The Human Anatomy in Ancient Hebrew: Advanced Level

At SBL San Diego, a session was dedicated to testing proficiency in ancient Hebrew.
One excellent test of vocabulary proficiency involves the slotting of items across
semantic continuums. For example, after randomizing the vocabulary items in the basic,
intermediate, and advanced lists provided in this series, students might be required to
group and sequence them from head-to-toe. An even better test might involve a 3D
image of the human body with appropriately placed slots to be filled in with the
appropriate terms for the corresponding body parts.
A glossed and vocalized full listing of the terminology of human anatomy in
ancient Hebrew is offered below. Once the list is mastered, proficiency is testable by
working through it in un-glossed, un-vocalized format - also provided. Grad students
and Hebrew teachers might start with the un-glossed, un-vocalized list, and check
knowledge against the glossed and vocalized equivalents in case of doubt.
The full list following is bound to contain errors of omission and commission. The
standard dictionaries and concordances were consulted, but little secondary literature
beyond that. The vocabulary of epigraphic, Ben Sira, and DSS Hebrew was not
systematically added in. The selection of phrases remains piecemeal. Research indicates
that mastery of vocabulary involves knowing 98 per cent of a full listing of vocabulary
cold. This list is meant to be a means to attaining that end for a subset of the whole.
Peter Kirk noted in a comment to the first post in this series that the United Bible
Societies are working on a project entitled a Semantic Dictionary of Ancient Hebrew.
How do my efforts differ from those of Renier de Blois and his team? The UBS project
groups lexical items in broad semantic classes in which class-members are equidistant
from each other; only rarely are lexemes grouped into subsets according to semantic
contiguity. Semantic contiguity of subsets within a class is not described.
Other differences: the UBS project pays scant attention to morphology and
phraseology. Two examples: , in reference to anatomy, occurs in the singular and
the dual; the plural is used exclusively in reference to topography; the plural of is
used in a number of specialized senses, but not as an anatomical term. My lists reflect
these realities and include examples of stock phrases. The UBS project does not.
When SDAH is completed, it will be possible to compare its list of Parts: People
with the lists provided here. But its Parts: People class is an undifferentiated sea along
the lexical domain axis. The internal semantic organization of the class and attention to
morphology and phraseology offered here have no counterparts in the UBS project.
The Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Hebrew (DBL) by
Mark Swanson (Logos, 1997) was pioneeringproject of this kind. Another project of
interest: The Semantics of Ancient Hebrew Database (SAHD) project, in the incipient
stage, under the direction of Takamitsu Muraoka.
The basic list presented earlier corresponds to a level attainable after two semesters
of study; the basic plus list, after four semesters. A full list like this one might be
used for study and testing purposes during the third year of three-year sequence.

Full List
head, heads, his heads / , ,
pate, his pate ,
skull, his skull ,
temple
forehead, foreheads * ,
face (front)
back (rear) * ,
back //
back
back (intensive pl.)
corner/side of the face=temple *
temple *
corner/temple, a pair of corners/temples * ,*
temple ]* [=
hair, hair, hairs, his hair
*/
,
* ,
,

free-flowing hair of the head

*
tresses of the head *
locks *
lock *
(m. and f.) beard
sidegrowth of beard *
coiffure *

moustache

eye, a pair of eyes ,

pupil/apple of the eye
pupil/apple of the eye
pupil/apple of the eye
the pupil/apple of his eye
a pair of eyelids *
eyelids
*
eyebrows *
ear, a pair of ears ,
earlobe
nose, a pair of nostrils ,
cheek/jaw, a pair of cheeks , ,
a pair of gums *
mouth / ,
(poetic) mouth *
palate
tongue, tongues ,
tooth, a pair of sets of teeth
,
lip, a pair of lips
,

(poetic) door of the lips

*
throat, neck
gullet *

throat
neck, necks * /
,
neck *
neck *
nape
back
,

back

shoulder, a pair of shoulders, shoulders , * ,

a breast, a pair of breasts ,
teat
a pair of nipples *
bosom /
belly
doors of the belly *
belly, her belly ,
navel * ,*
navel-cord *,*
stomach *
stomach
paunch *
abdomen, viscera *
womb
mouth of the womb

inward parts * ,
heart, hearts / , /
pericardium
kidneys
liver
gall-bladder *
arm, arms / , /
humerus, its humerus ,
arm/hand, a pair of arms/hands ,
armpits *
elbows *
his/her right hand ,/
his/her left hand , /
hollow/palm, a pair of palms / ,
a pair of cups of hands
hollow of a hand, hollows
,*
finger, fingers ,
thumb, thumbs */ * ,/
little finger * ,*
fingernails *
penis

testicle *
buttock, buttocks *,

posterior

heels=curved ends *
hand=phallus
flesh=phallus
`

loins=genitalia
feet=genitalia
nakedness=pudenda
flesh of nakedness=waist-section
nakedness=pudenda *
nakednesses=pudenda
*
shameful things=pudenda
shamelessness=pudenda *
side, sides ,
loin, loins ,
a pair of loins
a pair of loins
hip/thigh, pair of thighs ,
hip-socket
sciatic nerve
a pair of thighs (cj Job 21:24) *
upper leg, a pair of upper legs ,
knee, a pair of knees ,
a pair of ankles *

a pair of ankles *
legs *
foot, a pair of feet ,
foot, feet ,
sole of a foot, a pair of soles of feet / ,
toe, toes ,
big toe, big toes */ * ,/
heel, heels , * ,
skin
skin of my teeth
*
skin *
foreskin, foreskins (not (,
sinew, sinews ,
flesh, fleshy body parts ,
flesh

fat
fat
fat
*
blood, (spilled) blood ,
juice=blood *
frame *
bone, bones / ,
marrow

bone, bones ,
skull
jaw, a pair of jaws ,
humerus
rib, ribs ,
elbows *
knee, a pair of knees ,
a pair of ankles *
heel, heels * ,
formed parts *
frame (cj Job 20:3) *
air
life-breath
breath

flesh
life-breath
body
body
living being
body
body
living being
Full Listing (Unvocalized)

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Pgina de referencia:
http://ancienthebrewpoetry.typepad.com/ancient_hebrew_poetry/2007/11/the-humananato.html