re: #1346 Former Belgian

In Arabic, the words for “peace” and “submission” do derive from the same root. (A person who submits “accepts peace” in Arabic.)

[Link: en.wikipedia.org…]

The words in Hebrew that derive from this root have to do with wholeness/perfection or payment.

shalom = peace
shalem = whole
mushlam = perfect
leshalem = to pay (“to make whole/good”?)
tashlum = payment, installment
shilumim = restitution payments
lehashlim = to complete
lehishtalem = to “pay” in the meaning of “to be monetarily worthwhile”

The closest Hebrew comes to the Arabic “submission”/”surrender” meaning is “le-hashlim im matzav”, i.e., to mentally ‘make peace’ with a (bad) situation.

This is an awesome post. I’m grateful for it especially because I didn’t know these Hebrew words you mention (except shalom of course)
My only problem here is this:

imagine we changed only one word in what you said:

The words in Hebrew Arabic that derive from this root have to do with wholeness/perfection or payment.

Now read the list again, with my strikethrogh:

The words in Arabic that derive from this root have to do with wholeness/perfection or payment.

shalom = peace
shalem = whole
mushlam = perfect
leshalem = to pay (“to make whole/good”?)
tashlum = payment, installment
shilumim = restitution payments
lehashlim = to complete
lehishtalem = to “pay” in the meaning of “to be monetarily worthwhile”

Wouldn’t it be frighteningly easy to argue that the exact same list and exact same set of meanings signaled something awful and sinister?

I’m just pointing out that the exact same list that we find benign and even lovely in Hebrew would take on a sinister connotation if it we thought it was Arabic,

So it’s more a reflection of our fears and prejudices than anything else.