[B-Greek] ARRABWN engagement ring
George F Somsel
gfsomsel at yahoo.com
Mon Feb 12 21:00:04 EST 2007
Mitch,
When I began checking this, I first checked in BDAG. There I found that it is a Semitic loan word -- ("RfBoWN in Hebrew. I then checked in the massoretic text of the OT and in the LXX. I found the Hebrew word used 3 times in Genesis -- 38.17, 18, 20 and ARRABWN was used in the same places in the LXX. While it is possible that it might have been used to translate another word as well, this seems not to have been the case. In NT ARRABWN is also used 3 times -- 2 Cor 1.22; 5.5 and Eph 1.14. Surprisingly, it is used already by Aristotle in his Politics though not in the sense of "wedding ring" and about a century earlier by the orator Isaeus. It is also used by other Greek writers such as Plutarch, but again, not in the sense of "wedding ring." It further passed into Latin and French. In the Genesis passage in which it is used it signifies the objects which Judah gave Tamar as a pledge when he thought she was a prostitute.
george
gfsomsel
_________
----- Original Message ----
From: Mitch Larramore <mitchlarramore at yahoo.com>
To: B Greek <b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Monday, February 12, 2007 7:44:19 PM
Subject: [B-Greek] ARRABWN engagement ring
I've checked the archives and found the answer to the
following question...for the most part. It was asked
by someone if ARRABWN meant an engagement ring, and
someone cited its use as such a ring, but only in
Modern Greek. I note that ARRABWN is also listed as
meaning a 'pledge' in ancient Greek. So, I just wanted
to see if someone has ever bothered to determine
(confirm?) the first time this word was in fact used
for the engagement ring (or the entire engagement
ceremony). Since ARRABWN can be used of a pledge in
ancient Greek, it would seem like a word that could
have been used of an engagement ring. I guess my
question boils down to two elements:
1. what's the first attested reading of ARRABWN as
'engagement ring'?
2. is ARRABWN, when used of a pledge, ever found in
ancient Greek in the context of an engagement ceremony?
Mitch Larramore
Sugar Land, Texas
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