QUESTION: My husband says the elephant is known as the “keter” (crown) of all animals. Can you tell me where its Hebrew name “פיל” comes from?
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כדי לראות את זה בפעילות, יש לעבור לאתר הפעיל שלך.
yehoshua steinberg
22 בפבר׳ 2021
Where does the word for "elephants" come from?
Where does the word for "elephants" come from?
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ANSWER: Samuel Goldstein provided the רמז found in Chazal, namely in ברכות נו:, נז:, and the word is related to פלא – “wondrous(ly big)”.
But I’ve always suspected that there might be a connection to the rare word נפילים (Gen. 6:4, Num. 13:33) used in Tanach to describe giants. After checking, I see that some contemporary commentators have indeed suggested this (אוצר הידיעות, דף ת”נ, דעה את ה’, דף 245). Moreover, a number of early commentators (first and foremost, R’ Yosef Bechor Shor) explain that the word נפילים itself derives from פלא, that is, all who saw them stood in “awe” and “wonder” at their sheer size. If this is so, it would reinforce the logical connection between פיל and נפיל, as well as the connection between both of them and פלא.
In Gen. Rabbah 26:7 the Midrash relates נפילים to נפל, i.e. they “knocked down the (inhabitants of the) world” (see there for other explanations, all related to נפל). This interpretation can also be easily connected to the mighty elephant.
I’m not sure if I understand the word כתר in this context, but if the intention is “top” (as a crown tops the head), it certainly fits, because elephants can grow to be quite tall.
Rabbi Yehoshua (Jeremy) Steinberg