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the word hagar

Reader comment on item: Uncovering Early Islam
in response to reader comment: The root word of Hagar, and it seems that Ishmael was not part of the Covenant...

Submitted by dhimmi no more (United States), Jun 11, 2012 at 15:25

Sara wrote

Thank you DNM for your explanations. I was thinking of the word Hejira (I once named a cat of mine Hejira inspired by a Joni MItchell album, that certainly dates me:)

I love Joni Mitchell but I have never heard of this album and my favorite song is I was a free man in Paris

Some HGR root words in Hebrew are: Ger (stranger),

In Arabic the root is GhRB and a stranger is ghareeb

Ligror (to drag),

In Arabic it is jarr or Garr (dragging) yajur means he drags

Gorer (dragger/used for towing).

In Arabic it is garr or jarr

Ger in particular makes sense since a Mehager is an emigree or a wanderer, so they would also be a stranger.

Sure and I'm sure that you are aware that the root 3BR or crossing is really the way the Arabs view the words 3iBRi or Hebrew (as in al-jami3a al-3ibriya or Hebrew University) and the Arabic equivalent is really no more than a metathesis of the word and it is 3RB or Arab so the truth is the word Arab is really a metathsis of the word Hebrew!

Here are some other interesting notes:

Although Hagar is an Egyptian, her name is Semitic. It comes from the verb (hgr), which is not used in the Bible and its meaning is subsequently unknown. NOBS Study Bible Name List and HAW Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament insist that the verb means to flee. BDB Theological Dictionary refers to the Arabic equivalent, meaning forsake or retire. An Arabic noun derived of this root serves as the name for Mohammed's famous flight, the Hegira. Another name derived of this same root is the tribal name of the Hagrites (Psalm 83:7, 1 Chronicles 27:31)

May be but the muslims grammarians tell us that the etymology of the word haj is really from hak or rub but one have to be careful because the ulamas command of any other language than Arabic was mediocre at best and by the way the main source of foreign words in the Qur'an is Syro-Aramaic and even for Hebrew words they seem to have made it to the Qur'an via Syriac speakers

A curious detail is that the reticent root (hgr) looks like a construct of the the definite article (ha), and a trace of the verb (garar), drag, drag away. Another look-alike is plus (gur), abide, be gathered, be a stranger; (ger 330a) means sojourner.

The name Hagar means Flight thanks to a very rare verb, but is also highly similar to the more common words The Sojourner/ The Dragged Away One. http://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Hagar.html#.T9UtXNmVoao What do you think?

So what you are saying the ha or the definite article and the gar is the to pull or she who pulls. Interesting

I always like to check Syriac dictionaries as I believe that the mother language of all Semitic languages is Syro-Aramaic and the definite article is Aramiac is the letter alip at the end of the word so stay tuned for this one

Another important point:, In reading these passages in the Torah, I find it interesting to note that the whole Hagar-the-Egyptian-maid story occurred BEFORE Abram became Abraham, i.e. before the covenant with G-d. So that would mean Ishmael, the illegitimate child, was not part of God's covenant while Isaac was.

And i'm sure that you must be aware that the subject of the sacrifice is not mentioned in the Qur'an and that deciding that he was Isma3eel was a late construct

Therefore, one could argue that the lands and the pacts made between Abraham and G-d never ever involved Ishmael.

Listen the Qur'an makes it very clear that the Jews are Allah's favorite nation and that the land of Israel is really their promised land

I'm not telling you here something that is not in the Qur'an

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