Welcome to my Hebrew reading & language series.
Genesis 36:8-13
We learn that Esau is Edom, likely in another language, and his descendants will be referred to as Edomites. When we see that term in Hebrew it will be pronounced "Edomee" or "Edomay". Where the "ite" ending comes from I am not sure. It is probably used to make it easier to pronounce and spell in English.
The text tells us that Edom settled in Seir and we saw that Esau and Jacob (Israel) had separated from each other because of all the great wealth, in animals and possessions, that they had both acquired.
Last week, we learned the names of Esau's wives and this week, the break down of who was born of whom, which wife, and their names. Again, I like reading names in Hebrew because it tells me that the assumptions I have made, regarding pronunciation, over the last ten years have been correct or at least corrected over the same years.
I read through this passage and every name is exactly what is written in English below them. The only differences are the "th" at the end of some which can only be pronounced "t" in Hebrew (example: Shabbat is correct and Sabbath is and Anglicization.) and the "z" in many words is really the tsadik, a letter that is pronounced 'ts' as in "Matsah" but some may find it difficult to pronounce that sound at the beginning of a word, like Tsadik, which means "just" or "righteous" in most texts.
There is a letter in Hebrew that is pronounced with a 'z' sound. There it is above the "E" in Eliphaz. It looks like a mini T with the top crooked. There are many examples of zayin being changed in English to sound like an "s" but these are very small differences. What counts is that the Names of people are represented in English, for the most part, to sound as they do in Hebrew.
Today's reading
English
So Esau settled in the hill country of Seir. (Esau is Edom.) These are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir. These are the names of Esau's sons: Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Basemath the wife of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. (Timna was a concubine of Eliphaz, Esau's son; she bore Amalek to Eliphaz.) These are the sons of Adah, Esau's wife. These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These are the sons of Basemath, Esau's wife.
Hebrew
The story continues next week with sons of...
Info on each letter starting at the beginning
If you are just starting, my lessons are all here starting at Alef, adding vowels (the dots and lines) as we go. I explain the meaning of each letter and its numerical value. Just go to my blog and scroll to the bottom or click here
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Thanks for reading.