ArcImaging - The Search For Noah's Ark
Hurrian
Flood Story
“I would suggest
a more detailed comparison between this name and Noah's. Is it possible that the names of two antediluvian patriarchs were joined here? The first name
would be na-ah, which
corresponds quite directly with Noah.
The most likely candidate for the second name, ma-su-le-el, would be Methuselah, or ma-(tu)-su-le-el. The
final element or sign in this
name, -el, is the word for God or god. It might have functioned as a determinative or phonetic complement for "god" from a Semitic
(non-Hurrian) language. As
Methuselah was the longest-lived, antediluvian
patriarch, it would not be surprising that some memory of him would also be preserved.”
Bill Shea, Origins 18(1):10-26
(1991).