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Let us see if we can gain any light upon the subject of the primary sense of כפר from the cognate languages.
Chaldee, כפר, to deny, to reject. Prov. xxx. 9.
2. To wipe; “She eateth and wipeth her mouth.” Prov. xxx. 20.
3. To wash or cleanse. Matth. xxvii. 24. Castle.
Syriac, {foreign} kafar, to deny. Gen. xviii. 15. Luke xii. 9.
2. To wipe, to wipe away, to annul, to abolish. Prov. xxx. 20. Is. xxviii. 18. Castle.
Arabic, كَفَرَkafara, to deny; to disbelieve; to be an infidel; to be impious; to blaspheme. Acts iii. 13, 14. 2 Pet. ii. 1, 5. Jude 15.
2. To cover; to conceal.
3. To expiate; to make expiation for one, and free him from crime. Castle.
Now the senses of the Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic, to deny, to reject, to annul, to wipe, wash, or to cleanse by these acts, can not be deduced from covering.
In Hebrew, the word has the sense of covering, as the ark, with bitumen or pitch, in Gen. vi. 14; that is, to smear, or pay over, as our seamen now express it. But it should be considered that the sense of covering is rarely or never primary; it is usually from the sense of putting on, which is from the sense of throwing or pressing, or it is from overspreading, which is a spreading, stretching, or throwing over; hence the derivative senses of covering and hiding. These latter senses are sometimes derived from others; but these are the most general. And in this passage of Genesis, the literal sense is probably to put on, or to rub or spread over, a sense which coincides with that of the Chaldee and Syriac, Prov. xxx. 20, though differently applied; or what is more probable, the verb, in Gen. vi. 14, is from the noun, which is the name of the substance used, as we should say, to pitch with pitch.
The real original sense of this Shemitic verb is to remove, to separate, by thrusting away or driving off. Hence its application, in the Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic, to denial, the rejection of God or truth. To deny or reject, is to thrust away. Hence from the Arabic caffer, an infidel, one who denies and rejects the Mohammedan religion; hence Caffraria, the southern part of Africa, the country of infidels; so called by the followers of Mohammed, just as the Christians gave the name of pagans to the inhabitants of villages [pagus,] who rejected the Christian religion.
This signification explains the Hebrew uses of this word. Its literal sense is applied to the cleansing or purification of sacred things, as the altar. Lev. xvi. 18. In a spiritual sense, to the purification of the soul, a type of the purification by the blood of Christ; hence it is rendered atonement, or expiation. Hence, probably the sense of appeasing, Gen. xxxii. 21, Prov. xvi. 14, though this may be from removing or smoothing.
The sense of forgiveness is from thrusting away or giving back, precisely as in the modern languages; Lat. remitto, to send back or away; forgive, to give back or away; pardon, in French, Spanish, and Italian, has a like sense, which is more clearly exhibited by the Dutch vergeeven, German vergeben; ver being the English far, to give far, to give away; hence to reject, and remember no more. The sense of give and of the French donner, is nearly the same as that of כפר. To give, is to send, to cause to pass; and so of donner.
Now it is a question of some moment, whether the opinion that כפר is the same as the English cover, has not inclined lexicographers and commentators to render it by this word, in several passages, where the true sense is to forgive, or to purify by cleansing from sin.
However this may be, the interpretation given above will fully disprove Lowth’s assertion, that this word is never used in the sense of breaking or annulling a covenant. So confident is the learned Bishop on this point, that he ventures to call in question the reading, Isaiah xxviii. 18; and to suppose the true word to be הפר, from פור, to break. With respect to the reading I shall offer no opinion; but if the present reading is correct, I am confident that no word in the Hebrew language is better fitted to express the sense. Your covenant with death shall be wiped away, abolished, or as in the version, annulled. And so is the rendering in the Syriac.
If כפר is a compound word and the first letter a prefix, it may be from the same root as the Arabic عََفَرَ [sic] gafara, whose signification is to cover. But the primary sense is, to throw or put on. It signifies also, to forgive; but to forgive is to send back or away, remitto, and not to cover. And I apprehend that for want of knowing the primary sense of such verbs, the word cover has been often substituted for forgive, in the translating of this verb.
