On The Etymology Of Biblical Hebrew : A Contribution to the ‘Sin Offering’ vs. ‘Purification Offering’ Debate

Abstract This article evaluates Jacob Milgrom's widely-cited argument that the Biblical Hebrew offering term , by virtue of its derivation from a *qattalt noun pattern with gemination of the second root consonant, is intrinsically connected in its semantics to the Piel of (‘to purify, purge’) — an argument often used to support a rendering of as ‘purification offering’ (instead of the traditional ‘sin offering’). This argument is untenable, not only because it is based on an outmoded approach to the Semitic noun system, but also because it fails to explain how came simultaneously to denote ‘sin’ in Biblical Hebrew. Instead, the most plausible account of the term sees the ‘sin’ meaning as primary, with the ‘offering’ usage derived via metonymy, i.e., ‘an offering that deals with ’. Also, given the explanations of the *qattal(a)t pattern in the comparative Semitic literature, (‘sin’) is best understood as an abstract substantive derived from, or viewed as a counterpart to, the *qattal noun (‘sinful’, ‘habitual sinner’), with perhaps a secondary association with malady — another common semantic connotation of Biblical Hebrew *qattalt.