sense is not a priori connected with the character
of the bearer. On the other hand, when the sense of the name coincides
with the bearer’s character, 13 the effect becomes striking. What
about nicknames?
Names like “Ish-bosheth” in 2 Sam 2:8–11 and “Eshba(al” in 1 Chr
8:33; 9:39 apparently function as disparaging nicknames. These names
are probably not their own, but attributed to them by the author. In these
instances, the person’s loyalty or qualities are the facts upon which their
names are constructed. Another historical example given is “bar-
Kokhba.” Rabbi Akiba attributed this well-known name to Simeon bar-
Kosiba, the leader of the Second Jewish Revolt (132–135 C.E.). The
rabbi’s messianic sympathies for bar-Kosiba were expressed by alluding
to the Aramaic word for “star,” )bkwk. This allusion, along with the
prophecy in Num 24:17, makes a clear messianic reference. Further, the
notion put forth in the later rabbinical writings that bar-Kokhba was a
false Messiah was expressed by changing the sa4mek to a zayin. The meaning
then became “bar-Koziba,” “son of a lie.” 14 This wordplay has, in my
view, a parallel phenomenon in the sobriquet (#$rh Nhwkh / #$)rh Nhwkh,
“the Wicked Priest” / “the High Priest.” 15 By changing a radical or with
a different vocalization, a striking wordplay is achieved. The sobriquets
in the pesharim and in Revelation 2–3 are probably more similar to the
features of a nickname.
11. Johann J. Stamm, Beiträge zur hebräischen und altorientalische Namenkunde (OBO 30;
Freiburg: Universitätsverlag, 1980), 206–7.
12. Ibid., 208.
13. As in the examples with Jacob and Nabal, above.
14. Benjamin H. Isaac and Aharon Oppenheim. “Bar Kokhba.” ABD 1:598–601
(esp. 598).
15. See my earlier comments in this essay.