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The importance of Tamil loanwords in Biblical Hebrew is that linguistically these words are the earliest attestation of the Tamil language. These words were incorporated into the writing of the Hebrew Bible starting before 500 BCE. Although a number of authors have identified many biblical and post-biblical words of Tamil, Old Tamil, or Dravidian origin, a number of them have competing etymologies and some Tamil derivations are considered controversial.
The incorporation of Tamil loanwords into the Hebrew language originally came about through the interactions of West Asian and South Indian merchants. The mainstream view is that the beginnings of trade between the Mediterranean region and South India can be traced back to 500 BCE when the word zingiberis (ζιγγίβερις), which was derived from the Proto-South Dravidian *cinki-ver (சிங்கிவேர்) (for "ginger"), first appeared in the Greek language.[1][2] This indicates South India possibly having been involved in trade with the Mediterranean diaspora centuries earlier.[1] There is some evidence that trade between India and the peoples inhabiting the Mediterranean regions may have been well established by 1500 BCE.[3][4]
Due to its native speakers' location—in the critical path of trade between Egypt, Mesopotamia, and India—ancient Hebrew lexicon contains both cultural words that are common to many languages in the general area and loanwords from various other languages including Ancient Greek.[5] Some of these loan words are present in the earliest transcripts of the Bible. By the mid-nineteenth century, Christian missionaries trained in Biblical Hebrew noticed that there were words of Indian origin in the Bible, including from the Tamil language.[6][7] Some of the loan words were borrowed directly from Tamil or Old Tamil into Biblical Hebrew. Others were borrowed via the Akkadian, Aramaic, Greek, Persian, and South Arabian languages.[8] The period of these lexiconic borrowings range from 1000 BCE to 500 BCE.[8][9][10] The dating of this borrowing depends on the acceptable ranges of dates for the compilation and redaction of the Books of Kings.[7]
Most of the borrowed words had to do with items of trade that were unique to South India but which lacked native names in Hebrew.[7][11][12][13] According to linguists such as Chaim Rabin and Abraham Mariaselvam, the Tamil linguistic impact in Hebrew goes beyond just loan words. The contact also influenced the poetic traditions and styles such as those found in the Song of Songs, which according to Rabin and Mariaselvam shows the influence of Cankam anthologies.[11][12][13][14]
Linguistically, the importance of Tamil loanwords in Hebrew is that it is the earliest attestation of Tamil language [10][15] and an early attestation in the Dravidian languages.[7] This was before Tamil was widely written down, using the Tamil Brahmi script and dated variously from 600 BCE to 200 BCE.[16][17] Although a number of authors have identified many Biblical and post-Biblical words of Tamil, Old Tamil, or Dravidian origin, a number of them have competing etymologies and some Tamil derivations are today considered controversial.[7][18] There is also a class of words that were borrowed ultimately from Indo-Aryan languages spoken in North India but via Tamil.[8]
| Hebrew word | Meaning in Hebrew | Source language | Tamil word | Meaning in Tamil |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| túki תוכים | parrots but meant peacocks in the past[nb 1] | Tamil[nb 2] | tōkai தோகை | feather[20][7][6][21][22][19][14] |
| ahalim אֲהָלִים | eagle-wood or agarwood | Tamil[nb 3] | akil அகில் | agarwood[5][23][7][24][22][12][14] |
| kurkúm כורכום | turmeric | probably Tamil but also possibly Sanskrit | kūkai கூகை (கூவை) | turmeric[7][25][12] |
| armón ארמון | palace | probably Tamil but has competing etymologies | araṇmaṉai அரண்மனை | palace[7] |
| kaḏ כד | jug | probably Tamil, cognates in South Dravidian languages[nb 4] | kiṇṭi கிண்டி | small vessel[26] |
| rg ריג | weave | probably Tamil, cognates in South Dravidian languages | orukku ஒருக்கு | to draw out[26] |
| minnith מִנִּית | rice[nb 5] | Tamil via Akkadian | uṇṭi உண்டி | boiled rice[28] |
| pannag פנג | millet[nb 6] | Tamil via South Arabian | uṇaṅkal உணங்கல் | millet[28] |
| bûts בּוּץ | fine textile | Possibly related to Tamil, via South Arabian also possibly via Sanskrit. Already attested in Syrian and Akkadian inscriptions dating back to the 9th century BCE. | panjcu பஞ்சு | cotton[28] |
| mesukkan מסכן | wood | Tamil via Akkadian | mucukkaṭṭai முசுக்கட்டை | mulberry tree[28] |
| piṭdâh פִטְדָה | topaz | Tamil or Dravidian | pitta பித்த | bile or yellow[28][30] |
| qôph קוף | monkey | probably Tamil but also possibly Sanskrit | ka(p)vi கவி | monkey[31][32][33][22] |
| Hebrew word | Meaning in Hebrew | Source language | Tamil word | Meaning in Tamil |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| etrog אתרוג | yellow citron | Tamil via Persian[nb 7] | mātuḷam மாதுளம், or alternatively, nārttaṅkāy நார்த்தங்காய் | pomegranate or citron[34][35][36] |
| orez אורז | rice | Tamil via South Arabian[nb 8] | arici அரிசி | rice[2][6][13][24][38] |
| nul נול |
loom | probably Tamil, cognates in South Dravidian languages[nb 9] | nūl நூல் |
thread[26] |
| mango מנגו |
mango | From English, via Portuguese originally from Tamil[relevant?] | māṅkāy மாங்காய் |
unripe mā (a species) fruit[39] |
- According to David Dean Shulman túki in modern Hebrew is translated as Parrots but in past meant Peacocks, taken from tōkai signifying a male Peacocks feathers in Tamil[7]
- According Ernest Klein Greek taôs, Aramaic טוסא, Arabic لطاووس, also Hebrew תכי probably comes ultimately from Tamil tōkai/தோகை for peacock.[19]
- According Chaim Rabin Greek óruza (ὄρυζα), Hebrew אורז are derived from South Arabian areez that was ultimately derived from Tamil arici/அரிசி for rice[37]
- The modern Hebrew word for weavers loom nul is generally accepted to be derived from the Aramaic nawlā per Ernest Klein, which is related to Arabic نَوْل, but Podolsky believes its highly improbable that the original word is preserved only in one language without cognates in other Semitic languages apart from those that were borrowed from it. He believes its related to the acquisition of a new weaving technology from South India. [26]
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