Studies 16 (2018) 10–19 Aramaic Studies brill.com/arst

A (New) Old Iranian Etymology for Biblical ָגְרַדֲא ּ רַז Aramaic

Benjamin J. Noonan* Columbia International University, Columbia, sc, usa [email protected]

Abstract

Despite the many advances that have taken place in our understanding of the ’s Old Iranian terminology, the donor terms of several words have remained Dan. 3:2–3). Proposed Old Iranian) רַזָגְּרַדֲא elusive. Among them is Biblical Aramaic etymologies for this word suffer from various phonological and semantic difficul- is רַזָגְּרַדֲא ties, rendering them unlikely. This paper proposes that Biblical Aramaic best derived from *ādrangāžara- ‘announcer of financial obligation’, a compound of *ādranga- ‘financial obligation’ and *āžara- ‘announcer’. A derivation from Old Iranian ,Furthermore . רַזָגְּרַדֲא ādrangāžara- adequately explains the form of Biblical Aramaic* -trea‘ רַבָדְגּ occurs just prior to רַזָגְּרַדֲא this etymology also suits the context well in that surer’ and therefore falls logically within the progression from political administration to finances to law evident in the lists of Nebuchadnezzar’s officials (Dan. 3:2–3).

Keywords

Biblical Aramaic – Book of Daniel – Old Iranian languages – loanwords – language contact

1 Introduction

As has long been recognized, the Hebrew Bible—particularly the books of Ezra-Nehemiah, , and Daniel—contains a number of loanwords bor-

* I would like to thank John Makujina and Jennifer Noonan for their helpful feedback and constructive criticism of this article.

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2018 | doi: 10.1163/17455227-01601002Downloaded from Brill.com09/25/2021 09:58:47PM via free access 11 רַזָגְּרַדֲא a (new) old iranian etymology for biblical aramaic rowed from Old Iranian, a natural product of contact between Jews and speak- ers of the Old Iranian languages. These terms have been the object of various books and articles over the years, and as our knowledge of the Old Iranian languages has grown much progress has been made in identifying the specific donor terms behind the Hebrew Bible’s Old Iranian loans.1 Nevertheless, the Old Iranian donor terms behind some words in the Hebrew Bible have remained elusive. In this article, I will revisit one of these words .(Dan. 3:2–3) רַזָגְּרַדֲא that has presented difficulties, namely Biblical Aramaic After evaluating the various etymologies that scholars have proposed for this term and finding them wanting, I will present a new Old Iranian etymology that better explains the , morphology, and meaning of this word.

ָגְרַדֲא ּ רַז Evaluating 2 occurs twice within parallel lists of officials summoned רַזָגְּרַדֲא Biblical Aramaic by Nebuchadnezzar to attend the dedication of his statue (Dan. 3:2–3). Both ןַגְס ,’satrap‘ ןַפְּרַדְּשַׁחֲא ) lists exhibit a progression from political administration ’judge‘ רַבָתְדּ ) treasurer’) to law‘ רַבָדְגּ ) governor’) to finances‘ הָחֶפּ prefect’, and‘ probably refers to either a political רַזָגְּרַדֲא police official’). The word‘ , יָתְּפִתּ and or financial official in Nebuchadnezzar’s administration given its placement a financial official.2 , רַבָדְגּ a political official, and , הָחֶפּ between

1 See, e.g., Aren Wilson-Wright, ‘From Persepolis to Jerusalem: A Reevaluation of Old Persian- Hebrew Contact in the Achaemenid Period’, vt 65 (2015), pp. 152–167; Isidor Scheftelowitz, Arisches im AltenTestament: Eine sprachwissenschaftliche und kulturhistorische Untersuchung (2 vols., Berlin: Calvary, 1901–1903); A.Yu. Aĭkhenval’d, ‘К характеристике иранизмов в библейском древнееврейском и библейском арамейском языках’, in G.Sh. Sharbatov (ed.), Ирано-афразийские языковые контакты (Moscow: Nauka, 1987) pp. 4–7; William St. Clair Tisdall, ‘The Āryan Words in the Old Testament i’, jqr 1 (1910–1911), pp. 335–339; idem, ‘The Āryan Words in the Old Testament ii’, jqr 2 (1911–1912), pp. 213–219; idem, ‘The Āryan Words in the Old Testament iii’, jqr 2 (1911–1912), pp. 365–371; idem, ‘The Āryan Words in the Old Testament iv’, jqr 4 (1913–1914), pp. 97–105; Martin Haug, ‘Erklärung persischer Wörter des Alten Testaments’, Jahrbücher der biblischen Wissenschaft 5 (1853), pp. 151–164. 2 Cf. Shaul Shaked, ‘Irano-Aramaica: On Some Legal, Administrative and Economic Terms’, in Ronald E. Emmerick and Dieter Weber (eds.), Corolla Iranica: Papers in Honour of Prof. Dr. David Neil MacKenzie on the Occasion of His 65th Birthday on April 8th, 1991 (Frankfurt am Main: Lang, 1991) p. 169.

Aramaic Studies 16 (2018) 10–19 Downloaded from Brill.com09/25/2021 09:58:47PM via free access 12 noonan does not look Semitic, does not have any cognates, was not רַזָגְּרַדֲא Because understood by the ancient versions,3 and appears within a list of Mesopota- mian officials—several of which may be connected with Old Iranian terms— the standard lexicons derive it from Old Iranian.4 Two Old Iranian donor terms have been proposed in the scholarly literature: *handarzakara- ‘counsellor’ and *hadārgāzar- ‘chiliarch’.

2.1 < *handarzakara- ‘Counsellor’ In the glossary that prepared for Karl Marti’s Kurzgefasste Grammatik der is from Old רַזָגְּרַדֲא biblisch-aramäischen Sprache, C.F. Andreas proposed that Iranian *handarzakara- ‘counsellor’, formed from *handarza- ‘instruction, order’ and the element kara- ‘doer, maker’.5 This etymology was subsequently adopted by key early studies regarding Old Iranian influence on the Hebrew Bible, such as that by Isidor Scheftelowitz,6 as well as by W.B. Henning’s pre- sentation of Old Iranian loans found in Franz Rosenthal’s Grammar of Bibli- cal Aramaic.7 Francis Brown, S.R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs’ A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament and Ludwig Köhler and Walter Baumgart- ner’s Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament both provide Andreas’ 8. רַזָגְּרַדֲא suggestion as a likely derivation for

3 Both the Septuagint and Vulgate omit one of the officials in the lists of Dan. 3:2–3, so it is if at all. The Peshitta has ˀrgdy, an erroneous , רַזָגְּרַדֲא difficult to know how they rendered rendering of the biblical term. 4 Francis Brown, S.R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, with an Appendix Containing the Biblical Aramaic, based on the Lexicon of William Gesenius as Translated by Edward Robinson (Oxford: Clarendon, 1906) p. 1078; Ludwig Köh- ler and Walter Baumgartner, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (trans. M.E.J. Richardson, 2 vols., Leiden: Brill, 2001) p. 1807. postulates a Semitic which commonly , רזג splendor, greatness’ and‘ רֶדֶא etymology, namely a compound from means ‘to cut’ but can also mean ‘to decide’ (cf. Esth. 2:1) (Thesaurus philologicus criticus linguae Hebraeae et Chaldaeae Veteris Testamenti [3 vols., Leipzig: Vogel, 2d ed., 1829–1842] p. 1:29). The resulting sense, however, seems unsuitable as a title, and the know of no such compound (cf. Haug, ‘Erklärung persischer Wörter des Alten Testaments’, p. 151). 5 Karl Marti, Kurzgefasste Grammatik der biblisch-aramäischen Sprache, Literatur, Paradigmen, Texte und Glossar (Berlin: Reuther & Reichard, 1896) p. 51*. 6 Scheftelowitz, Arisches im Alten Testament, p. 2:57; Haug, ‘Erklärung persischer Wörter des Alten Testaments’, p. 151. 7 Franz Rosenthal, A Grammar of Biblical Aramaic (Porta Linguarum Orientalium, 5, Wies- baden: Harrassowitz, 7th ed., 2006) p. 62. 8 Brown, Driver, and Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon, p. 1078; Köhler and Baumgartner, Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, p. 1807.