כל kal or kol.
No. 1. Heb. כול, כל, to hold, to contain; Sw. hålla. כלכל, to hold, to sustain, to maintain, to comprehend.
Ch. כול, to measure, that is, to ascertain the contents, or to stretch, and comprehend the whole.
Pah. To feed, to nourish. See אכל.
Deriv. A measure; also custom, rite, manner, probably from holding or continued practice.
Syr. In Aph. to measure. Deriv. A measure.
Eth. ከወለ, to follow; to go behind; Gr. ακολουθεω; that is, to hold to, or to press after.
Deriv. The hinder part; the poop of a ship; behind. French cul.
No. 2. Heb. כלל, to finish; to complete; to make perfect. Gr. καλος.
כל, all; the whole; Gr. όλος, Eng. all, by the loss of the first letter; but in Welsh holl, or oll; and in Saxon al, æl, and geall.
Ch. כלל to crown; to adorn.
Pih. To perfect; to complete; to comprehend; to embrace.
Deriv. Comprehending; universality; a general rule, &c.;
Syr. ܒܠـܠ, to crown. Deriv. A crown; all; every one.
Sam. llk, as the Chaldee.
Eth. ከለለ, the same; also, to cover.
Ar. كَلَّ kalla, to be weary or dull; to be languid; to tire; also, to crown; to shine. Deriv. All; dullness; heaviness.
No. 3. Heb. כלא, to hold; to restrain; to shut or confine; to check; Gr. κωλυω; Sw. hålla.
Deriv. A place of confinement; Lat. caula.
Ch. כלא, כלה, כלי, to hold; to restrain; also, to trust; to confide in, or rely on; to hope. (See No. 6.) Also, to finish; to perfect; also, to consume; to cause to fail.
In Aph. To call; to cry out; to thunder; Gr. καλεω; Lat. calo; W. galw; Eng. to call; Lat. gullus, from crowing.
Syr. ܒܠ, to hold; to restrain; to forbid; to deny.
Deriv. all; a cork, bar or bolt.
Sam. )lk, to hold, or restrain.
Eth. ከልእ, to hold, restrain, or prohibit.
Deriv. Lat. alius; a fellow, or companion.
Ar. كلا kala, to keep; to preserve; to turn the face toward a thing and look repeatedly. So in English, to behold. Also, to come to the end, as of life; also, to feed, to devour food; also, to abound in pasture; also, to hinder, or detain; also, to look attentively; also, to sprout; also, to take upon a pledge, or upon trust; supra, Chaldee. (See No. 6.)
No. 4. Heb כלה, to finish; to consume; to bring to naught; to waste; to fail. (See No. 8.)
No. 5. Ch. אכל, to eat; to consume; also, to take; to hold; to contain. In Aph. to feed; to give food; also, to call; to thunder; to roar, or bellow; also, to publish; to accuse; to defame.
Heb. to eat; to consume.
Sam. lk), to eat.
Syr. ܐܒܠ, to publish; to divulge, as a crime; to accuse.
Eth. አከለ, to suffice, as we say, it is well, Lat. valeo; also, to be or exist; that is, to be held, or to be fixed or permanent, to continue.
Ar. to eat; to devour; to corrode; Lat. helluo.
No. 6. Ar. وَكَلَ wakala, to trust; to commit to another in confidence. (See No. 3.)
Eth. ወከለ wakal, with a prefix; to trust, as above.
No. 7. Heb. יכל, to be able; to prevail; Lat. calleo; W. gallu; Eng. could.
No. 8. Ch. עכל, to digest; to consume. (No. 5.)
Ar. عَكَلَ, to collect; to tie; to bind; to unite; also, to divide, impel, or compel. This is the primary sense of the word, or rather of this root; to press; to strain; to urge, or impel; also, to extend. These verbs are different modifications of one radix; and hence the English hold, call, hollow, heal, hale; the Latin calo, caulis, calleo, callus; Greek κολλα, καλος or καλλος; and a multitude of words in all the modern languages of Europe.
The sense of holding, restraining, forbidding, hindering, and keeping, are too obvious to need any explanation. They are from straining. To this sense is nearly allied the sense of measuring, or ascertaining what is held or contained. That which is contained is all, the whole that is comprehended, from the sense of extension.
