Linguistic Registers (cha-ching!)

Check out this old post by the blogger at Gimme Shelter about Robert Alter's theory that the Tanakh was written in Biblical Hebrew's literary register, while the later Hhazalic Hebrew that the Mishna was written in descends directly from Biblical Hebrew's colloquial register. This explains why sometimes certain everyday objects are referred to in the two forms of Hebrew by completely different words when the Hhazalic words are not simply borrowed from Aramaic.

Mazal tov and mabrouk, Robert Alter!
You win the Cunning Linguist of the Year award!

Update: See the new and improved version of the old Gimme Shelter post at MFM's new blog, On the Main Line!