AramaicDownloaded Studies from Brill.com09/25/2021 16 (2018) 10–19 09:58:47PM via free access 13 רַזָגְּרַדֲא a (new) old iranian etymology for biblical aramaic

Yet, this etymology suffers from a number of difficulties. The Iranian com- pound *andarzgar often cited in favour of this loan hypothesis does not, to my knowledge, exist in extant Iranian literature.9 Its lack of attestation is not nec- essarily detrimental because a compound such as *handarzakara- could have existed in Old Iranian even if it is not attested in later texts. However, its exis- tence becomes even more questionable in light of two significant phonological and morphological difficulties. One difficulty regards the first element *handarza- ‘instruction, order’. This word is known to have existed in Old Iranian because it is attested as an Old Iranian loanword in Official Aramaic (tad a 6.13:3–4; 6.14:3; Khalili ia 1:1; 3:2; , זרדנה In these texts, Old Iranian *handarza- always has the form .(9 ,5:6 ;4:1 with initial he. A derivation from *handarzakara- cannot adequately explain the omission of the he because the Hebrew Bible’s Old Iranian loans (e.g., < -limb’, *hamyānaka‘ םָדַּה < -assistant, aide’, *handāma‘ רַבָדַּה < -hadabara* -Hathak’, *Hauma‘ ְךָתֲה < -necklace’) and proper names (e.g., *Hātaka‘ אָכְנָיְמַה Hammedatha’) represent initial Old Iranian h with he.10 The‘ אָתָדְמַּה < -dāta same is true of contemporaneous Official Aramaic. Although initial han- and an- do frequently interchange in later Iranian, in nearly all cases the Semitic languages of the late first millennium bce render Old Iranian h as h.11 Thus,

9 Theodor Nöldeke reconstructs an Iranian *endarzgar- from the personal name Indarazar/ Indazaros, mentioned in the historical chronicle Tarikh al-Tabari (Theodor Nöldeke, Geschichte der Perser und Araber zur Zeit der Sasaniden, aus der arabischen Chronik des Tabari übersetzt und mit ausführlichen Erläuterungen und Ergänzungen verse- hen [Leiden: Brill, 1879] p. 462). This, in turn, is frequently thought to demonstrate the existence of an Old Iranian *andarzgar- (cf. J.P. Asmussen, ‘Andarzgar’, in Eshan Yarshater [ed.], Encyclopaedia Iranica [New York, ny: Bibliotheca Persica, 1985] p. 2:23). However, -rep רַזָגְּרַדֲא the existence of Iranian *andarzgar- is in part based on the assumption that resents Old Iranian *andarzgar-. I am unable to find Iranian *andarzgar- in the standard Old, Middle, and New Iranian lexicons. Echbatana’ (Ezra‘ אָתְמְחַא The sole exception of which I am aware is Biblical Aramaic 10 6:2), from Old Persian Hamgmatāna-. This place name is also written without initial h in both Akkadian (Agamatanu) and Elamite (Ag-ma-da-na), and similarly the Greek forms (Ἐκβάτανα and Ἀγβάτανα) lack initial aspiration (cf. Stuart C. Brown, ‘Ecbatana’, in Eshan Yarshater [ed.], Encyclopaedia Iranica [New York, ny: Bibliotheca Persica, 1997] pp. 8:80– 84). -mor‘ ןוה < -Hadavana’, *havana‘ ןודה < -Hubrtana’, *Hadavana‘ ןתרבה < -E.g., *Hubṛtāna 11 ,’joint holding‘ ברגירכמה < -government, rule’, *hamakāryagraba‘ תימה < -tar’, *hamyati -accountant’, *hanbaga‘ רכרמה < -reckoning, accounting’, *hamārakara‘ רמה < -hamāra* תיגנה < -apprentice, servant’, *hangaiθa‘ תרכשנה < -partner in realty’, *hančyākr̥ta‘ גבנה < ,’garrisoned‘ זדנה , זידנה < -varnish’, *handaiza‘ ןודנה < -partner in chattel’, *handaunā‘

