[Avodah] Yehoshua and Yehonasan

[Lisa Liel]

At 10:57 AM 3/10/2010, Micha Berger wrote:
>On Wed, Mar 10, 2010 at 10:11:17AM -0600, Lisa Liel wrote:
>: >BUT, if the vowels of the first two letters weren't sheva and
>: >cholam, why would Yehoshua and Yehonasan as they are?
>
>: >That's assuming, of course, that the suffix version is more likely
>: >to be modified: Yoshiyahu, Eliyahu....
>
>: A counter-argument would be that ancient Assyrian and Babylonian
>: inscriptions transcribe names like Yehoram as Yau-ram and Yehudah as
>: Yaudi.  The letter heh is dropped in Akkadian, and this suggests that
>: the suffix version is closer to the correct pronunciation of the Shem
>: Havaya.
>
>Thanks. Although one could argue the reverse too... (Not saying I 
>/am/, just trying to look at every angle.)
>
>Now that you gave a reason for Yoshiyahu, Eliyahu, Mikhayahu, 
>Yirmiyahu, etc... that makes sense, the question about the origin of 
>the prefix version is stronger. Perhaps Eliyahu et al are named with 
>the non-Hebrew cognate. You said it's Assyrian, and all the people I 
>thought of lived in that end of Israel.

I was probably unclear, sorry.  The Assyrians mention people in 
Israel with names like those, such as Yau-Ahaz of Yaudi 
(http://www.katapi.org.uk/BAndS/ChXII.htm), who even if he was king 
of a northern Yaudi, was still located in the region of Israel.  The 
Assyrians merely transcribed his name.  Granted, there were uses of 
the name in the north (Mesopotamia) as well, such as Il-yau 
(Eliyahu), but there's no record of Assyrians or Babylonians ever 
worshipping a deity by that name.  Just us.

Lisa