A fact from Place names of Palestine appeared on Wikipedia's
Main Page in the Did you know column on 18 November 2008, and was viewed approximately 1,441 times (
disclaimer) (
check views). The text of the entry was as follows:
Did you know... that most of the place names in Palestine are
Arabised words with ancient
Semitic roots that were preserved by the local indigenous population, facilitating their identification with
biblical sites?
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Palestine region, the
Palestinian people and the
State of Palestine on Wikipedia. Join us by visiting
the project page, where you can add your name to the
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Just a question, do you have any sources that discuss the words "Beit", "Bayt", "Bet" and "Beth"?
As in
Beitin and
Bethel,
Beit Lahm and
Bethlehem, and
Bayt Jibrin has so many alternatives. --
Al Ameer son (
talk) 17:50, 17 November 2008 (UTC)reply
I will find you some. But I can tell you from my own (minimal) knowledge of proto-Canaanite alphabets, that "beit", the letter, has meant house/home since the earliest written history. Give me a bit and I'll get some stuff for you on it.
Tiamuttalk 17:56, 17 November 2008 (UTC)reply
Thanks so much. It's really great to have you back! WP Palestine has certainly missed you. --
Al Ameer son (
talk) 17:58, 17 November 2008 (UTC)reply
Thanks Al Ameer Son. I missed you guys too.
So
here is something. It seems that during the development of the proto-Sinaitic and proto-Canaanite alphabets, Canaanite scribes assigned phonetic values to Egytian hieroglyphs. For example, the hierogylph for "house" was assigned the value "B" because the Semitic word for house began with a "B" (i.e. beit/bayit, this being true for both proto-Sinatic and proto-Canaanite scripts). They then named places in this fashion. I'm quite sure that
Beit Jibrin has an older Canaanite root name that accounts for the Aramaic Beth Gabra, but it's hard to find sources on this subject with all the different possibl transliterations for the Semitic names. Anyway, I'll keep looking for more and let you know as things pop up.
Tiamuttalk 18:09, 17 November 2008 (UTC)reply
Here is something on
Bethel: Its meaning is derived from the
Ugaritic root bt il, meaning "House of
El".
[1]Tiamuttalk 18:33, 17 November 2008 (UTC)reply
Need source, but usually denotes a Bedouin hamlet, whether a permanent settlement whose inhabitants were Bedouin who sedentarized or their descendants, or a seasonal village for semi-nomadic Bedouin. —
Al Ameer (
talk) 23:31, 2 July 2020 (UTC)reply
What Al Ammer son said. The second part of the name is commonly the name of the tribe though I don't know if that's universally true.
Zerotalk 06:44, 3 July 2020 (UTC)reply
That's what I had guessed. I have looked for a source but haven’t found one yet. Most of the relevant village articles don’t mention the Bedouin connections either.
Onceinawhile (
talk) 07:31, 3 July 2020 (UTC)reply
The "short glossary" in the Palestine Index Gazetteer (Government of Palestine, 1947) defines 'Arab thus: "Collective singular, i.e. collection, tribe, or camp of Arabs".
Zerotalk 10:21, 3 July 2020 (UTC)reply
A big mix
The article lost its way. It's far from clear what it wants to present. What is now titled "History" is a well-written general presentation, but most of the rest is a collection of disparate ideas, lists, and unfinalised intentions. This talk-page is more focused than much of the article. As it is now, it's a lost case & an orphan.
Arminden (
talk) 21:01, 28 December 2021 (UTC)reply
A fact from Place names of Palestine appeared on Wikipedia's
Main Page in the Did you know column on 18 November 2008, and was viewed approximately 1,441 times (
disclaimer) (
check views). The text of the entry was as follows:
Did you know... that most of the place names in Palestine are
Arabised words with ancient
Semitic roots that were preserved by the local indigenous population, facilitating their identification with
biblical sites?
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Palestine, a team effort dedicated to building and maintaining comprehensive, informative and balanced articles related to the geographic
Palestine region, the
Palestinian people and the
State of Palestine on Wikipedia. Join us by visiting
the project page, where you can add your name to the
list of members where you can contribute to the
discussions.PalestineWikipedia:WikiProject PalestineTemplate:WikiProject PalestinePalestine-related articles
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Israel, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of
Israel on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join
the discussion and see a list of open tasks.IsraelWikipedia:WikiProject IsraelTemplate:WikiProject IsraelIsrael-related articles
This article has been given a rating which conflicts with the
project-independent quality rating in the banner shell. Please resolve this conflict if possible.
Just a question, do you have any sources that discuss the words "Beit", "Bayt", "Bet" and "Beth"?
As in
Beitin and
Bethel,
Beit Lahm and
Bethlehem, and
Bayt Jibrin has so many alternatives. --
Al Ameer son (
talk) 17:50, 17 November 2008 (UTC)reply
I will find you some. But I can tell you from my own (minimal) knowledge of proto-Canaanite alphabets, that "beit", the letter, has meant house/home since the earliest written history. Give me a bit and I'll get some stuff for you on it.
Tiamuttalk 17:56, 17 November 2008 (UTC)reply
Thanks so much. It's really great to have you back! WP Palestine has certainly missed you. --
Al Ameer son (
talk) 17:58, 17 November 2008 (UTC)reply
Thanks Al Ameer Son. I missed you guys too.
So
here is something. It seems that during the development of the proto-Sinaitic and proto-Canaanite alphabets, Canaanite scribes assigned phonetic values to Egytian hieroglyphs. For example, the hierogylph for "house" was assigned the value "B" because the Semitic word for house began with a "B" (i.e. beit/bayit, this being true for both proto-Sinatic and proto-Canaanite scripts). They then named places in this fashion. I'm quite sure that
Beit Jibrin has an older Canaanite root name that accounts for the Aramaic Beth Gabra, but it's hard to find sources on this subject with all the different possibl transliterations for the Semitic names. Anyway, I'll keep looking for more and let you know as things pop up.
Tiamuttalk 18:09, 17 November 2008 (UTC)reply
Here is something on
Bethel: Its meaning is derived from the
Ugaritic root bt il, meaning "House of
El".
[1]Tiamuttalk 18:33, 17 November 2008 (UTC)reply
Need source, but usually denotes a Bedouin hamlet, whether a permanent settlement whose inhabitants were Bedouin who sedentarized or their descendants, or a seasonal village for semi-nomadic Bedouin. —
Al Ameer (
talk) 23:31, 2 July 2020 (UTC)reply
What Al Ammer son said. The second part of the name is commonly the name of the tribe though I don't know if that's universally true.
Zerotalk 06:44, 3 July 2020 (UTC)reply
That's what I had guessed. I have looked for a source but haven’t found one yet. Most of the relevant village articles don’t mention the Bedouin connections either.
Onceinawhile (
talk) 07:31, 3 July 2020 (UTC)reply
The "short glossary" in the Palestine Index Gazetteer (Government of Palestine, 1947) defines 'Arab thus: "Collective singular, i.e. collection, tribe, or camp of Arabs".
Zerotalk 10:21, 3 July 2020 (UTC)reply
A big mix
The article lost its way. It's far from clear what it wants to present. What is now titled "History" is a well-written general presentation, but most of the rest is a collection of disparate ideas, lists, and unfinalised intentions. This talk-page is more focused than much of the article. As it is now, it's a lost case & an orphan.
Arminden (
talk) 21:01, 28 December 2021 (UTC)reply