Aramaic Studies 16 (2018) 10–19 Downloaded from Brill.com09/25/2021 09:58:47PM via free access 14 noonan it is unlikely that Biblical Aramaic would represent Old Iranian *handarza- without initial he. A second set of difficulties regards the element kara- ‘doer, maker’. This is a productive element in Old Iranian compounds,12 so it would not be sur- However, Old Iranian k is otherwise represented . רַזָגְּרַדֲא prising to find it in as k, not g, in loans into Aramaic, including ones containing the element ,’accountant‘ רכרמה < -herald’, *hamārakara‘ רכדזא <-kara- (e.g., *azdakara foreman’).13 Furthermore, not only must a derivation‘ רכנמרפ < -framānakara* from *handarzakara- assume that a rather than kap was used to repre- sent Old Iranian k, it must also assume that metathesis of the gimel and has occurred even though there is nothing that would prompt such metathesis to take place.14 comes from an alleged רַזָגְּרַדֲא Given these difficulties, it is unlikely that *handarzakara-. Not surprisingly, Walther Hinz lists *handarzakara- as a doubtful form in his Altiranisches Sprachgut der Nebenüberlieferungen.15

2.2 < *hadārgāzar- ‘Chiliarch’ An alternative Old Iranian derivation was suggested by Frithiof Rundgren, with Old Iranian *hadārgāzar- ‘chiliarch’, a compound רַזָגְּרַדֲא who connected of *hadār- (< *hadahra-) and *gāzar-.16 According to this derivation, *hadār- ‘thousand’ is the Old Persian equivalent of Median *hazār-, the first component of Median *hazārapati-;17 the second component, *gāzar-, is from a hypothet- ical Old Iranian meaning ‘to cut, decide’ originating with the common Semitic root gzr of the same meaning. Michael Sokoloff points to Rundgren’s

תפחתפה < -roofed passage’, and *haptaxvapāta‘ ןפנה < -Hasta’, *hanpāna‘ תסה < -Hasta* ‘guardian of the seventh kingdom’. 12 Cf. Roland G. Kent, Old Persian: Grammar, Texts, Lexicon (aos, 33, New Haven, ct: Ameri- can Oriental Society, 2d ed., 1953) p. 179. 13 Cf. S. Telegdi, ‘Essai sur la phonétique des emprunts iraniens en araméen talmudique’, ja 226 (1935), pp. 190–191. 14 Cf. Shaked, ‘Irano-Aramaica’, p. 168. 15 Walther Hinz, Altiranisches Sprachgut der Nebenüberlieferungen (Göttinger Orientforsch- ungen, 3. Reihe: Iranica, 3, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1975) p. 115. 16 Frithiof Rundgren, ‘Ein iranischer Beamtenname im Aramäischen’, Orientalia Suecana 12 (1967), p. 93. 17 On Old Iranian *hazahrapati-, *hazārapati-, see Rüdiger Schmitt, ‘Bemerkungen zu den Belegformen des Titels iran. *hazahrapati’, in Rudolf Macuch, et al. (eds.), Iranian Lan- guages and Texts from Iran and Turan: Ronald E. Emmerick Memorial Volume (Iranica, 13, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2007) pp. 355–364.

