Zaphnath-Paaneah

Zaphnath-Paaneah (Hebrew: צָפְנַת פַּעְנֵחַ) is the name stated by the Bible (Genesis, 41:45) as given by Pharaoh to Joseph. It seems to be an Egyptian name, but its etymology is in doubt.

Etymology

Targum Onkelos gives the meaning of the name as "the man to whom mysteries are revealed"; pseudo-Jonathan, "one who reveals mysteries"; Josephus ("Ant." ii. 6, § 1), "a finder of mysteries". The Authorised Version has in the margin: "Which in the Coptic signifies, 'A revealer of secrets', or 'The man to whom secrets are revealed', while the Geneva Bible has 'The expounder of secrets'.[1] "There is, however, no known Egyptian etymology by which these guesses can be supported. Jerome claims that his suggestion, "savior of the world", rests on the Egyptian. This interpretation is also accepted by Jablonski.

Modern Egyptologists have tried a great many etymologies for the element "Zaphnath", but have mostly agreed that "paaneah" contains the Egyptian "p-ônḫ", meaning "the life". Georg Steindorff's explanation,[2] differs somewhat; it is "ṣe(d)-p-nute(r)-ef-onḫ" = "the god speaks, [and] he lives". This has become popular, and is philologically possible; however, it does not convey the allusion to Joseph's office or merits which we should expect. However, the Septuagint and the Hexaplaric versions (respectively, "Ψονθομφανήχ" and "Ψομθομφανήχ") differ so widely from the Hebrew in the first half of the name that it may have been disfigured by copyists.

Bibliography

References

  1. "Genesis 41:45 GNV - And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name". Bible Gateway. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
  2. "Zeitschrift für Aegyptische Sprache," xxvii. 42, modifying Krall's etymology in "Trans. 7th Orientalist. Congr." p. 110
  3. "Zaphnath-Paaneah". JewishEncyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, April 02, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.