Thesaurus Syriacus

The study of languages forms the foundation of any study of ancient societies. While we are dependent upon archaeology to unearth pottery, tools, buildings, and graves, it is through reading the documentary evidence that we learn the nuances of each culture--from receipts and letters to myths and legends. And the access to those documents comes only through the basic work of deciphering scripts, conjugating verbs, untangling syntax, and mastering vocabulary. Ancient Language Resources brings together some of the most significant reference works for the study of ancient languages, including grammars, dictionaries, and related materials. While most of the volumes will be reprints of classic works, we also intend to include new publications. The linguistic circle is widely drawn, encompassing Egyptian, Sumerian, Akkadian, Ugaritic, Phoenician, Hattic, Hittite (Nesite), Hurrian, Hebrew, Aramaic, Syriac, Ethiopic, Arabic, Greek, Coptic, Latin, Mandaean, Armenian, and Gothic. It is the hope of the publishers that this will continue to encourage study of the ancient languages and keep the work of groundbreaking scholars accessible. --K. C. Hanson Series Editor

This standard lexicon of Syriac has long been the choice of students of Syriac, both for its comprehensiveness and also because of its handy size. It originated as an abridgement of Payne Smith's Thesaurus Syriacus, a substantically larger work that also tends to be less accessible for the student. Here the meanings of the Syriac words are given in English, and the order of the Syriac is alphabetical, to avoid requiring the student to know the root of the word being looked up. An essential tool for anyone studying or researching Syriac texts or literature and for students of the Semitic languages. The Compendious Syriac Dictionary was first published by Oxford University Press in 1903 and has been out of print for a number of years. A quality Eisenbrauns reprint based on the 1976 printing.

In this major reference tool, Jessie Payne Smith has abridged the great two-volume work, 'Thesaurus Syriacus,' by her late father. But her task was not to simply edit down the earlier, massive tomes. She also provided English translations for each entry and additional notations. Her father's dictionary had translated each Syriac word into Latin. The Latin translations made it more internationally accessible; but with the decline of the use of Latin, it decreased in usefulness. Her labors have insured that it continues to benefit scholars and students of Syriac.