how do you say “the Spanish Inquisition” in Hebrew?
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/גירוש-ספרד-1.m4a” /]גֵּרוּשׁ סְפָרַד
The Modern-Hebrew word for Spain is ספרד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/גירוש-ספרד-2.m4a” /], though the name in Biblical Hebrew refers to a land far away from Israel, most likely in present-day western Turkey (Wikipedia). In Mishnaic times the land that is today Spain was called אספמיה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/גירוש-ספרד-3.m4a” /], probably a Phoenician version of the Hebrew אי השפנים[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/גירוש-ספרד-4.m4a” /] – the Island of Rabbits (or rabbit-like creatures), evolving into Hispania and then Spain (Wikipedia).
In any case, in 1492 while Columbus was off cruising in the Bahamas, the Jews were being tortured, killed and expelled from Spain. Israeli historians chose the latter act as the primary one when describing this series of events, calling it גירוש ספרד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/גירוש-ספרד-1.m4a” /] – the Spanish Expulsion.
For example:
[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/גירוש-ספרד-5.m4a” /]גירוש ספרד הוא פרק קשה בהסטוריה של עם ישראל.
The Spanish Inquisition (Expulsion) was a difficult chapter in Jewish History.
גירוש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/גירוש-ספרד-6.m4a” /] is an abstract-noun form of the active-intensive verb לגרש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/גירוש-ספרד-7.m4a” /] – to expel.
Don’t confuse גירוש with גרוש[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/גירוש-ספרד-8.m4a” /] – a divorced man.