The Verbal Tense System In Late Biblical Hebrew Prose

This study offers a synchronic and diachronic account of the Biblical Hebrew verbal tense system during the Second Temple period, based on the books of Esther, Daniel, and Ezra and Nehemiah, along with the non-synoptic parts of Chronicles.

Unlike earlier investigations on the changes Biblical Hebrew underwent over the ages, this study does not attempt to draw a broad picture encompassing various kinds of linguistic phenomena. The work stresses the need for a well-founded statistical and form-oriented methodology for the description of historical linguistic change in the Hebrew Bible. With the aid of computer techniques the book concentrates on one major aspect of Biblical Hebrew, viz. the verbal tense forms. It examines the absolute and relative frequencies of these data in the books of Samuel, Kings and Chronicles in a comprehensive manner. In this way some of the established opinions concerning increase or decrease in the use of certain tense forms are confirmed, others contradicted, and new evidence is adduced. In addition to the statistical analyses, Verbs & Numbers contains a complete inventory of the parallel passages where Chronicles has another tense form than the Vorlage. This makes it a valuable source of information for the interpretation of the book of Chronicles.

This book constitutes the first thorough, corpus-based analysis of the verb in Late Maskilic (Jewish Enlightenment) Hebrew prose fiction. It assesses Maskilic Hebrew verbal morphology and syntax both synchronically and within the context of the diachronic Hebrew verbal system.

The verbal system of Biblical Hebrew has been a daunting challenge for Hebraists, Bible scholars, and comparative Semitists. Already in ancient versions we see translators struggling with it. Good understanding of the verbal system is of vital importance not only for grammarians, but also for exegetes. In the past one and half a century or so some significant advances have been made, thanks to the discovery of new texts in Hebrew and cognate Semitic languages and developments in general linguistics, even the discovery of totally new languages such as Ugaritic and Eblaite. Not a few scholars have made use of these new data and applied new linguistic perspectives in order to elucidate the Hebrew verbal system as a whole and various aspects of the system. Joosten is one such. With his profound expertise in Biblical Hebrew, the Jewish Bible, Classical Syriac and the Septuagint he presents here an impressive synthesis of the modern studies of the Hebrew verbal system. It goes far beyond a mere critical survey of the past and present studies, but Joosten has conducted his own research on the subject over the past two decades or so. This book is focused on the classical prose of Genesis up to Kings, though more than cursory attention has been paid to later texts and poetic texts. The analysis and presentation of data is commendably lucid, backed up with plentiful examples. The author's use of technical terms, some not part of the common parlance of Bible scholars, is user-friendly and not off-putting. Joosten is modestly aware himself that he has not said the last word, but has broadened our horizon. We have here an essential reading not only for Hebraists and Semitists, but also for anyone seriously interested in the Jewish Bible.

During the past century, numerous books and articles have appeared on the verbal system of Semitic languages. Thanks to the discovery of Ugaritic texts, Akkadian tablets, Canaanite letters found at Tell el-Amarna in Egypt, Hebrew and Aramaic inscriptions, and the Dead Sea Scrolls, our understanding of the phonology, morphology, and syntax of the Semitic languages has increased substantially. Dallaire focuses primarily on prose texts in Biblical Hebrew and Amarna Canaanite in which the verbal system (morphemes, syntax) expresses nuances of wishes, desires, requests, and commands. According to her, volitional concepts are found in every language and are expressed through verbal morphemes, syntagmas, intonation, syntax, and other linguistic means. The Syntax of Volitives in Biblical Hebrew and Amarna Canaanite Prose attempts to answer the following questions: Do volitives function in a similar way in Biblical Hebrew and Amarna Canaanite? Where and why is there overlap in morphology and syntax between these two languages? What morphological and syntactical differences exist between the volitional expressions of the languages? In attempting to answer these questions, the author bears in mind the fact that, within each of these two languages, scribes from different areas used specific dialectal and scribal traditions (for example, northern versus southern, peripheral versus central).

This book constitutes the first detailed corpus-based analysis of the verbal morphology and syntax employed in the Eastern European Maskilic (Jewish Enlightenment) Hebrew prose fiction written between 1857 and 1881. This verbal system exhibits biblical, rabbinic and medieval elements as well as unprecedented features and similarities to Israeli Hebrew and Yiddish. The first section of the work offers a selective examination of maskilic verbal morphology, while the second section constitutes a thorough examination of the functions of the verbal conjugations and the third section surveys selected features of verbal syntax. The work fills a serious gap in the Hebrew philological literature and will therefore be of great relevance to students and scholars of diachronic Hebrew language and linguistics.

The Companion to Ancient Israel offers an innovative overview of ancient Israelite culture and history, richly informed by a variety of approaches and fields. Distinguished scholars provide original contributions that explore the tradition in all its complexity, multiplicity and diversity. A methodologically sophisticated overview of ancient Israelite culture that provides insights into political and social history, culture, and methodology Explores what we can say about the cultures and history of the people of Israel and Judah, but also investigates how we know what we know Presents fresh insights, richly informed by a variety of approaches and fields Delves into ‘religion as lived,’ an approach that asks about the everyday lives of ordinary people and the material cultures that they construct and experience Each essay is an original contribution to the subject