User talk:Baitzph

Origin of language
Hi,

I have removed your large footnote from the Origin of language. I am sorry if this seems a bit abrupt, and rather destructive of all your work, but it was not really appropriate in context.

A few pointers for future Wiki-work:


 * Keep footnotes to a few lines at most.
 * Write internal links as follows: Origin of language which results in Origin of language or like some text which results in some text.
 * Try not to include information too far off the topic of the page you are editing.
 * Avoid asides and speculation.

Your original text is reproduced below. Perhaps you could work on it here before inserting it into the page when it is in a more appropriate state?

Best of luck

--cfp 19:21, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

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Cut text
The reference to Genesis 10:5, "By these4480, 428 were the isles339 of the Gentiles1471 divided6504 in their lands;776 every one376 [after his tongue,3956] after their families,4940 in their nations.1471", with regard to Strong's Number 3956 translated with the KJV Bible phrase "after his tongue", may also have a different rendition which diminishes the likelihood of Genesis 10:5 as evidence of language divergence prior to the Tower of Babel. 3956 can also be translated "the bay", as seen in Joshua 18:19, "And the border1366 passed along5674 to413 the side3802 of Beth-hoglah1031 northward:6828 and the outgoings8444 of the border1366 were1961 at413 the north6828 [bay3956] of the salt4417 sea3220 at413 the south5045 end7097 of Jordan:3383 this2088 was the south5045 coast.1366", which is describing the land into parts wherein various tribes of the Israelites would reside. This is parallel to Genesis 10:5 which also descibes a people broken up by geography of land and water demarcations, and not having anything to do with language barriers. In Biblical context therefore, the Tower of Babel is the first we trully see language broken up and people dispursed due to language barriers. Somewhat related, at a time following Babel, and following the Flood of Noah, in the time of "Peleg", we read in Genesis 10:25 and reiterated in 1 Chronicles 1:19, "And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided". Some consider this to be the litteral division of the one supercontinent into the current major continents, thus seperating the already language-divided peoples by land masses and oceans. Somewhat of a grand metaphor of Joshua 18:9 geographic bounderies of land and water, and the scattering of people throughout other lands (eg. Genesis 11:8, Deuteronomy 4:27, John 11:52) after which the first languages from the time of Babel would begin to diverge. In fact, a scientific review of ocean water levels and continental shift and flooding may be cause to suggest the Biblical flood is what began the division of the supercontinent which became fully apparent in Peleg's time. (Note: Continental drift is generally considered to take on the order of thousands of millenia, but for example Africa and South America are 2500km distant today, and for the sake of the Biblical story, if it took for example 500 years for these continents to seperate 2500km, a rate of the order of half a meter per hour would be needed - or about the rate a minute hand makes its way around the circumference of a wall clock. Could this event of Peleg's day be related to the many prevailing myths of "Atlantis" falling into the sea?) While still on the subject of language as a product of the God of the Bible as seen before and after Babel, is another Biblical idea that the "word", or language itself, was not merely created, but has always been, since it is a fundamental character of God. Reference John 1:1-14, notably "In the beginning was the Word", and "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us".

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WORK TEXT
The reference to Genesis 10:5, "By these4480, 428 were the isles339 of the Gentiles1471 divided6504 in their lands;776 every one376 [after his tongue,3956] after their families,4940 in their nations.1471", with regard to [| Strongs Number] 3956 translated with the [| KJV Bible] phrase "after his tongue", may also have a different rendition which diminishes the likelihood of Genesis 10:5 as evidence of language divergence prior to the [| Tower of Babel]. 3956 can also be translated "the bay", as seen in Joshua 18:19, "And the border1366 passed along5674 to413 the side3802 of Beth-hoglah1031 northward:6828 and the outgoings8444 of the border1366 were1961 at413 the north6828 [bay3956] of the salt4417 sea3220 at413 the south5045 end7097 of Jordan:3383 this2088 was the south5045 coast.1366", which is describing the land into parts wherein various tribes of the Israelites would reside. This is parallel to Genesis 10:5 which also descibes a people broken up by geography of land and water demarcations, and not having anything to do with language barriers. With this in mind, the Tower of Babel remains the point where we see language broken up and people dispursed due to language barriers.

CONTEXT CHANGED
It appears the original article was edited to the point that the above counterpoint statement regarding Genesis 10:5 can no longer fit in.