While reading through 1 Chronicles with Ri, I've noticed that both parents and place-namers didn't have much of a qualm in naming something in a totally unpronouncable way. Ri enjoys me—a normally smooth, quick reader—stumbling over the words, I think.
But how could this possibly relate to the Curse of Gen. 3? Is it possible our tongues just don't work as well as they used to? A lot has been lost in the time since the Fall, y'know. Seriously, nowadays, who would name their child Azmaveth or Aliahba--especially when they're gonna be an "-ite" from Baharum or Shaalbon? Then there's Dodo. Easy enough to pronounce, but for a mighty man, I bet people didn't take him as seriously. Hmm. Maybe there was another reason. ;)
On a funny note, when explaining the "-ite" phenomenon with Ri, I spoke of how we have mostly "-an" in the States: Bostonians, Cincinnatians; how Germans have "-er," e.g. Berliner, Frankfurter, Hamburger (at which she busted out). Then I told her how our past-President Kennedy told the people of Berlin he was a jelly donut for improper use of an indefinite article. Now that's some incentive for good grammar, folks! Not sure we learned as much from the Bible tonight as we should have, but it was certainly interesting by the time we were done.
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Frost: I think a lot of people would use those names. My daughter's brother-in-law and sister-inlaw (they're married to each other, the bil and sil) named their first child Strephen. Now there's a name for you. And I've noticed that people from other-than-white enthnicities name their children with very unpronouncable, let alone spellable names. So, while you are having trouble with the Bible names, times really haven't changed so much. I think there will always be those who want to stir things up and name their children names using the alphabet dice.
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