The signification of finishing or perfecting, seems, in a good sense, to be from that of soundness; a sense which is from stretching or strength. Or it may be from coming to the end, like finish and achieve, or from shutting, closing. And the sense of consuming, wasting, failing, may be from bringing to an end. In Latin, to consume is to take all; and possibly this may be the sense of this verb. But the Arabic sense of failure would seem rather to be from holding, stopping, or coming to an end.
The sense of eating may be from consuming, or taking apart, but from some of the derivatives of No. 5, I am inclined to think the primary sense is to feed, to crowd, to stuff; the primary sense of the root applied to this particular act; for under the Chaldee root we find words which signify the nut of a species of oak, the Gr. αχυλος and a collection or crowd of people, [Gr. οχλος,] both of which are from collecting or pressing together.
The sense of seeing and looking is from reaching or casting and striking, or from holding or fixing the eye on.
The sense of trusting seems also to be that of holding to or resting on. The English hold in behold is from this root.
The sense of calling, roaring, and thunder, is from impelling the voice or sound; a pressing, driving, or straining, applied to sound; like the Latin appello, from pello. Hence the sense of publishing, accusing, and defaming.
The sense of sprouting, in the Arabic, is a shooting or pushing out, as in other cases; Lat. caulis.
The sense of ability, power, strength, in No. 7, is from straining, stretching, or holding, as in other words of the like sense. Hence Lat. calleo, to be skilled, and to be hard, callus.
On this root כל is probably formed סכל, a word differently pointed in the Hebrew and Chaldee. This word signifies in Hebrew, to pervert, to err, to be foolish or infatuated, to act foolishly.
In Chaldee, to understand, know, or consider; to look or behold; to cause to understand; Rabbinic, to be ignorant; whence its derivatives, knowledge, wisdom, ignorance. These different significations may result from the different effects of the prefix on the original verb.
In Syr. ܣܒܠ (the same word) signifies to be foolish, or mad; to cause to know, or to give understanding; to observe; to search or know thoroughly; to ask or seek to understand; to discern or distinguish; also to err, to sin, to be foolish, or perverse.
In Sam. the same word signifies to look, and to be accustomed. See Castell. col. 2523.
That שכל is formed on the same root with a different prefix, is obvious and certain, from the correspondence of significations. This word in Hebrew signifies to understand, or know; to cause to understand; to be wise, or to act wisely; corresponding with the Ch. סכל above; and being a mere dialectical orthography of the word. It signifies also, to deprive, strip, bereave; and to waste, scatter and destroy; also, to cast, as fruit or offspring; also, to prosper.
Ch. to understand, and Ch. שכלל, to complete, to finish; also, to found, to lay the foundation. This is כלל with ש prefixed.
Syr. to found, to finish, to adorn.
Ar. شَكَلَ shakala, to bind under the belly; to gird; to bind the feet; to fetter; to shackle; to form, or fashion; to be dubious, obscure, and intricate; to agree, suit or answer to; to be like; to have a beautiful form; to know, perceive, or comprehend; to hesitate; to be ignorant. Derivative, a shackle. See Castell. col. 3750.
To this root Castle refers the English skill; and it is certain the words correspond both in elements and in sense. Now in the Gothic and Teutonic languages, the verbs corresponding to these Shemitic verbs, signify in Saxon, scylan, to separate, to distinguish; Icelandic and Swedish, skilia, to divide, separate, sever; whence shield, that which separates, and hence defends; D. scheelen, to differ; schillen, to peel, or pare; whence scale and shell. To this root our lexicographers refer skill. The prefix in this word would seem to have the force of a negative, like L. ex. Now is it possible to suppose that these words can be formed from a common root?
The sense of sin and folly is probably from wandering, deviating, as in delirium; and this is only a modification of the primary sense of כל, to stretch or extend; that is, departure, separation. Or the ש has, in these senses, the force of a negative.
The sense of knowing, understanding, is usually or always from taking, holding, or extending to; as we say, I take your meaning. In this application these words would seem to be directly from the Eth. and Ch. כהל, to be able; the Latin calleo, to be hard, and to know or be well skilled. That this word כהל is from the same root as כלל, כלא, כלה, we know by the Samaritan lhk, which signifies all, and which is a mere dialectical spelling of the Heb, and Ch. כל.
