🔼The name Amorite: Summary
- Meaning
- Talkers
- Etymology
- From the verb אמר (amar), to talk.
🔼The name Amorite in the Bible
According to Genesis 10:16, the Amorites are descendants of Canaan, a son of Ham, a son of Noah.
The Amorites are mentioned in all kinds of very early, non-Biblical material. Their origins are unclear and we also don't know in what language the name Amorite was first pronounced. And that makes it impossible to guess what it may have meant to the original name-giver.
🔼Etymology of the name Amorite
Although the Bible doesn't mention it, we may readily assume that the name Amorite comes from the name Amor (which of course has nothing to do with the Latin word amor, meaning love). In Hebrew the latter is identical to the verb אמר ('amar), meaning to speak or say:
אמר
The ubiquitous verb אמר ('amar) means to talk or say and may even mean to promise or command. Nouns אמר ('omer) and מאמר (ma'amar) mean speech, word, promise or command. Nouns אמרה ('imra) and אמרה ('emra) mean utterance or speech. The metaphorical noun אמיר ('amir) refers to the leafy and fruit bearing crown of a tree.
🔼Amorite meaning
If the Amorites had played a part in a Latin text, the audience would have probably understood them to be The Lover Boys. To a Hebrew audience, however, the Amorites are the Talkers.