A Dictionary Of Jewish Palestinian Aramaic Of The

Since the Middle Ages, lexographies of Talmudic and other rabbinic literature have combined in one entry Babylonian, Palestinian, and Targumic words from various periods. Because morphologically identical words in even closely related dialects can frequently differ in both meaning and nuance, their consolidation into one dictionary entry is often misleading. Scholars now realize the need to treat each dialect separately, and in A Dictionary of Jewish Palestinian Aramaic, Michael Sokoloff provides a complete lexicon of the dialect spoken and written by Jews in Palestine during the Byzantine period, from the third century C.E. to the tenth century. Sokoloff draws on a wide range of sources, from inscriptions discovered in the remains of synagogues and on amulets, fragments of letters and other documents, poems, and marginal notations to local Targumim, the Palestinian Midrashim and Talmud, texts addressing religious law (halacha), and Palestinian marriage documents (ketubbot) from the Arabic period. Many of these sources were unavailable to previous lexographers, who based their dictionaries on corrupt nineteenth-century editions of the rabbinic literature. The discovery of new manuscripts in both European libraries and the Cairo Geniza over the course of the twentieth century has revolutionized the textual basis of Jewish Palestinian Aramaic. Each entry in A Dictionary of Jewish Palestinian Aramaic is divided into six parts: lemma or root, part of speech, English gloss, etymology, semantic features, and bibliographic references. Sokoloff also includes an index of all cited passages. This major reference work, updated to reflect the publication of new texts over the last decade, will both provide students and scholars with a tool for an accurate understanding of the Aramaic dialect of Jewish Palestinian literature of the Byzantine period and help Aramaist and Semitic linguists to see the relationship between this dialect and others, especially the contemporary dialects of Palestine.

Christian Palestinian Aramaic is the name of the Aramaic dialect spoken and written by the Melkite community in Palestine during the first millennium CE. Nearly all of the texts that have survived in this dialect are translations of religious texts originally composed in Greek for the use of members of this community whose only language was Aramaic. The only complete dictionary of this dialect was published over a century ago by Fr. Schulthess in 1903. However, since then, many new texts have been published and many previously known ones have been restudied and republished more accurately by various scholars. The present work has taken into account all of the existing texts as well as the secondary literature in order to make this new dictionary an essential tool for Aramaic scholarship.

The first new dictionary of Jewish Babylonian Aramaic in a century, this towering scholarly achievement provides a complete lexicon of the entire vocabulary used in both literary and epigraphic sources from the Jewish community in Babylon from the third century C.E. to the twelfth century. Author Michael Sokoloff's primary source is, of course, the Babylonian Talmud, one of the most important and influential works in Jewish literature. Unlike the authors of previous dictionaries of this dialect, however, he also uses a variety of other sources, from inscriptions and legal documents to other rabbinical literature. A Dictionary of Jewish Babylonian Aramaic also differs from earlier lexographic efforts in its focus on a single dialect. Previous dictionaries have been composite works containing various Aramaic dialects from different periods, blurring distinctions in meaning and nuance. Sokoloff has been able to draw on the most current linguistic and textual scholarship to ensure the complete accuracy of his lexical entries, each of which is divided into six parts: lemma or root, part of speech, English gloss, etymology, semantic features, and bibliographic references. Another important feature in this invaluable reference work is its index of all cited passages, which allows the reader of a given text to easily find the semantics of a particular word. In addition to linguists and specialists in Jewish Aramaic literature, lay readers and students will also find this comprehensive, up-to-date dictionary useful for understanding the Babylonian Talmud.

A Concise and Complete Dictionary of Classical Syriac and Aramaic. The book is composed of two separate sections: a Syriac Dictionary with English-Syriac and Syriac-English sections and an Aramaic Dictionary with English-Aramaic and Aramaic-English sections. The Edessan dialect of Classical Syriac is used in this book, while Jewish Babylonian Aramaic and Jewish Palestinian Aramaic vocabulary is used for the Aramaic part of the book. All in all, the perfect Dictionary for Aramaic and Syriac Language Learners!

This book has been planned to be used together with the author's Dictionary of Christian Palestinian Aramaic. The texts which form the basis of this volume were originally published in a large number of scattered publications making both their citation in the dictionary and their use by the reader difficult. The purpose of the present work has been to gather all of these texts into one convenient volume and to republish them in the original Palestinian Aramaic script and format. Additionally, a number of Appendices dealing with this Aramaic dialect have been added to clarify other issues concerning the dictionary.

The goal of this book is to treat Palestine not as a state but as a country which in 1948 was divided to Israel, The West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. Palestinians live in all these areas and are also dwellers or refugee camps and exilic communities around the world. In our eyes they and the country as a whole are part of the history of Palestine and therefore are all included here. It is a book that regards Palestine in the period from 1800 until today as a geographical term which is still valid and relevant. Therefore, it covers different geo-political units and states that were established over the year in the country of Palestine: the late Ottoman provinces, the British Mandate, the State Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. Half of Palestine population live in exile – in refugee camp and diasporic communities. They also have a place of honor in this book. As the story of Zionism and Israel is intertwined with that of the Palestinians, several Zionist/Israeli persons, places and events are also included in this book. Historical Dictionary of Palestine, Second Edition contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has more than 800 cross-referenced entries on important personalities as well as aspects of the country’s politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Palestine.