The sense of depriving and wasting, in the Hebrew, is from separation, the sense of the Gothic and Teutonic words; but it is to be noticed that this sense seems to imply throwing, as one mode of parting, and this is also the direct act of founding, laying the foundation.
When we turn our attention to the Arabic, new affinities are disclosed. The first definition is, to bind, to gird, to shackle, and hence the English word. The radical sense of bind is to strain, the sense of hold. And here we arrive at the origin and primary sense of shall, should; Saxon scealan, to be obliged; that is, to be bound or constrained. Hence we see why the words scale, shell and shall, are all written alike in Saxon, sceal; for scale and shell are from peeling, or covering, binding.
From this verb the Saxon has scyld, a crime, or guilt, Lat. scelus, and scyld, a shield. The German has the same word in schuld, guilt, culpability, debt; Dutch, schuld; Danish skulde, should, and scyld, a debt, a fault, a crime; Sw. skuld, the same. This word scyld, skuld, and schuld, is the English should, the preterit of the verb shall; and it is the word used in the Saxon, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, and Swiss Lord’s Prayer, to express what is rendered in English debts; forgive us our debts. Here we see the primary sense of the word is to be held, or bound; hence, liable. The English word guilt may be from the same root, without a prefix; but whether it is or not, we observe the word expresses more than the English word debt, trespass or offense; it comprehends the sense of
fault, or sin, with that of being held, or liable to answer or to punishment. Debt, in the modern use of the word, implies the latter, but not the former; trespass and offense imply the sin; but not the liability to answer. We have no English word that includes both senses, except guilt, and this seems to be hardly adequate to express the full sense of scyld.
To account for the various significations of the same word, in different languages, and often in the same language, it is necessary to find the primary action expressed by the root; and in compound words it is necessary to observe or ascertain the different effects produced on the original word by the prefixes. Thus the verb inculpo in Low Latin signifies to excuse; but some modern writers use inculpate in a directly different sense; that is, to blame.
In like manner impartible has two different significations; that may be imparted; and in law, not partible, or divisible. Such is the fact also with impassionate. I am persuaded a vast number of instances of similar diversities in the application of prefixes, may be found in the Shemitic languages; and this will account for differences which otherwise seem utterly irreconcilable.
We find in our mother tongue, that the same word signifies to heal, and to conceal, Lat. celo; Saxon hæl, health; hælan, helan, to heal, to conceal; ge-hælen, and ge-helen, to heal, and to conceal; Old English hele. Hence we see that the English heal and the Latin celo are the same word differently applied, but from a common signification, which is to make strong or fast, or to hold, from the sense of pressing. Or perhaps the Latin celo may have this sense of holding, restraining; and heal may rather be from making perfect. No. 2, supra.
We may now also see the radical sense of holy; Saxon hal and ge-hal, whole, sound, safe; halig, holy; halgian, to hallow. If this word contains the sense of separation, or driving off, like Latin sacer, as it may, it is from shutting, confining, or restraining intercourse. But I am inclined to believe the primary sense of holy is sound, entire, coinciding with the radical sense of heal.
Clod, Laudo, Claudo.
In Welsh, clod is praise, from llod, a forcible utterance. This is the English loud, and Lat. laudo, which, with a prefix, becomes plaudo. In Welsh, llodi signifies to reach out, to crave, from the radical sense of llod, to thrust out or extend; but according to Owen, llodi is from llawd, which signifies a shooting out, or a going onward, productiveness, a lad, and as an adjective, tending forward, craving, lewd; llodig, craving, brimming; llodineb, lewdness. Now, beyond all question, these words are the Chaldee, Syriac, Hebrew, and Samaritan ילר, to beget; to bring forth; to cause to be born; and as a noun, a child of either sex, a lad. The Arabians and Ethiopians use vau or waw, where the Hebrews use yod. The Arabic corresponding word is وَلَدَ walada, the Ethiopic ወለደ walad, to beget, to bring forth.
