The importance of Tamil loanwords in Biblical Hebrew is that linguistically these words are the earliest attestation of the
Tamil language. These words were incorporated into the writing of the
Hebrew Bible starting before 500
BCE. Although a number of authors have identified many biblical and post-biblical words of Tamil, Old Tamil, or Dravidian origin, a number of them have competing etymologies and some Tamil derivations are considered controversial.
Origins
The incorporation of Tamil loanwords into the
Hebrew language originally came about through the interactions of
West Asian and
South Indian merchants. The mainstream view is that the beginnings of trade between the
Mediterranean region and South India can be traced back to 500 BCE when the word zingiberis (ζιγγίβερις), which was derived from the
Proto-South Dravidian*cinki-ver (சிங்கிவேர்) (for "
ginger"), first appeared in the
Greek language.[1][2] This indicates South India possibly having been involved in trade with the Mediterranean
diaspora centuries earlier.[1] There is some evidence that trade between India and the peoples inhabiting the Mediterranean regions may have been well established by 1500 BCE.[3][4]
Due to its native speakers' location—in the critical path of trade between Egypt, Mesopotamia, and India—ancient
Hebrew lexicon contains both
cultural words that are common to many languages in the general area and
loanwords from various other languages
including Ancient Greek.[5] Some of these loan words are present in the earliest transcripts of the Bible. By the mid-nineteenth century, Christian missionaries trained in Biblical Hebrew noticed that there were words of Indian origin in the
Bible, including from the Tamil language.[6][7] Some of the loan words were borrowed directly from Tamil or
Old Tamil into
Biblical Hebrew. Others were borrowed via the
Akkadian,
Aramaic,
Greek,
Persian, and
South Arabian languages.[8] The period of these lexiconic borrowings range from 1000 BCE to 500 BCE.[8][9][10] The dating of this borrowing depends on the acceptable ranges of dates for the compilation and redaction of the
Books of Kings.[7]
Linguistic influences
Most of the borrowed words had to do with items of trade that were unique to South India but which lacked native names in Hebrew.[7][11][12][13] According to linguists such as
Chaim Rabin and Abraham Mariaselvam, the Tamil linguistic impact in Hebrew goes beyond just loan words. The contact also influenced the poetic traditions and styles such as those found in the
Song of Songs, which according to Rabin and Mariaselvam shows the influence of
Cankam anthologies.[11][12][13][14]
Linguistically, the importance of Tamil loanwords in Hebrew is that it is the earliest attestation of Tamil language [10][15] and an early attestation in the
Dravidian languages.[7] This was before Tamil was widely written down, using the
Tamil Brahmi script and dated variously from 600 BCE to 200 BCE.[16][17] Although a number of authors have identified many Biblical and post-Biblical words of Tamil, Old Tamil, or Dravidian origin, a number of them have competing etymologies and some Tamil derivations are today considered controversial.[7][18] There is also a class of words that were borrowed ultimately from
Indo-Aryan languages spoken in
North India but via Tamil.[8]
Possibly related to Tamil, via South Arabian also possibly via Sanskrit. Already attested in Syrian and Akkadian inscriptions dating back to the 9th century BCE.
^According to
David Dean Shulmantúki in modern Hebrew is translated as Parrots but in past meant
Peacocks, taken from tōkai signifying a male Peacocks feathers in Tamil[7]
^According
Ernest Klein Greek taôs, Aramaic טוסא, Arabic لطاووس, also Hebrew תכי probably comes ultimately from Tamil tōkai/தோகை for peacock.[19]
^David Shulman believes ahalim is directly derived from Tamil akil/அகில் rather than Sanskrit aguru/अगुरु which in itself is a loan from Tamil.[7]
^ According to Podolsky, objects of trade travel together with their names, and cites Greek κάδος, along with
Proto-Indonesian,
Batak,
Javanese and
Malay forms as examples of loanwords borrowed for a new form of jug due to early maritime contact with South India. [26]
^minnith in general means a place of the
Ammonites except Chaim Rabin postulated, it meant Rice.[27][28]
^pannag has no acceptable meaning, but millet is one of the proposed meanings.[29]
^According Rabin, Hebrew etrog or ethrunga is borrowed from turung in
Persian or etrunga in
Mandaic, that is ultimately related to mātuḷam/மாதுளம் or mātuḷamkāy/மாதுளம்காய் in Tamil for Pomegranate or lemon, where as
Philologos derives it from Tamil nārttaṅkāy/நார்த்தங்காய்[34][35]
^According
Chaim Rabin Greek óruza (ὄρυζα), Hebrew אורז are derived from South Arabian areez that was ultimately derived from Tamil arici/அரிசி for rice[37]
^ The modern Hebrew word for weavers loom nul is generally accepted to be derived from the Aramaic nawlā per Ernest Klein, which is related to Arabic نَوْل, but Podolsky believes its highly improbable that the original word is preserved only in one language without cognates in other Semitic languages apart from those that were borrowed from it. He believes its related to the acquisition of a new weaving technology from South India. [26]
References
^
abSouthworth, F.Linguistic Archeology of South Asia, p. 251
^Rabin, C. Lexical borrowings from Indian languages as Carriers of ideas and Technical concept (in Between Jerusalem and Benares: Comparative Studies in Judaism and Hinduism), p. 29
^Rabin, C. Lexical borrowings from Indian languages as Carriers of ideas and Technical concept (in Between Jerusalem and Benares: Comparative Studies in Judaism and Hinduism, p. 30
^Rabin, C. Proceedings of the Second International Conference Seminar of Tamil Studies, p. 436
Khan, Geoffrey, ed. (2013). Encyclopedia of Hebrew Languages and Linguistics Volume 1 A-F. Brill.
ISBN978-90-04-17642-3.
The cilappatikāram of Iḷaṅko Aṭikaḷ : an epic of South India. Translated by Parthasarathy, R. Columbia University Press. 1993.
ISBN978-02-31-07849-8.
Pdodolsky, Baruch (1998). Izre'el, Shlomo; Singer, Itmamar; Zadok, Ran (eds.). Past links:Studies in the Languages and Cultures of the Ancient Near East. Eisenbrauns.
ISBN1-57506-035-3.
Price, Edward (1982), A history of Kannada literature, Asian Educational Service,
ISBN8120600630
Shulman, David (2016), Tamil: A biography, Harvard University Press,
ISBN978-0-674-05992-4
Sugirtharajah, R.S. (2013), The Bible and Asia, Harvard University Press,
ISBN978-0-674-04907-9
Swamaninatha Aiyar, R (1987), Dravidian Theories, Motilal Banarsidass,
ISBN978-8-120-80331-2
Rabin, Chaim (1994). Goodman, Hananya (ed.). Between Jerusalem and Benares. State University of New York.
ISBN0-7914-1715-8.
Rabin, Chaim (Oct 1971). Proceedings of the Second International Conference Seminar of Tamil Studies. International Association of Tamil Research. pp. 432–440.
Southworth, Franklin (2005), Linguistic Archeology of South Asia, Routledge,
ISBN978-0-415-33323-8
Waldman, Nahum (1989), The Recent Study of Hebrew: A Survey of the Literature with Selected Bibliography, Eisenbrauns,
ISBN978-0-878-20908-8