Does the Name of the Vikings Really Mean "Naftali"?
Part One:
Preliminary Remarks by Yair Davidiy
Mikkel Stjernholm KRAGH in an article entitled "Sweden being the Tribe of Asher" under the heading, "Vikings in the Old Testament" points out that the word Viking is derived from the Nordic word vik/vig (vik in Swedish and Norwegian, vig in Danish), which means inlet, creek, because the Vikings sailed out from the inlets and fjords. In the Song of Deborah in the Book of Judges, it is written how the Tribes of Dan and Asher did not join in the war against the enemies of Israel:
# Why did Dan remain in ships? Asher continued on the sea shore, and abode in his breaches # (Judges 5:17).
The word rendered 'breaches' in Hebrew is 'miphratsim,' meaning (as Kragh notes) a break (in the shore), or an inlet, in Nordic languages, a vik/vig from which we get the word 'Viking.' VIK is how the Hebrew word 'Miphrats' (inlet) is translated in the Swedish Authorized Version (authorized by Gustav-5, King of Sweden) of 1917 (Judges 5:17). From "vik" we obtain the word Viking and thus a possible link to the Tribe of Asher.
The Vikings came mainly from Denmark and Norway with some from Sweden. Those who came from Norway we identified as from the Tribe of Naphtali apart from a portion who settled in Ireland whom we identified with the Tribe of Asher. This is still a possibility but we need to put it aside for the moment.
Orjan Svennsson in the Note below shows that linguistically the very name "Viking" has the same meaning as Naphtali!
Orjan in effect says the term Viking either comes directly comes from a verb meaning to turn or twist and this was applied to inlets or coves after which the Vikings were named, OR it came from the region of "Viken" (mainly in Norway and partly in Sweden which received its name from the 'inlets and coves" in its region.
The name Naphtali is congante with the term "Pe-T-iL" meaning twisted thread.
Numbers 37:
37 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying:
38 'Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them throughout their generations fringes in the corners of their garments, and that they put with the fringe of each corner a thread of blue.
39 And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye go not about after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go astray.
The Thread of Blue was called a "Petil [thread] Techelet of bluie." it was wrapped around the while fringes on the four coreners of the garment.
Petil means wrap around. It can also mean twist and turn. It has the same meaning as the Norse VIK.
A wrestler twists and turns and warps themselves around their opponent.
Genesis (NIV) 30:
1 When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, 'Give me children, or I'll die!'
2 Jacob became angry with her and said, 'Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?'
3 Then she said, 'Here is Bilhah, my servant. Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and I too can build a family through her.'
4 So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife. Jacob slept with her,
5 and she became pregnant and bore him a son.
6 Then Rachel said, 'God has vindicated me; he has listened to my plea and given me a son.' Because of this she named him Dan.
7 Rachel's servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.
8 Then Rachel said, 'I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won.' So she named him Naphtali.
Rachel struggled with her sister figuratively like a wrestler. She therefore named the boy "Naftali" connoting twisting and turning.
This is probably (according to the Note by Orjan) as the term Viking and a good portion of the Vikings (possibly the majority) came from Norway which country we identify with Naphtali.
Part Two:
Is Viking/Viken a synonym of Naphtali? by Orjan Svensson
Shalom,
The root PhaTaL from which the name Naphtali is derived in Hebrew means "to twist".
A somewhat similar meaning has the word VIKA in Swedish. It means "to fold" or "to turn". VIK means "bay" (as a folded coastline).
Viken was historically an important part of Norway: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viken_(region).
"Viken is derived from the Old Norse word vik, meaning an inlet or creek (UK).[6] The English cognate is the -wich in many placenames (and after the earl of that place: 'sandwich'). The modern Norwegian form Vika is derived from the definite form, Vikin (O.N. -in > M.Norw. - > Norw. -a), whilst the form Viken is derived partially from its Danish cognate, Vigen (Norwegianized to Viken in Riksmal), and partially from the local dative case name, Viken (pronounced in tone 2).
Various theories have been offered that the word "viking" may be derived from this place name, meaning "a person from Viken". According to this theory, originally the word "viking" simply described persons from this area, and that it is only in the last few centuries that it has taken on the broader sense of early medieval Scandinavians in general."
You said that a feature of Naphtali is that he is conflating opposing sides.
Maybe the name Viken was given to the dominating part of Norway as a kind of synonym to the name Naphtali.
Regards,
Orjan