A Short Grammar Of Biblical Aramaic

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.

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.

Grammarians have been unable to provide a sufficient explanation for the verbal system of Biblical Aramaic by means of the standard categories of tense and aspect. Michael B. Shepherd exposes this situation and suggests a way out of the present impasse through distributional analysis by proposing that Biblical Aramaic has a primary verbal form for narration and a primary verbal form for discourse. This simple yet comprehensive proposal holds true not only for Biblical Aramaic but also for extra-Biblical Aramaic texts. This volume is an indispensable resource for courses in Biblical Aramaic and for anyone who wishes to read and understand the Biblical Aramaic corpus.

Beyond Babel provides a general introduction to and overview of the languages that are significant for the study of the Hebrew Bible and ancient Israel. Included are essays on biblical and inscriptional Hebrew, Akkadian, Northwest Semitic dialects (Ammonite, Edomite, and Moabite), Arabic, Aramaic, Egyptian, Hittite, Phoenician, postbiblical Hebrew, and Ugaritic. Each chapter in the volume shares a common format, including an overview of the language, a discussion of its significance for the Hebrew Bible, and a list of ancient sources and modern resources for further study of the language. A general introduction by John Huehnergard discusses the importance of the study of Near Eastern languages for biblical scholarship, helping to make the volume an ideal resource for persons beginning an in-depth study of the Hebrew Bible.

This reader is for anyone very eager to read the story of Daniel in the lions' den and many other fascinating stories in their original language, Aramaic. A brief outline of Biblical Aramaic grammar is followed by a verse-to-verse grammatical commentary on the Aramaic chapters in the books of Daniel and Ezra. Both the outline grammar and the grammatical commentary presuppose basic knowledge of the grammar and vocabulary of Biblical Hebrew. Constant references are made in the commentary to relevant sections of the outline grammar. The commentary is written in a user-friendly, not overtly technical language. Some grammatical exercises with keys and paradigms conclude the Reader. Also suitable for self-study.

Offers a grammatical explanation to the peculiarity of the language of the Apocalypse (or Book of Revelation).

For beginning students who are already familiar with Hebrew. Greenspahn includes all Aramaic passages in the Old Testament, and introduces other Aramaic texts such as ancient inscriptions, the Dead Sea Scrolls, rabbinic literature, and quotations in the New Testament. There are also paradigms, a complete glossary, a list of resources for further study, and practice exercises for each chapter. There is no index. Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR.