Yetet

יתת


Genesis 36:40 names him as an Edomite prince, one of the eleven "dukes" - the correct translation of Aluphim (אלופים) is "champions" - who came out of Esav. Adding Esav himself, of course, they make twelve, and much time could be spent deciphering their names to deduce constellations etc - see Number Twelve.
Gesenius, who usually knows these things, offers neither root nor guess for the meaning of Yetet, but simply refers the reader to Simonis who, in his Biblica Hebraica, regarded Yetet as a misreading for Yetedet (יתדת), and therefore took it to mean "a nail". Put the Yehudit into Google Translator and it will give you "strike" in English; but put "strike" into Google Translate and it will give you several Ivrit (modern Yehudit) options, none of which include "Yetet".

When I was first learning Ivrit, I questioned my teacher why the verb "to give" was Latet (לתת) if the root was Natan (נתן), but no answer was ever provided. My suspicion is that it was one of those oddities that evolve over time, and that either the root was originally Natat (נתת) or the verb was originally Laten (לתן). Either way, I am suggesting that Yetet has nothing to do with "striking" and a lot to do with "giving".


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