From: Nichael Cramer (nichael@sover.net)
Date: Thu Dec 07 2000 - 08:32:31 EST
>> Yes, one major semantic reason is that the Greek phrase KATABALHN SPERMATOS
>> literally means "to thrown down sperm" and is much more likely to refer to
>> the action of a man during procreation, although some commentaries feel it
>> is possible that the Greek (perhaps actually Hebraic) idiom could have been
>> semantically extended to include a woman's part in procreation. [...]
Moreover, there are those who argue for more than merely a "semantic
extension" to the idiom. Rather the description is considered to be
"literal" in that the model of a female "throwing down sperm (or seed)"
was completely in line with contemporary models of reproduction[*].
See for example the article by Pieter Willem Van Der Horst
which was mentioned earlier. In the article Van Der Horst
cites Greek and Talmudic sources that describe (and assume)
this physiological model.
N
[* Briefly, once the traditional model (in which the male
"implants his seed" in the female, whose womb serves simply
as a passive "garden" in which the child grows) became
inadequate (for example, with the recognition that the
child inherits characteristics from the mother as well as
the father) the model evolved in which conception resulted
from "seed" supplied (indeed, "thown down") by both parents.]
--
Nichael Cramer
nichael@sover.net
http://www.sover.net/~nichael/
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