Ham

 No, not that kind of Ham.

In Parashat Derachim, pg. 338-339, Dr. Yitzchak Meitlis brings a view that the word "chavoteihem" (חותיהם), a group of settlements captured by Yair ben Menashe (Bamidbar 32:41), is a combination of the words "Chavot" and "Ham"; Ham being a place mentioned in the conquest of the Four Kings (Beresheet 14:5), or in other words, "chavoteihem" means "the villages of Ham".

I thought that was a fascinating idea, particularly because that area was in Amorite territory. Why is that important? Because in Canaan there was an Amorite king named Hoham (הוהם) (Yehoshua 10:3-5). As far as I know, not much is known about the Amorite language, but I'm guessing there's a connection between Hoham and Ham. Perhaps his name means something along the lines of "man of Ham" or "son of Ham", or something like that.

Meanwhile, Obelix has discovered he enjoys gefilte fish.



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