Hebrew question | Imamother

miami85

Wed, Jul 16 2014, 10:49 am

I put this question here because it relates to modern Hebrew. Wondering if anyone knows any background.

The modern Hebrew word for swan is "barboor"--which is not a kosher animal

In the Friday night zemer Mah Yedidos it refers to the delicacy of "barboorim". In looking up the the commentary it refers to a kind of goose.

In my Hebrew-English dictionaries it only has "swan" for barboor.
Any insight?

goodmorning

Wed, Jul 16 2014, 11:11 am

I assume the source for that line in zemiros is from Tanach.

Melachim I, 5:3

Quote:

עֲשָׂרָה בָקָר בְּרִאִים וְעֶשְׂרִים בָּקָר רְעִי וּמֵאָה צֹאן לְבַד מֵאַיָּל וּצְבִי וְיַחְמוּר וּבַרְבֻּרִים אֲבוּסִים:

Quote:

ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and a hundred sheep, beside harts, and gazelles, and roebucks, and fatted fowl.

Rashi cites an opinion that they are forcibly fed, based on the first opinion of the following Gemara.

Bava Metziah 86b:

Quote:

מאי ברבורים אבוסיםאמר רבשאובסים אותן בעל כרחןושמואל אמרשאבוסים ועומדים מאליהםורבי יוחנן אמרמביאין תור ממרעיתו בדלא אניס ותרנגולת מאשפתה בדלא אניסא

Quote:

What is meant by 'fatted fowl'? — Rab said: [Fowls] fed against their will. Samuel said: [Fowls] naturally fat. R. Johanan said: Oxen which had never toiled were brought from the pastures, and likewise fowls [that had never toiled] from their dungheaps.

miami85

Wed, Jul 16 2014, 11:32 am

Right, so why did modern Hebrew choose to pair a word that has a tanach source for being kosher with a non-kosher animal. I know that Achad Ha'am was (please don't be mad at me, this is what I learned) rather anti-Torah and though I don't remember specific examples, did make some hebrew words that were anti-Torah, but to me this one seems a bit random.

goodmorning

Wed, Jul 16 2014, 2:08 pm

miami85 wrote:

Sorry, I completely misunderstood your question. I thought you just wanted to know what the word barburim means in Lashon HaKodesh.

I am no etymologist, but it certainly seems like the simplest explanation was that there was a need for a word to mean swan, there already was a not-very-commonly used word for fattened fowl, so rather than create a new word, someone (probably a committee rather than Ben Yehuda himself) chose to recycle an existing one. To me, that explanation seems to fit Occam's Razor.

(As an aside, I think that you may be confusing Achad Ha'Am and Ben Yehuda. While Ben Yehuda was certainly influenced by Achad Ha'Am in this area, Ben Yehuda is usually credited for the revival of the Hebrew language.)