AramaicDownloaded Studies from Brill.com09/25/2021 16 (2018) 10–19 09:58:47PM via free access 15 רַזָגְּרַדֲא a (new) old iranian etymology for biblical aramaic from Old Iranian *hadārgāzar- in his review of the German רַזָגְּרַדֲא derivation of edition of Köhler and Baumgartner’s lexicon.18 However, Rundgren’s derivation faces difficulties just as Andreas’ does. Once again, if borrowed from an Old Iranian word with initial h, the Aramaic form should begin with he rather than ˀalep as is the case in other Old Iranian loans into Aramaic.19 Furthermore, there is no clear evidence for the existence of the root *gāzar- ‘to decide’ in Old Iranian, as indicated by its absence from the -could be considered a hybrid loan consist רַזָגְּרַדֲא standard lexicons. Even if ing of both an Old Iranian element and a native Semitic element, the yielded solution (‘one who decrees a thousand’) remains somewhat difficult semanti- cally.20 Finally, no evidence for the existence of the compound *hadārgāzar- presents itself from Old Iranian texts, cognates, or the Nebenüberlieferungen. .-should not be derived from an alleged *hadārgāzar רַזָגְּרַדֲא ,Thus

ādrangāžara- ‘Announcer of Financial* > ָגְרַדֲא ּ רַז :Toward a Solution 2.3 Obligation’ ,-from *hadārgāzar רַזָגְּרַדֲא In a brief footnote refuting Rundgren’s derivation of could רַזָגְּרַדֲא Oswald Szemerényi suggests that the first and second elements of be derived from Old Iranian *ādranga- and *āžara-, respectively.21 Unfortu- nately, Szemerényi never fully developed this suggestion, and it needs some רַזָגְּרַדֲא refinement to be viable. Accordingly, in what follows I will argue that is best derived from Old Iranian *ādrangāžara- ‘announcer of financial obliga- tion’, a compound of Old Iranian *ādranga- ‘financial obligation’ and *āžara- ‘announcer’. -is Old Iranian *ādranga- ‘financial obliga רַזָגְּרַדֲא The first component of tion’.22 It consists of the Old Iranian prefix ā- ‘to’ (cf. Old Persian and Avestan

18 Michael Sokoloff, ‘Hebräisches und aramäisches Lexikon zum AltenTestament, by L. Köhler and W. Baumgartner’, Dead Sea Discoveries 7 (2000), p. 81, book review. 19 Shaked, ‘Irano-Aramaica’, p. 168. 20 Oswald Szemerényi, ‘Iranica v (Nos. 59–70)’, in Monumentum H.S. Nyberg (2 vols., Acta Iranica, Deuxième série: Hommages et opera minora, 4, Tehran: Bibliothèque Pahlavi, 1975) p. 387. 21 Szemerényi, ‘Iranica v’, p. 387. Shaul Shaked follows Szemerényi in deriving the first com- ponent from *ādranga- but derives the second element from *āzār-, which he contends means ‘to oppress’ (‘Irano-Aramaica’, pp. 168–169). The problem with this derivation is that Old Iranian zar- means ‘to anger’ rather than ‘to oppress’ just as its Old Indic cognate hṛṇīté ‘to be angry’ does (Bartholomae, Altiranisches Wörterbuch, pp. 1669–1670). 22 On Old Iranian *ādranga-, see Hinz, Altiranisches Sprachgut der Nebenüberlieferungen, pp. 22–23; Jan Tavernier, Iranica in the Achaemenid Period (ca. 550–330b.c.): Lexicon of Old

Aramaic Studies 16 (2018) 10–19 Downloaded from Brill.com09/25/2021 09:58:47PM via free access 16 noonan

