Tamil loanwords in Biblical Hebrew

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
Silk Road and Spice trade, ancient trade routes that linked India with the Old World; carried goods and ideas between the ancient civilisations of the Old World and India. The land routes are red, and the water routes are blue.

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]

Known loan words in the Hebrew Bible
Hebrew wordMeaning in HebrewSource languageTamil wordMeaning in Tamil
túki/תוכיםparrots but meant peacocks in the past[nb 1]Tamil[nb 2]tōkai/தோகைfeather[20][7][6][21][22][19][14]
ahalim/אֲהָלִיםeagle-wood or agarwoodTamil[nb 3]akil/அகில்agarwood[5][23][7][24][22][12][14]
kurkúm/כורכוםturmericprobably Tamil but also possibly Sanskritkūkai/கூகை (கூவை)turmeric[7][25][12]
armón/ארמוןpalaceprobably Tamil but has competing etymologiesaraṇmaṉai/அரண்மனைpalace[7]
kaḏ/כדjugprobably Tamil, cognates in South Dravidian languages[nb 4]kiṇṭi/கிண்டிsmall vessel[26]
rg/ריגweaveprobably Tamil, cognates in South Dravidian languagesorukku/ஒருக்குto draw out[26]
minnith/מִנִּיתrice[nb 5]Tamil via Akkadianuṇṭi/உண்டிboiled rice[28]
pannag/פנגmillet[nb 6]Tamil via South Arabianuṇaṅkal/உணங்கல்millet[28]
bûts/בּוּץfine textilePossibly related to Tamil, via South Arabian also possibly via Sanskrit. Already attested in Syrian and Akkadian inscriptions dating back to the 9th century BCE.panjcu/பஞ்சுcotton[28]
mesukkan/מסכןwoodTamil via Akkadianmucukkaṭṭai/முசுக்கட்டைmulberry tree[28]
piṭdâh/פִטְדָהtopazTamil or Dravidianpitta/பித்தbile or yellow[28][30]
qôph/קוףmonkeyprobably Tamil but also possibly Sanskritka(p)vi/கவிmonkey[31][32][33][22]

Post-Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew wordMeaning in HebrewSource languageTamil wordMeaning in Tamil
etrog/אתרוגyellow citronTamil via Persian[nb 7]mātuḷam/மாதுளம் or alternatively nārttaṅkāy/நார்த்தங்காய்pomegranate or citron[36][35][34]
orez/אורזriceTamil via South Arabian[nb 8]arici/அரிசிrice[38][13][6][2][24]
nul/נול loom probably Tamil, cognates in South Dravidian languages[nb 9] nūl/நூல் thread[26]
mango/מנגו mango From English, via Portuguese originally from Tamil māṅkāy/மாங்காய் unripe mā (a species) fruit[39]

