Sack, Sackcloth or Knapsack? A lesson in Hebrew and Mail Delivery

 In 1996, a friend introduced me to a book that researched and attempted to prove that the etymological root of many words in English is from Hebrew. I don't recall most of them, but my absolute favourite was – Abracadabra! Which, according to the author, meant "I will create" EVRA "with my words" K'DA'BER.

Occasionally, I come up with my own ideas (or maybe these words were in the book - not at all sure...) like my thought/theory that: "don't eat the meat NA (raw/fresh)" (Exodus 12:9) – is the source for the word 'now' in English; also the word 'nose' is from the Hebrew NEZEM (Proverbs 11:22 "nose-ring").

I believe that the Ten times the word "sack" is mentioned in the last few chapters of Genesis (42:25-44:12) is from the Hebrew language, and spelled the same way: SAK. Sackcloth is mentioned many times in the Bible, in the context of blemishes (like on cloth, wool or leather Leviticus 13:47-59), but even more clearly – in the context of mourning! As seen from the verse in Esther (4:1-2), and other Scripture (Isaiah 58:5; Jonah 3:5-6; Daniel 9:3), that people in mourning or suffering wore sackcloth, instead of the "normal" clothing.

For some reason, knapsack is the preferred term nowadays, even though there is very little resemblance to people's way of transferring materials or food in ancient times?! I chose the verse in II Kings 4:42, which NKJV translates as 'knapsack' and the stamp shows the 50th anniversary (1896-1946) of mail delivery to rural areas in China. 




Knapsack is the common word now in English to describe a Backpack, with more than one strap, to help balance the weight on our back. However, it is very obvious from Biblical and Archeological evidence – that in ancient times, probably to save money, there was only one handle or strap.

Comments

  1. Jeff3 August 2025 at 11:34

    Interesting, Yosef. I like word etymology also. And it is interesting to see where knapsack came from. BTW, your first sentence reminds me of the father in the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding".

    ReplyDelete

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