But this is not all. In Greek, the verb κλειω, a contraction of κλειδοω, signifies to praise, to celebrate. Here we have precisely the Welsh llod above, corresponding with the Latin laudo and plaudo. But the same Greek word κλειω, κλεδοω, signifies to shut or make fast. This is the Latin cludo, claudo. The Saxons used h for the Greek κ and the Latin c; and with these words accords the Saxon hlid, a cover; English, a lid; that which shuts or makes fast. That these words are all from one root, is a fact, apparent beyond any reasonable doubt; nor is there the least difficulty in ascertaining the affinity, for the radical sense, to reach forward, to thrust, to strain, solves the whole mystery. To thrust, gives the sense of begetting and producing; to strain or throw out the voice, gives the sense of praise; and to thrust or press together, gives the sense of closing and making fast. In this manner, words, which at first view appear to have no connection, will, when pursued through different languages, assimilate and unite, not only without forced analogies, but in defiance of all preconceived opinions; and the reluctant mind is at last compelled to admit their identity.
There is another set of words whose derivation from the same root is very certain, though perhaps less obvious. These are the Danish slutter, to shut, close, conclude, finish, determine; slutter, a key-keeper, a jailer; Swedish sluta, claudere, obserare, to shut, or shut up, or end; slott, a castle; D. sleutel, a key; slot, a lock, a castle, a conclusion; sluiten, to shut, lock, close, stop, conclude; G. schloss, a lock; schliessen, to close, conclude, finish, fetter, shackle; schleuse, a sluice; D. sluis, id. Eng. sluice, that is, which shuts or fastens; Low Latin, exclusa. See Spelman’s Glossary. These words are unequivocally formed from the root of claudo, clausi, by the prefix s, just as the Welsh yslac, slack, loose, is formed on llac, and yspeiliaw, on yspail, spoil, and this on the root of peel. We observe all the Teutonic dialects use the dental t, as the final radical, except the German. The Latins use both the dental and a sibilant, claudo, clausi, clausus.
If the Danish lyd, sound, Sw. lyda, to sound, is the same word as English loud, these words belong to this family.
Cradle.
Another example. The English word cradle, Saxon cradel, is in Welsh cryd, a rocking, a shaking, a cradle. In Welsh, the verbs crydu, crydiaw, crydian, signify to shake, to tremble. These correspond to the Irish creatham, to shake; Greek κραδαω, to shake, to swing. The Welsh verbs are by Owen deduced from rhyd, which signifies a moving. Now רעד in Hebrew, Chaldee, and Ethiopic, signifies to shake or tremble. The same word in Arabic, رَعَدَ, signifies to thunder; to impress terror; to tremble; to shake. This coincides with the Latin rudo, to roar, to bray; and we know from the voice of the ass, that roughness or shaking is an ingredient in the sense of this word. We know it also from rudis, one of the affinities of rudo. There is also in Arabic, رَادَ, which is rendered to run hither and thither; to move one way and the other; to tremble; to shake. In Hebrew הרד signifies to tremble or shake, and to palpitate; in Syriac and Eth. to rub or scrape. This connects the word directly with cradle, through the Hebrew; and through the Syriac, with the Latin rado. Here again we find the sense of roughness or grating. Then turning to the Welsh, we find grydiaw, which signifies to utter a rough sound; to shout, hoop or scream grydwst, a murmur, from gryd, a shout or hoop, and this from rhyd, the word above mentioned; so that crydu, to shake, whence cradle, is from the same root as grydiaw, to shout, and this is the Italian gridare; Sp. and Port. gritar; Saxon grædan; Swedish gråta; Danish græder; Dutch kryten; German greiten. This word in French is contracted, by the omission of the last radical, into crier for crider; whence, probably, we have cry, W. cri. Hence we find that the sense of cry is to utter a rough sound; and this is connected with the braying of the ass, with shaking, trembling, and with roaring, murmuring, and thunder. The connection in this example, is so marked as to preclude all hesitation as to the identity of the words.
The Shemitic roots גרד, חרט, חרת, and קרד, all, in some of the languages of that stock, coincide in sense and elements with the English grate, French gratter; and if the first letter is a prefix, they would seem to unite with the Latin rαdo. But this is a point I would not under-take to determine. |