See also

Notes
    1. According to David Dean Shulman túki in modern Hebrew is translated as Parrots but in past meant Peacocks, taken from tōkai signifying a male Peacocks feathers in Tamil[7]
    2. According Ernest Klein Greek taôs, Aramaic טוסא, Arabic لطاووس, also Hebrew תכי probably comes ultimately from Tamil tōkai/தோகை for peacock.[19]
    3. 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]
    4. 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]
    5. minnith in general means a place of the Ammonites except Chaim Rabin postulated, it meant Rice.[27][28]
    6. pannag has no acceptable meaning, but millet is one of the proposed meanings.[29]
    7. 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]
    8. 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]
    9. 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
    1. Southworth, F.Linguistic Archeology of South Asia, p. 251
    2. Zvelebil, Kamil. "Dravidian languages". Retrieved 5 January 2021.
    3. Curry, Andrew. "Philistines Had a Taste for Far-flung Foods, Fossilized Tooth Plaque Reveals". Retrieved 28 December 2020.
    4. Wu, Catherine. "Painted Bronze Age Monkeys Hint at the Interconnectedness of the Ancient World". Retrieved 5 January 2021.
    5. Khan, G.Encyclopedia of Hebrew Languages and Linguistics Volume 1 A-F , p. 640-642
    6. Caldwell, R. A Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian or South-Indian Family of Languages p. 474
    7. Shulman, D. Tamil: A biography, p. 20
    8. Rabin, C. Proceedings of the Second International Conference Seminar of Tamil Studies, p. 438
    9. Rabin, C. The Song of Songs and Tamil Poetry p.208-209
    10. Price, E. A history of Kannada literature, p. 1
    11. Rabin, C. The Song of Songs and Tamil Poetry p. 205-219
    12. Sugirtharajah R. Bible and Asia p.32-33
    13. Wald, Shalom; Kandel, Arielle. "India, Israel and the Jewish people". Retrieved 27 December 2020.
    14. Parthsarathy, R.The cilappatikāram of Iḷaṅko Aṭikaḷ : an epic of South India, p. 282-283
    15. James, G. Tamil lexicography, p.10
    16. Government of Tamilnadu, Department of Archeology. "Keeladi, Excavation Report, Urban Settlement, Sangam Age, River Vaigai". Retrieved 27 December 2020.
    17. Vishnupriya, Kolipakam. "A Bayesian phylogenetic study of the Dravidian language family". Retrieved 6 January 2021.
    18. Noonan, Benjamin. "Benjamin Noonan on Non-Semitic Loanwords in the Hebrew Bible". Retrieved 28 December 2020.
    19. Curvin, David. "Balashon: Hebrew Language Detective". Retrieved 25 January 2021.
    20. 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
    21. Biblehub. "Peacock". Retrieved 10 January 2021.
    22. Chandra M. Trade And Trade Routes In Ancient India, p.45
    23. Rabin C. Proceedings of the Second International Conference Seminar of Tamil Studies, p.434
    24. Swaminatha Ayar, R. Dravidian Theories, p. 55
    25. Melbourne, University of. "Sorting Curcuma names". Retrieved 6 January 2021.
    26. Podolsky, B.Past links:Studies in the Languages and Cultures of the Ancient Near East, p. 199-201
    27. "Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature". Retrieved 28 January 2021.
    28. Rabin, C. Proceedings of the Second International Conference Seminar of Tamil Studies, p. 435-436
    29. "Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature". Retrieved 28 January 2021.
    30. Waldman, N. The Recent Study of Hebrew: A Survey of the Literature with Selected Bibliography p. 61
    31. Curvin, David. "Balashon: Hebrew Language Detective". Retrieved 12 January 2021.
    32. Bible Study Tools. "Ape". Retrieved 12 January 2021.
    33. Dikshitar R. Origin And Spread Of The Tamils , p.89-90
    34. Philologos. "The Etrog". Retrieved 13 January 2021.
    35. Curvin, David. "Balashon: Hebrew Language Detective". Retrieved 5 January 2021.
    36. 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
    37. Rabin, C. Proceedings of the Second International Conference Seminar of Tamil Studies, p. 436
    38. Shulman, D. Tamil: A biography, p. 21
    39. Definify. "Mango". Retrieved 7 September 2021.

    Cited literature
    • Caldwell, Robert (1856). A Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian, Or South-Indian Family of Languages. Harrison. ISBN 978-81-20-60117-8.
    • Chandra, Moti (1977). Trade And Trade Routes In Ancient India. Abhinav. ISBN 978-0-712-80117-1.
    • Dishitar, Ramachandra (1971), Origin And Spread Of The Tamils, Oakley, ISBN 978-3-111-59200-8
    • James, Gregory (2008), Tamil lexicography, Walter de Gruyter, ISBN 978-1-443-72658-0
    • Khan, Geoffrey, ed. (2013). Encyclopedia of Hebrew Languages and Linguistics Volume 1 A-F. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-17642-3.
    • The cilappatikāram of Iḷaṅko Aṭikaḷ : an epic of South India. Translated by Parthasarathy, R. Columbia University Press. 1993. ISBN 978-02-31-07849-8.
    • 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. ISBN 1-57506-035-3.
    • Price, Edward (1982), A history of Kannada literature, Asian Educational Service, ISBN 8120600630
    • Shulman, David (2016), Tamil: A biography, Harvard University Press, ISBN 978-0-674-05992-4
    • Sugirtharajah, R.S. (2013), The Bible and Asia, Harvard University Press, ISBN 978-0-674-04907-9
    • Swamaninatha Aiyar, R (1987), Dravidian Theories, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8-120-80331-2
    • Rabin, Chaim (1994). Goodman, Hananya (ed.). Between Jerusalem and Benares. State University of New York. ISBN 0-7914-1715-8.
    • Rabin, Chaim (Dec 1, 1973). "The Song of Songs and Tamil Poetry". Studies in Religion. 3 (3): 205–219. doi:10.1177/000842987300300301. S2CID 149367075.
    • 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, ISBN 978-0-415-33323-8
    • Waldman, Nahum (1989), The Recent Study of Hebrew: A Survey of the Literature with Selected Bibliography, Eisenbrauns, ISBN 978-0-878-20908-8

    Further reading
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