ā-23) and the root *dranga- ‘to fix, make firm’ (cf. Avestan drəṇj-24). This com- pound refers not to that which is physically attached to something, but to that which represents an obligation. This meaning is evident from cognates, which permit the reconstruction of an earlier nominal form in Old Iranian: Pahlavi ērang ‘blame, guilt’ reflects the notions of ‘conviction’ as well as ‘obligation’,25 Christian Sogdian ptžnq ‘pledge’ carries the sense of a financial obligation,26 and New Persian ādrang ‘exigency’ refers not only to financial obligation but to any kind of imposed demand and, by extension, grief or sorrow.27 The notion of financial responsibility is also found in Sanskrit as the compound avadranga- ‘earnest money’.28 , גנרדא Old Iranian *ādranga- is attested indirectly in Official Aramaic as which occurs in administrative texts from ancient Bactria (Khalili ia 5:4; 14:1) as well as the archives at Elephantine (tad b 3.10:18; 3.11:12; 3.12:27; 3.13:8–9; is an adjective meaning ‘obligated’,30 גנרדא In the texts from Bactria 29.(4.6:10 is a nomen agentis that refers to a גנרדא but in the texts from Elephantine

Iranian Proper Names and Loanwords Attested in Non-IranianTexts (Orientalia lovaniensia analecta, 158, Leuven: Peeters, 2007) p. 442. 23 Kent, Old Persian, p. 164; Christian Bartholomae, Altiranisches Wörterbuch (Berlin: de Gruyter, 2d ed., 1961) pp. 300–303. 24 Bartholomae, Altiranisches Wörterbuch, p. 772. The Iranian verb on which this word is based is *dranǰ-, which in turn derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *dregh- ‘to hold, fasten’ (Johnny Cheung, Etymological Dictionary of the Iranian Verb [Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series, 2, Leiden: Brill, 2007] p. 76; Helmut Rix and Martin Kümmel [eds.], Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben: Die Wurzeln und ihre Primärstammbildungen [Wiesbaden: Reichert, 2d ed., 2001] p. 126). 25 D.N. MacKenzie, A Concise Pahlavi Dictionary (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1971) p. 30; cf. Shaked, ‘Irano-Aramaica’, pp. 167–168. 26 Nicholas Sims-Williams, A Dictionary: Christian Sogdian, Syriac and English (Beiträge zur Iranistik, 41, Wiesbaden: Reichert, 2016) p. 158; cf. Martin Schwartz, ‘Studies in the Texts of the Sogdian Christians’ (Ph.D. diss., University of California Berkeley, 1967) p. 112. 27 Francis Joseph Steingass, A Comprehensive Persian-English Dictionary, Including the Arabic Words and Phrases to Be Met with in Persian Literature (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1892) p. 28; cf. Aḥmad Tafażżolī, ‘Notes pehlevies (i)’, ja 258 (1970), pp. 91–92. 28 Ilya Gershevitch, The Avestan Hymn to Mithra, with an Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (University of Cambridge Oriental Publications, 4, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1959) p. 267. 29 Jacob Hoftijzer and Karel Jongeling, Dictionary of the North-West Semitic Inscriptions (2 vols., Handbook of Oriental Studies, Section One: The Near and Middle East, 21, Leiden: Brill, 1995) p. 20; The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon, s.v. ‘ˀdrng’, http://cal1.cn.huc.edu/. 30 Joseph Naveh and Shaul Shaked (eds.), Aramaic Documents from Ancient Bactria (Fourth Century bce) from the Khalili Collections (London: Khalili Family Trust, 2012) p. 115.

