International Agreements, Judah in Egypt, and the Problem of "Language": A Verbal Pattern to Explain שְׂפַת כְּנַעַן in Isa 19:18

Samuel Boyd

doi:10.5508/jhs29647

Authors

Samuel Boyd University of Colorado Boulder

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5508/jhs29647

Keywords:

Book of Isaiah, language, linguistics, Hebrew, Canaan

Abstract

The phrasing in Isa 19:18 מדברוֹת שׂפת כנען has proved vexing linguistically and historically. In this article, I explore previous proposals and offer support for a non-linguistic reference to the idiom based on verbal parallels elsewhere as well as cognate evidence. I conclude with further reflection on the idiom in Isa 19:18 and broader implications from this study, which includes observations about the semantics of שׂפה based on parallel uses of the lexeme in the Hebrew Bible.

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