Sauron

AFAIK, shaddai is Hebrew for "strong". It is the same in Arabic, where they expand the common Semitic trilateral root sh-d-d to shadiid, meaning strong.

Sometimes you have a word in Arabic that has a double stress; for example, Saddam, where the letter "d" is stressed hard and the speaker lingers over the sound for a split second longer. In such circumstances, there is a diacritical mark over that letter. The name of the diacritical mark is "shadda", meaning "strong" or "strengthen", as an indicator to the reader of how to pronounce it.

Is the "breast" connection established, or speculative? Is it unique to Hebrew?

spin

I think that's just a translational fudge. The LXX tends to avoid translating it at all, suggesting it was too obscure, and the Vulgate has omnipotens, but where that came from I don't know. It's where we get out "almighty" from.

That ($DD) seems to be the root for the Hebrew verb as well that I gave as "deal violently with, devastate".

There is actually a lot better prospects for an etymology for Shaddai ($DY) than Magdlyn's suggestion of "breast" ($D).

I'm not up with the relationship between modern Arabic and ancient Hebrew, but I'd guess that the "d" you're referring to in Saddam, being the strong one and not the normal "d", may not have any relation with the Hebrew DALET.

The usual words for "strong" in Hebrew are (Z ("az") and XZQ ("chazaq").

Magdlyn mentioned a source he looked at which finds "mountain" behind $DYYN found in the Deir Alla inscription and that certainly is possible.

It certainly seems speculative to me.


spin

Sauron

Yep, got the 'uzza reference; it's the root word for the Jewish name "Oz", by the way. One of the Ninety-Nine Names of God in Islam is "Al-Uzza".

It's not a different letter; it's the same letter, being emphasized and stressed.

Shaddah (stress) isn't connected with any particular letter. Other examples:

1. the name Omar Khayyam, the shaddah is on the letter 'y'. Khayyaam is a particular form of the root kh-y-m, and indicates a profession; in this case, tent-maker;

2. the city name Amman, capital of Jordan, the shaddah is on the 'm'.

3. the name Haddad, is from the root h-d-d, meaning 'iron', and the particular form that this name takes indicates a profession; in other words, someone who works with iron, or a blacksmith.

So shaddah is a grammar feature, not connected to any particular letter. It can even be placed on a vowel. All genitives of nationality (American, Israeli, Iraqi - amrikiiyy, isra'iilii, 'iraaqii) have a shadda on the final 'yaa.

spin

Hang on there. I know that there are actually two different letters in Arabic, a normal "d" and an emphatic "d" -- I could never pronounce the latter. Are you saying that the "d" in "Saddam" is emphasized, but not emphatic? - just so as we understand each other.

It seems to me like a dagesh in Hebrew, a symbol that indicates a doubled consonant.


spin

Lugubert

Saddām صدام has an emphatic S but an "ordinary" d. The shadda, like vowels, is rarely printed, except in children's books and in the Qur'an.
Exactly.

Dean Anderson

It's now Wednesday morning, and Dave is online.

I wait with bated breath...

Lucretius

I think you can even see that "evolution" occuring in the Roman pantheon with Jupiter/Jove getting the designation Jupiter OPTIMUS MAXIMUS later in his "career",perhaps if Christianity had not taken over as the official religion of the Empire eventually Jupiter would have becoem the "One True God" with the rest of the pantheon being relegated to demigod/sainthood status.

Dean Anderson

Was it at that point in his career that he defeated the Decepticons?

Silent Dave

He says he's coming, and he'll probably do precisely what he said he would: comment at length. Based on his shenanigans in E/C, for which he forsook this thread, don't expect anything more than just that: lengthy comments.

Dave Hawkins

I'm reading your blog right now. (I see you copied my Wordpress theme ... nice, isn't it? ... where is the "About Me" page? ... I'd like to read your story)