Kemu-El

קמואל


Genesis 22:21 names him as a son of Nachor, Av-Ram's brother, by Milkah (מלכה). He was the father of Aram (ארם).

Numbers 34:24 has Kemu-El ben Shiphtan (שפטן) as one of the men appointed by Mosheh to assign the land of Kena'an to the tribes of Yisra-El; he represented Ephrayim.

1 Chronicles 27:17: Chashav-Yah (חשביה) ben Kemu-El was one of the principal officers in charge of the tribes at the time of David; he represented the Beney Levi.

The name is taken to mean "congregation of the good" in most translations, though there is no obvious reason to accept this; and if correct, the god is clearly El and not YHVH.

Kamah (קמה), from the root Kum (קום), means "a stalk" and is used for ripened corn (cf Exodus 22:5 - 22:6 in some Christian versions - Deuteronomy 16:9 and 23:26 - 23:25 in some Christian versions; also Judges 15:5). Kemu-El would then appear to stand as a zodiacal reference, reflecting that point of the sun's cycle when the ears of corn are ripe for picking: i.e autumn harvest. The role of Kemu-El on each occasion is remarkably similar, and the Biblical stories on both occasions are allegorical accounts that explain the establishment or reform of the calendar.


Copyright © 2019 David Prashker
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The Argaman Press

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