{"id":58582,"date":"2019-07-01T11:59:28","date_gmt":"2019-07-01T08:59:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=58582"},"modified":"2023-01-23T17:06:35","modified_gmt":"2023-01-23T15:06:35","slug":"a-soundbite-from-the-ancient-past","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/a-soundbite-from-the-ancient-past\/","title":{"rendered":"A Soundbite From The Ancient Past"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[444,798],"acf":{"old_id":"58582","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":37333,"related_cahpter":"253","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Where exactly is this ploni almoni?","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Language is amazing. It gives us labels for objects: \u201ctable\u201d \u2013 a flat board supported by four pillars, one in each corner, \u201cbed\u201d \u2013 the place we sleep at night, \u201chouse\u201d \u2013 the dwelling that we live in. Verbs connect us to things and to each other: \u201csmile\u201d, \u201ccook\u201d, \u201cread.\u201d Adjectives allow us to describe what our senses perceive: \u201csunny\u201d, \u201cdelicious\u201d, \u201cbeautiful.\u201d Adverbs embellish our descriptions: \u201csuddenly\u201d, \u201clovingly\u201d, \u201celegantly.\u201d But language also has tools for when we don\u2019t quite have the words. Sometimes we grasp for the nearest synonym. Sometimes we use generic placeholders when we don\u2019t know or can\u2019t think of the term, like \u201cwhatshisname\u201d, \u201cso-and-so\u201d, \u201csuch and such a place\u201d, \u201cthingamajig.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And just like English, Biblical Hebrew has terms that the authors of the Bible used to denote a specific person or place without using their name. I Samuel 21:3 is the first time in the Hebrew Bible we encounter the phrase <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ploni almoni<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>.<\/em> This rhyming delight signifies someone or something whose name is not specified, a neat little phrase that only appears three times in the Hebrew Bible (the other two instances are found in II Kings 6:8 and Ruth 4:1). David is on the run from King Saul, who is angry with him for not turning up at the new moon festive dinner the night before (I Samuel 20:30). In a conversation with the priest Achimelech, David deploys the turn of phrase \u201c<em>ploni almoni<\/em>\u201d. In his frenzied attempt to seek protection and food, David volunteers that the king has sent him on a secret mission and that his men shall meet him at a \u201c<em>ploni almoni<\/em>\u201d place (21:3). Here, the phrase \u201c<em>ploni almoni<\/em>\u201d is a placeholder in a sentence where the actual location \u2013 in a non-existent mission \u2013 doesn\u2019t matter. The place itself doesn\u2019t need to be specified, since it\u2019s part of a fabricated explanation David creates to obtain what he needs in that moment. It\u2019s a bit like saying \u201cI need to be somewhere\u201d when we want to exit an awkward encounter. The ruse may or may not be true and the place itself is immaterial \u2013 all that matters is leaving the situation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Language is a phenomenal tool that enables us to describe the world. It is often beautiful. The phrase \u201c<em>ploni almoni<\/em>\u201d, with its satisfying rhyme and punchy rhythm, gives us a tiny snippet of how our ancestors may have spoken. It\u2019s a beautiful soundbite from the ancient past.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":58583,"id":58583,"title":"isam21-where","filename":"isam21-where.png","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam21-where.png","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/a-soundbite-from-the-ancient-past\/isam21-where\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"isam21-where","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":58582,"date":"2019-07-01 08:59:07","modified":"2019-07-01 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