[Indie]

Isn't that side called the American Falls? What if that's what it means, simply the American falls

Now you're thinking out of the box. And that explanation is so obvious, yet so well hidden.
~tin foil hat on~

[Thinkin' Gal]

There is something I stumbled across a few years ago, in the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, under the word for "riddle", or as the King James also translates it, "dark sentences". The Bible passages are about individulas who are able to expound riddles or solve difficult questions, such as Solomon, or the stern-faced king of fierce countenance in Daniel 8.

Here is the Strong's entry:

02420 chiydah {khee-daw'}
from 02330; TWOT - 616a; n f

AV - riddle 9, dark sayings 3, hard question 2, dark sentence 1,
proverb 1, dark speech 1; 17

1) riddle, difficult question, parable, enigmatic saying or question,
perplexing saying or question
1a) riddle (dark obscure utterance)
1b) riddle, enigma (to be guessed)
1c) perplexing questions (difficult)
1d) double dealing (with 'havin')

***

Back to the point, it is the cultural reference in TWOT (©1980) which is rather eye-catching.

Here it is:

 

616  (chud) [Stg: 2330] propound a riddle. Denominative verb.

PARENT NOUN

616a  (chidah) [Stg: 2420] riddle, difficult question, parable.

A derivation has been suggested from Aramaic  "hold fast, cover," for the Aramaic  achida "riddle" (cf. Daniel 5:12). The  chidah is an enigmatic saying, question, or story whose meaning must be determined by the audience.

It is used seventeen times. The KJV translates it nine times as "riddle," five times as "dark" sentences, speeches, or sayings, twice as hard questions," and once as "proverb."

It is used eight times in Judges 14 of "riddles" propounded by Samson to the Philistine guests at his wedding. These were conundrums involving a contest of wits, a source of entertainment popular among Arabs today. Cf. the contest of the guardsmen in 1 Esdras 3: 4-24.

At a higher social level the chidot in 1 Kings 10:1 (2 Chron. 9:1) were "difficult questions" posed by the Queen of Sheba to test Solomon's reputation for wisdom. Josephus (Antiquities 8.5.3 [143]) describes Hiram of Tyre sending Solomon "tricky problems and enigmatic sayings."

The Psalmist in Psalm 49:4 [H 5] speaks of the "riddle" of life, death, and redemption.

In Numbers 12:8 the "dark speeches" denote the indirect revelations ordinarily given by the Lord, in contrast to the face-to-face mode of communication granted to Moses.

See also mashal, which occurs together with chidah in Psalm 49:4 [H 5]; Psalm 78:2; Proverbs 1:6; Ezekiel 17:2; and Habakkuk 2:6.

Bibliography:  Rinaldi, G., "Alcuni termini ebraici relativi alla letteratura," Bib 49:274-76.
E.Y.