A Grammar Of Qumran Aramaic

This is a comprehensive reference grammar of Qumran Aramaic. Not only Aramaic texts from Qumran caves, but also contemporary texts originating from other neighbouring locations in the Judaean Desert such as Nahal Hever, Murabba'at, Jericho, and Massada are covered. It would be an important tool of study for specialists in Aramaic linguistics, the Jewish culture of the Second Temple period, and the New Testament. The scope and nature of the grammar is comparable to that of Muraoka - Porten, A Grammar of Egyptian Aramaic (2nd revised ed., 2003).

This grammar of Biblical Aramaic is intended in the first place for the student who wishes to acquire a thorough knowledge of the language of the Aramaic portions of the bible. But it also hopes to stimulate interest in the Aramaic dialects in general and to create a sound basis for further Aramaic studies. It contains a brief but quite full description of the phonetic and grammatical features of Biblical Aramaic, as well as tables of paradigms for the different classes of verbs. Special attention has been paid to the syntax, and the important syntactic data of the language have been treated in special chapters which, however, are kept together with the morphological presentation. A complete glossary of Biblical Aramaic concludes the book. The 7th edition was augmented with an index of biblical citations that was compiled by Daniel M. Gurtner.

The Aramaic texts among the Dead Sea Scrolls are among the most important discoveries for the history of Aramaic and for the background of early Judaism and Christianity. They constitute a “missing link” between Biblical Aramaic and the later Aramaic of the targums and midrashic literature. Among them are the oldest texts we have of the Book of Enoch and Tobit, as well as the earliest Aramaic translation of a portion of Scripture, the Targum of Job. Other previously unknown texts such as the Genesis Apocryphon and the Aramaic Levi Document have opened up many new avenues of research on the literature of early Judaism, and the dialect itself is chronologically the one nearest to the origins of Christianity. Now, for the first time, there is a comprehensive dictionary of all the Aramaic texts from the 11 Qumran caves, from a noted specialist in Qumran Aramaic. It is the first dictionary in any language devoted solely to this important Aramaic corpus and contains a wealth of detail, including definitions, extensive citations of the sources, discussions of difficult passages, revised readings, and a bibliography. It will be an indispensable resource to anyone interested in the Dead Sea Scrolls, the literature of early Judaism and Christianity, and the Aramaic language.

Appendices -- Index of passages -- Index of subjects -- Tables of loan-words -- Concordance of principal editions -- Individual scribes and dates -- List of technical terms.

"Readership: Aramaic scholars, Semitists, historians of Ancient Egypt, Bible scholars, papyrologists, historians of Ancient Israel."--BOOK JACKET.

This book provides the first comprehensive treatment of the Aramaic Dead Sea Scrolls from the caves of Qumran. These nearly one hundred scrolls open a window onto a vibrant period of Jewish history for which we previously had few historical sources. Scholars and advanced students will find a general introduction to the corpus, detailed, richly-illustrated profiles of individual scrolls, and up-to-date studies of their Aramaic language and scribal practices. The goal of the book is to foster and support further study of these scrolls against the historical backdrop of early Judaism and ancient Mediterranean scribal cultures.

This standard grammar book of biblical Aramaic, used by students at many seminaries and universities, is the only one to include graded exercises at the close of each of its twenty lessons.