AramaicDownloaded Studies from Brill.com09/25/2021 16 (2018) 10–19 09:58:47PM via free access 17 רַזָגְּרַדֲא a (new) old iranian etymology for biblical aramaic legal guarantor who participates in both creditor and debtor transactions.31 It is easy to see how an adjective meaning ‘obliged’ could come to be used as a substantive and even a nomen agentis, and the above-mentioned cognates clearly indicate that in Old Iranian this word could be used as a substantive meaning ‘financial obligation’. is Old Iranian *āžara- ‘announcer’. This רַזָגְּרַדֲא The second component of word is not explicitly attested in Old Iranian texts, but it is indirectly attested in Hesychius. He lists the word ἀζαραπατεῖς in his lexicon and glosses it as οἱ εἰσαγγελεῖς παρὰ Πέρσαις ‘the announcers with the Persians’ (Lexicon α1441).32 The otherwise-unattested Greek word ἀζαραπατεῖς is the plural form of the singular *ἀζαραπατις, which is best analysed as a compound consisting of *āžara- ‘announcer’ (cf. the element ἀζαρα-) and pati- ‘master’ (cf. the element -πατις).33 The first element may be connected with Avestan āgar- ‘to sing, proclaim’, which in turn can be traced back to the Proto-Indo-European root *gṷerH- ‘to express approval, welcome’.34 That the verb behind *āžara- could have the sense of ‘to welcome’ in Old Iranian is suggested not only by Hesychius’ gloss but also by Indo-European cognates such as Sanskrit gṝ-, which can mean both ‘to sing praise, honour’ and ‘to welcome’.35 In light of its two components, the resulting compound behind Biblical namely Old Iranian *ādrangāžara-, would mean ‘announcer , רַזָגְּרַדֲא Aramaic

31 Bezalel Porten and Jonas C. Greenfield, ‘The Guarantor at Elephantine-Syene’, jaos 89 (1969), pp. 153–157. 32 Kurt Latte, Peter Allan Hansen, and Ian C. Cunningham (eds.), HesychiiAlexandrinilexicon (4 vols., Sammlung griechischer und lateinischer Grammatiker, 11, Berlin: de Gruyter, 1953– 2009) p. 1:52. 33 Szemerényi, ‘Iranica v’, pp. 387–389; Philip Huyse, Die dreisprachige Inscript Šābuhrs i. an der Kaˁba-i Zarduš (škz) (2 vols., Corpus inscriptionum Iranicarum, 3/1, London: School of Oriental and African Studies, 1999) p. 134; cf. Claudia A. Ciancaglini, Iranian Loanwords in Syriac (Beiträge zur Iranistik, 28, Wiesbaden: Reichert, 2008) p. 161. Szemerényi persua- sively notes how *hazahrapati- ‘chiliarch’ and *āžarapati- ‘usher, court-announcer’ would have been distinct forms in Old Iranian but could both be represented as ἀζαραπατεῖς in Greek. He argues plausibly that Greek ἀζαραπατεῖς represents not *hazahrapati- as is commonly thought (e.g., Schmitt, ‘Titels iran. *hazahrapati’, p. 356), but *āžarapati. See Szemerényi, ‘Iranica v’, pp. 383–389. 34 Rix and Kümmel, Lexikon der indogermanischenVerben, pp. 210–211. On Avestan āgar-, see Bartholomae, Altiranisches Wörterbuch, p. 512. 35 Szemerényi, ‘Iranica v’, pp. 387–388; Thomas Burrow, ‘Sanskrit gṝ-/gur- “To Welcome”’, bsoas 20 (1957), pp. 142–144. On Sanskrit gṝ-, see Manfred Mayrhofer, Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen (3 vols., Indogermanische Bibliothek, 2. Reihe: Wörter- bücher, Heidelberg: Winter, 1986–2001) pp. 1:468–469.

Aramaic Studies 16 (2018) 10–19 Downloaded from Brill.com09/25/2021 09:58:47PM via free access 18 noonan of financial obligation’. It is difficult to specify the precise duties of this official because this compound does not actually occur in extant Old Iranian texts. However, because its donor term includes the component *ādranga-, which as noted above refers to financial obligations including creditor and debtor transactions, the financial official denoted by this term probably supervised loan, credit, and debt obligations. A word referring to a financial official like this suits the context of Dan 3:2– treasurer’ and therefore falls‘ רַבָדְגּ occurs just prior to רַזָגְּרַדֲא well in that 3 logically within the progression from political administration to finances to law evident in the lists of Nebuchadnezzar’s officials (Dan 3:2–3).36 The compound in רַזָגְּרַדֲא ādrangāžara- also explains the morphology of Biblical Aramaic* that the ˀalep represents an initial vowel, the dageš in the gimel probably represents (as dageš forte rather than dageš lene) the assimilated of the cluster -ng-,37 and the zayin represents medial ž.38 In sum, given its ability to explain both the expected contextual meaning and morphology of Old Iranian *ādrangāžara- remains the most plausible , רַזָגְּרַדֲא Biblical Aramaic . רַזָגְּרַדֲא explanation for the etymology of Biblical Aramaic

