Appendix 12 ● Relationship of ל and ר ●

🅖 guttural 🅟 palatal 🅛 labial 🅓 dental 🅢 sibilant

These are excerpts from Appendix A of the Etymological Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (EDBH), written by R. Matityahu Clark, based upon the writings of R. Samson Raphael Hirsch, to which are added the graphic symbols representing the categories (e.g. 🅖).

Ⓓנ Ⓓל Ⓛמ Ⓢר – these letters that are “analyzed independently” are shown with different graphic symbols (e.g. Ⓓל).

First, recall that order of letters is not a determining factor for meaning, so a word with 🅖 🅛 🅟 arrangement and a word with 🅟 🅖 🅛 arrangement have much the same meaning, based upon the individual letters each having meaning.

Also, recall that letters in a “homorganic consonant category” have similar meaning, thus ג is similar to ק is similar to י is similar to כ in meaning in the category 🅟. We know from Appendix A that

thus ג, י, ק would have similar function.

Note above that ר, ל, נ, מ are not handled in the same fashion as the other letters in the “exchange system.” Also from Appendix A of EDBH, we know:

We have been using for some time the idea that מ and נ have very similar meanings and similar usage. See Appendix 5 – ● Where מ reflects נ ●. For at least a couple of years it has been in the back of my mind to clarify the relationship between ל and ר. See that ל “indicates movement or return to an object.” We are not given a meaning for ר in EDBH, but we know from other writings that ר means:

(( AHLB – head or man, chief, top, beginning or first
TWHA – The symbol of choosing between greatness and degradation
DeviantArt – A head, a person, what is highest, most important, chief ))

thus, using a meaning along the lines of “beginning”or “chief” should be reasonable. You will see the results of the exercises done with cognate permutations of each of the groups below. I am the first to admit that the aspect of “deciding upon” a meaning for several cognate meanings grouped is the most challenging part because it is very much not “black and white.” And, the larger the number of cognate meanings, the more challenging it becomes. I definitely feel there must be some flexibility in those terms that I have come up with.

To follow are some pairs of words with ל and ר that are in otherwise identical cognate permutation groups. I put the impressions side-by-side, and I am using the graphic symbols with them for organization. I will give you my impression of the relationship based upon these groupings. Please note that these are all (I certainly could have missed something) of the groupings, since order does not matter. The particular root shown with each group is simply an example,but the “impression” is for the entire cognate permutation group indicated by the graphic symbol.

① Compare כלה and קרא 🅟ל/ר🅖

כלה slow movement toward increasing/reducing power / קרא direct efforts

② Compare צלע and אשר 🅢ל/ר🅖

צלע act in order to balance / אשר decisive action

③ Compare גדל and כרת 🅟ל/ר🅓

גדל measure-increase/decrease / כרת step back to move forward/cycle

④ Compare אלף and רבע 🅖ל/ר🅛

אלף encourage/discourage / רבע expand/contract activity

⑤ Compare בדל and דבר 🅓ל/ר 🅛

בדל separate/combine / דבר expose/conceal

⑥ Compare לפנ and נור 🅛Ⓓנ and ל/ר

לפנ weaken/strengthen / נור transform

⑦ Compare אלמ and ארמ 🅖Ⓛמ and ל/ר

אלמ set free/restrain / ארמ bring together/separate

⑧ Compare לוז and בשׂר 🅛ל/ר🅢

לוז transform / בשׂר constrain/enable

⑨ Compare דלה and דהר 🅖ל/ר🅓

דלה stop/waver / דהר have/lose control

⑩ Compare בלג and ברך 🅟ל/ר🅛

בלג control amount/nature / ברך develop/forsake

⑪ Compare שלך and שכר 🅟ל/ר🅢

שלך bring together/separate / שכר advance/retard

⑫ Compare מלך and כרם 🅟Ⓛמ with ל/ר

מלך determine value / כרם impact positively/negatively

⑬ Compare מול and רום 🅛Ⓛמ with ל/ר

מול weaken/strengthen / רום transform

⑭ Compare לבד and מרד 🅓Ⓛמ with ל/ר

לבד grasp quickly / מרד progress/regress

⑮ Compare משל and שמר 🅢Ⓛמ with ל/ר

משל bind/loose / שמר express/withhold

⑯ Compare נכל and כנר 🅟Ⓓנ with ל/ר

נכל determine value / כנר impact positively/negatively

⑰ Compare נטל and תרן 🅓Ⓓנ with ל/ר

נטל move; carry / תרן progress/regress

⑱ Compare נזל and נזר 🅢Ⓓנ with ל/ר

נזל use tongue to free/release / נזר directed flow to preserve

Hopefully you can see that the meanings are related to one another. They’re certainly not identical, but you can see that there is a sense of relationship between them. I will go out on a limb, and make a suggestion of what I see, but please do not take my word for Certain. Feel free to question and examine for yourself. I will tell you why I came to the conclusion that I came to, which is because I think it fits with the remainder of Scripture. And you recall that as one of our principles, the so-called“Analogy of Faith,” meaning Scripture interprets Scripture.

This is my thought – that lamed ל precedes resh ר:

Movement toward ל followed by Beginning ר

Or perhaps even

ל leads to ר

To me, it helps explain the cyclic nature of Creation. There is movement toward a certain point, and then there comes a new beginning.

I will give an example from these groups above ⑫ 🅟Ⓛמ with ל/ר

Some words on the lamed ל side are מלך king and גמל to wean. These fit with “determining value.” Things that might happen after one becomes king or one is weaned may impact positively or negatively. One of the cognate meanings in the resh ר group is to “effect change.” I show below the investigation of that group that you may picture in your mind many of these things that might result. At this point I welcome feedback of your thoughts.

כמר Cognate Permutations – yearn

includes מ ↔︎ נ

Impression כמר cognate permutations (impact positively/negatively)

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discard (B53)

מגר p.135 cast down and destroy

מכר p.139 relinquish; sell

penetrate (B70)

מרג p.143 penetrate

מרך p.144 disintegrate by boiling – HAPAX Lv26:36; faintness; fearfulness

מרק p.144 penetrate; scour

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effect change (C33)

גמר p.41 conclude

ימר p.105 exchange

כמר p.120 excite

כנר p.120 emit sounds (no cognates)

stagger access (C42)

גרם p.43 lever motion

כרם p.123 work on terrace-like terrain

קרם p.233 spread

קרן p.233 project upward (no cognates)

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separate (D72)

נגר p.149 flow downward

נכר p.157 isolate; recognize individuality

נקר p.162 penetrate

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cast (E74)

רגם p.239 pelt; throw stones

רקם p.249 cast threads; embroider

רגן p.239 quarrel; encourage complaint (no cognates)

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discard (B53)

penetrate (B70)

effect change (C33)

emit sounds (no cognates)

stagger access (C42)

project upward (no cognates)

separate (D72)

cast (E74)

Impression כמר cognate permutations (impact positively/negatively)

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(( I am really just exploring this now, but am going to do some work upcoming including ל and ר words together in cognate permutations investigations as I have been doing with מ and נ. But as I do this, I will attempt to segregate the ל words and רwords to see how this interpretation fits. The mnemonic I will use mentally is that ר is “resultant.” Do we simply they they are somewhat similar, or do we say one precedes the other? Of course, this is a chicken-and-egg question because Creation is about cycles, and each new beginning will then have movement toward an end, and then a new beginning. ))

As noted, feedback is welcomed as we move ahead.