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John, my suggestions are coming not from the view of English conventions.<br>The conventions of Jewish people in relation to the same biblical names are such as I mentioned. After all they created the Bible. Shouldn't we listen to them?<br>Even New Testament seems to be underlain by an Aramaic text.<br><br>Hayim Y. Sheynin<br><br><b><i>Fritz Goerling <Fritz_Goerling@sil.org></i></b> wrote:<blockquote class="replbq" style="border-left: 2px solid rgb(16, 16, 255); margin-left: 5px; padding-left: 5px;"> <!-- Network content --> <div id="ygrp-text"> <div> <!-- Network content --> </div><div class="Section1"> <div class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><span style="font-size:
14pt;">John,<o></o></span></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal"><font color="black" face="Arial" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;"><o> </o></span></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal"><font color="black" face="Arial" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;">See for my comments in your message.<o></o></span></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal"><font color="black" face="Arial" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;"><o> </o></span></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal"><font color="black" face="Arial" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;">Best wishes, Fritz<o></o></span></font></div> <div id="ygrp-mlmsg"> <div id="ygrp-msg"> <div id="ygrp-text"> <div><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Fritz,<br> <br> It seems to me that Biblical names are more likely to be used <br> idomatically to
express a particular characteristic if it is used in a <br> negative sense (in English at least). <font color="black"><span style="color: black;"><o></o></span></font></span></font></div> <div><font color="black" face="Arial" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;"> Good observation.<o></o></span></font></div> <div><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">E.g.<br> <br> Jeremiah - a person who continually prophesies doom<br> <st1><st1>Jericho</st1></st1> - a remote place to which one is humorously consigned<br> Jezebel - a shameless painted woman<font color="black"><span style="color: black;"><o></o></span></font></span></font></div> <div><font color="black" face="Arial" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;"> For me she is more the type of a power-mad woman, like<o></o></span></font></div> <div><font color="black" face="Arial"
size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;"> Lady Macbeth. And this is how I hear her name used: “she<o></o></span></font></div> <div><font color="black" face="Arial" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;"> is such a Jezebel.”<o></o></span></font></div> <div><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Jonah - someone who brings bad luck onboard a ship or elsewhere<font color="black"><span style="color: black;"><o></o></span></font></span></font></div> <div><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Judas - a traitor<font color="black"><span style="color: black;"><o></o></span></font></span></font></div> <div><font color="black" face="Arial" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;"> Also used like that in German.<o></o></span></font></div> <div><font face="Times New
Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Some are positive, e.g.<br> Joseph - one whose chastity is above temptation<br> Job - a person of great patience<br> <br> Then you have expressions like "I don't know him from Adam" or "He is as <br> old as Methusaleh" in which the Biblical character functions more as a <br> reference without positive or negative connotations. Adam = someone you <br> cannot know and Methusaleh = the oldest person who ever lived.<font color="black"><span style="color: black;"><o></o></span></font></span></font></div> <div><font color="black" face="Arial" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;"> How about “she is a real Eve”? <o></o></span></font></div> <div><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">By the way, the first example below is an English idiom, but the others <br> are not - as far as I know.<br> <br> Solomon - wise man<br> <br> *David - wise king<br>
*Jonathan - good friend<br> *Ruth - true proselite<br> *Esther - beautiful patriot<br> *Elija - maker miracles<font color="black"><span style="color: black;"><o></o></span></font></span></font></div> <div><font color="black" face="Arial" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;"> Apart from the biblical names, how about living people or from the more recent past:<o></o></span></font></div> <div><font color="black" face="Arial" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;"> he is no Maradona, he is a wannabe Elvis, you are not a Jack Kennedy<o></o></span></font></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br> <br> Best wishes,<br> <br> John Roberts<br> <br> <br> <o></o></span></font></div> </div> <!--End group email --><div></div> </div> <!--End group email --> </blockquote><br><p>
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