Talk:חשמל

"Meaning uncertain"

Why does the first definition say "meaning uncertain" when all the cited passages translate the word as electrum? 204.11.186.190 18:01, 11 April 2016 (UTC)

Just because that's the way someone decided to translate it, doesn't mean that that is what it means. This translation originates from the Septuagint, which uses the Greek word ἤλεκτρον (ḗlektron). By the time of the Septuagint, its translators may not have known what the word meant, or even they did still know what the word meant, there may not have been a perfectly equivalent Greek word. Of course it is possible that ἤλεκτρον (ḗlektron) was in fact the accurate translation, but the point is we do not know for sure. There is no other evidence leading us to that conclusion. We do know that the meaning was already uncertain at the time the Talmud was written, since there is debate in the Talmud regarding the meaning of the word. It even goes as far as to tell the story of a child who was reading the book of Ezekiel and managed to comprehend the meaning of this word and was immediately consumed by fire. --WikiTiki89 18:45, 11 April 2016 (UTC)

Book of Ezekiel in the "Etymology" section

Why is the book of Ezekiel not mentioned in the "Etymology" section? 76.189.141.37 00:38, 19 June 2017 (UTC)

Why should it be? --WikiTiki89 15:24, 19 June 2017 (UTC)