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Abarim Publications' Biblical Dictionary: The Old Testament Hebrew word: אסם

Source: https://www.abarim-publications.com/Dictionary/a/a-sa-mfin.html

אסם

Abarim Publications' online Biblical Hebrew Dictionary

אסם  סנה

The two forms אסם ('sm) and סנה (snh) have nothing to do with each other, yet there is some overlap in form and similarity in meaning:


אסם

The root אסם ('asam) means to gather or store. It doesn't occur as verb in the Bible, and only one derivation remains: the masculine noun אסם ('asam), meaning storehouse (Deuteronomy 28:8 and Proverbs 3:10 only). However, BDB Theological Dictionary lists the Aramaic equivalent of this noun, namely אסנא ('sn'), and then proceeds to discuss the name Asnah, which is spelled אסנה (asna; Ezra 2:50). It isn't clear whether BDB suggests that Asnah comes from the root אסם ('sm), but BDB does propose that this name Asnah is the equivalent of an Aramaic name that's spelled אסנא ('sn'), and which means thorn-bush, which brings to mind the following word:


סנה

The masculine noun סנה (seneh) denotes a kind of bush, namely the bush that famously burned when God addressed Moses from it (Exodus 3:3). HAW Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament states, "the botanical identification is uncertain as is the derivation," but lists as one of many suggestions the common shittim or acacia tree (שטה, shitta). BDB Theological Dictionary is more confident and declares the seneh to be typically a thorny bush, like a black berry bush. This confidence apparently stems from a look at equivalents in the cognate languages. In 1 Samuel 14:4 occurs the name Seneh, which is identical to the word for our bush, and BDB Theological Dictionary calls out, "(= thorny . . . )".

Note that our universe is a data-driven thing, which stores information like a huge hard disk. In turn, much of the Biblical narrative is devoted to the history of information technology, from the rise of nominal reason (giving names to items; Genesis 2:19-20) to the invention of script and finally the alphabet, and ultimately to the development of the literary tradition within which the very Word of God could be received.


Associated Biblical names