What about af meaning even, or despite, like as in "af al pi?" Or maybe that's just a shortened afilu... Okay, then, is afilu connected?
Yes, do tell us the truth, balashon.
oh wait, scratch that, it's not the truth that matters
The somatization of emotion (anger) that these expression catches also exists in its opposition: 'erekh apayim', 'long of breath', ie patient, vs 'kotzer apayim', the 'shortness of breath' that anger produces both physically and metaphorically.
(excellent blog, BTW)
yes, eliciting anger in his victims was bilaam's special intelligence
eventually however, the time comes when the devil (so to speak) comes to collect his due
Toby - אף meaning "also" isn't related to אף meaning "anger". The word אפילו is a contraction of אף אילו - "even if".
Liorah - I'm not sure I follow your comments.
Eugene - you taught me a new word: somatization
never mind
So where indeed does אף "also" derive from?
Klien doesn't it derives from another language, but it does have congnates - spelled almost identically - in Phoenician, Aramaic, Ugaritic.
Among the words for anger, af can represent an external manifestation (especially as relating to God). It is the same af that a parent expresses toward a child. The parent may not really be angry inside, but shows anger to the child to make an impression so that the child may perhaps feel he or she should take the parent's message more seriously.
Commenting by HaloScan
