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GR 1238 RAIZO
H 0823 א פ ר
Concept of root : healing from sickness
Hebrew word
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pronunciation
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English meanings
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א פ ר
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raph’à
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to heal
(of sickness)
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Related English words
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none
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Comparison between European words and
Hebrew
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Languages
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Words
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Pronunciation
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English meanings
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Similarity in roots
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Hebrew
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א פ ר
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raph’à
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to heal (of sickness)
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r . ph . <
*r .
w
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Greek
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ραίζω
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raìzo
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to get bet-ter (from
sickness)
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r . y z <
*r .
w z <
*r .
w
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Proto-Semitic *RAPH'À --- *RAIZ-O Greek
Proto-Semitic *RAPH'À < ROPH < ROW --- *RAIZ-O < RAWZ-O < RAW Greek
A narrow interface, in the need of some hypothesis. And yet the words are too similar to be just abandoned. We let ourselves go in an audacious conjecture .
Note:
- Greek "raìzo" , with a root "R Y Z " , in our supposition has come from another , older root "* R W Z". The Z indicates a "make be, become, do". Thus "*R W Z" originated from "*R W". Quite often a W has become an I or Y, in both Greek and Hebrew. This "*R W" we compare with Hebrew.
We must note that Greek scholars also suppose a disappeared W, but in front of the R .
Note:
- Hebrew. There is no doubt about the actual root in modern and Biblical Hebrew, that is also seen in the word for "He who heals = medical doctor" :
ר
ו
פ
א , roph’é". We recall that the W can become a vowel, O or U. Thus we have the root "R . PH .
א". Oddly, a root "ר פ ה, R P H (accentuated vowel)" has the contrasting meaning of "to be weak, feeble, to decline", besides being used as a double of the root with final Aleph of this entry, to express "to heal, cure".
We know that the letter W is an adventurous girl, that may become a vowel or a combination of a vowel and consonant, be it still in line with her character. At the end of a word the sound may become PH. If in becoming PH, the O is not abandoned, the root that contains the W, let us say "R W", can become "R (O) PH" and be written "R W P". In our case the original W at the end of the word, sounding like "F" , would have become the same as a final or central P .
Once the choice of alphabetic writing has fallen on P instead of W , further developments may well be influenced in that sense . The Aleph as a third consonant, is not always used and thus may have been a secondary development , especially if we take into account that an identical root without Aleph is also used to express the concept of " getting weaker " , a kind of opposite to " healing ". In the past opposite concepts were often served by one and the same root . In this case the basic expression of the root would have been " Change in health or strength " .
This is the hypothesis that has come to our mind upon noting the similarity in meaning and the nearness in sound between the two words of this entry.
Note:
- Raphael, the name of the Archangel , says " God has healed " .
Note:
- Proto-Semitic. This root is found in Phoenician and Syriac "ר פ א , = to heal" . It may well have been used as such in Proto-Semitic "*ר פ א, R P Aleph". But in Arabic "rafa'a" as well as in OS Arabic and Ethiopian "raf'a" the root " R P Aleph" expressed " to mend, repair, stitch together".
Note:
- Therapy. The question has been put if the word " therapy " is related to the roots of this issue
but this does not seem the case . " Therapy " is related to Greek "θεραπων , therapon" that
says " servant, assistant " and "θεραπευω , therapeuo" = " to serve , look after " .
These words come from a shorter root , "*TH . R" , usually indicated as "θερα- , thera- " .
Thus the third consonant , P , is a later development . There exist various theories, one also
looking at the Hittite language .
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Created: Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 22.30.54 Updated: 31/12/2012 at 16.16.05 |
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