Lukasz Tobola, «The Divine Name Chemosh: A New Etymological Proposal», Vol. 94 (2013) 573-575
This short note discusses the possible etymology of the divine name Chemosh. It seems to be derived from the same root as the rare adjective kummusu, synonymous with the Akkadian divine epithet rašbu, 'awesome'. Consequently, the name of the god Chemosh can be interpreted as 'Redoubtable'.
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The Divine Name Chemosh: A New Etymological Proposal
The beginning of research into the etymology of the Moabite 1 divine
name Chemosh (Kmš) can be dated to 1730, when D. Hackmann pub-
lished his dissertation De Cemosho Moabitarum Idolo. He derived the
name Chemosh from the Arabic root kmÅ¡, “be swift, rapidâ€, and inter-
preted it as “the violent, bellicose one†2. This etymology harmonizes with
the biblical image of Chemosh, who was a divine patron of the warlike
people of Moab. However, it is methodologically precarious to transfer
late Arabic lexicography to the Moabites of the 9th century B.C.
K. F. Keil 3 has related the name Chemosh to the Semitic root kbš, “to
trample, tread on†(figuratively, “to subdueâ€). This view is defensible in
theory; in fact, interchanges between labials (b/m) often take place in Se-
mitic languages 4. What is disturbing in this hypothesis is the fact that the
name Kmš is never written Kbš in the preserved sources.
P. van Zijl 5 links this name with the root kamÄsu, kamÄÅ¡u, “to kneelâ€,
attested in Akkadian and in Ugaritic. He interprets the intensive form of
this root as “to throw downâ€. The name Chemosh, written in Neo-Assyr-
ian sources with a doubled second consonant, can then be regarded as a
noun of agent Kammuš, “the one who throws down his enemies†6. How-
ever, there is no evidence for the causative force of the geminated forms
based on the root kamÄsu, kamÄÅ¡u. The only attested example, namely
kummusu, is an adjective with intensive meaning, that is “kneeling oneâ€,
“squatting oneâ€, “hunched one†7.
1
The Eblaite cult of the deity Ga-mi-iš (about 2300 B.C.) is geographi-
cally and chronologically too distant to allow any concrete hypotheses con-
cerning the Chemosh’s history before the 9th century B.C. See, E. LIPIŃSKI,
On the Skirts of Canaan in the Iron Age. Historical and Topographical Re-
searchers (OLA 153; Leuven 2006) 320.
2
D. HACKMANN, De Cemosho Moabitarum Idolo (Bremen 1730) 13-17.
3
K.F. KEIL, Commentary on the Books of Kings (CFThL XV; Edinburgh
1857) I, 192.
4
E. LIPIŃSKI, Semitic Languages. Outline of a Comparative Grammar
(OLA 80; Leuven 1997) 111.
5
P. VAN ZIJL, The Moabites (POS 3; Leiden 1960) 181.
6
Compare T.L. HOLM, “Moabite Religionâ€, Encyclopedia of Religion (ed. L.
JONES) (Farmington Hills, MI 22005) IX, 6093. He interprets this name alternatively
as an adjective (qaá¹á¹il), a causative verbal adjective (qaá¹á¹ul), or a nomen agentis
(qaá¹á¹Äl) derived from kamÄsu, “bow, kneelâ€, all of them meaning “the conquerorâ€.
7
N.J.C. KOUWENBERG, Gemination in the Akkadian Verb (SSN 33; Assen
1997) 350, 411.
BIBLICA 94.4 (2013) 573-575