36 Cf. Shaked, ‘Irano-Aramaica’, p. 169. Daniel 3:27 references the officials mentioned in Dan Not only are the .( אָכְּלַמיֵרְבָדַּהְואָתָוֲחַפוּאָיַּנְגִסאָיַּנְפְּרַדְּשַׁחֲא ) but lists them differently 3–3:2 of a different kind semantically, Dan 3:27 separates יָתְּפִתּ and , רַבָתְדּ , רַזָגְּרַדֲא , רַבָדְגּ officials אָכְּלַמיֵרְבָדַּה in that they are together designated as הָחֶפּ and , ןַגְס , ןַפְּרַדְּשַׁחֲא them from (cf. Peter W. Coxon, ‘The ‘List’ Genre and Narrative Style in the Court Tales of Daniel’, can יָתְּפִתּ and רַבָתְדּ ,jsot 35 [1986], p. 98). Within this group of non-political officials should be paired with רַזָגְּרַדֲא be paired together semantically, perhaps indicating that is a רַזָגְּרַדֲא treasurer’. If so, this would provide additional contextual evidence that‘ רַבָדְגּ financial official. 37 Shaked, ‘Irano-Aramaica’, p. 169. If so, the vocalization of the first component, including the šewa under the reš, would perhaps be comparable to other foreign loans in the Hebrew ליִמְרַכּ ,.Bible that resolve a -initial consonant cluster in a similar-looking way (e.g .(-Old Iranian fratama > םָתְּרַפּ Old Indic *kṛmila- and > 38 The consonant ž is written with the j sign in Old Persian and was at the very least pronounced similarly to ǰ, if not an allophone of its same archiphoneme (Rüdiger Schmitt, ‘Old Persian’, in Roger D. Woodard [ed.], The Ancient Languages of Asia and the Americas [Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008] p. 82). Furthermore, Old Iranian ǰ is -Old Iranian *ǰamāna > ןַמְז represented as z in Aramaic and Elamite; e.g., Biblical Aramaic (Hinz, Altiranisches Sprachgut der Nebenüberlieferungen, pp. 142–143). So, the usage of zayin to represent Old Iranian ž presents no problems.

AramaicDownloaded Studies from Brill.com09/25/2021 16 (2018) 10–19 09:58:47PM via free access 19 רַזָגְּרַדֲא a (new) old iranian etymology for biblical aramaic

3 Conclusion

Despite the many advances that have taken place in our understanding of the Hebrew Bible’s Old Iranian loanwords, the donor terms of several words have -Dan. 3:2–3). Pro) רַזָגְּרַדֲא remained elusive. Among them is Biblical Aramaic posed Old Iranian etymologies for this word suffer from various phonological and semantic difficulties.Yet,a satisfactory Old Iranian etymology can be found is best derived from *ādrangāžara- ‘announcer רַזָגְּרַדֲא for it. Biblical Aramaic of financial obligation’, a compound of *ādranga- ‘financial obligation’ and רַזָגְּרַדֲא āžara- ‘announcer’. This etymology adequately explains the form of* represents a רַזָגְּרַדֲא and suits the context of Dan. 3:2–3, which indicates that financial official.

Aramaic Studies 16 (2018) 10–19 Downloaded from Brill.com09/25/2021 09:58:47PM via free access