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Dallas International University Thesis Approval Sheet This thesis, entitled An Evidence-Based Sociolinguistic Profile of Early Roman Israel Written byy LAM Esther and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts with major in Applied Linguistics has been read and approved by the undersigned members of the faculty of Dallas International University. Dr. Joshua Harper (Co-Supervising Professor) Dr. Peter E. Unseth (Co-Supervising Professor) Jollnme leh Dr. JoAnna M. Hoyt Mar / 2020 Date AN EVIDENCE-BASED SOCIOLINGUISTIC PROFILE OF EARLY ROMAN ISRAEL By LAM Esther Presented to the Faculty of Dallas International University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts with major in Applied Linguistics Dallas International University April 2020 ©2020 LAM Esther All Rights Reserved CERTIFICATE T acknowledge that use of copyrighted material in my thesis may place me under an obligation to the copyright owner, especially when use of such material exceeds usual fair use provisions. I hereby certify that I have obtained the written permission of the copyright owner for any and all such occurrences and that no portion of my thesis has been copyrighted previously unless properly referenced. I hereby agree to indemnify and hold harmless Dallas International University from any and all claims that may be asserted or that may arise from any copyright violation. Est La Signature S 2o 2 Date THESIS DUPLICATION RELEASE I hereby authorize the Dallas International University Library to duplicate this thesis when needed for research and/or scholarship. Agreed: Est Lan (student signature) Refused: (student signature) ABSTRACT An Evidence-Based Sociolinguistic Profile of Early Roman Israel LAM Esther Master of Arts with major in Applied Linguistics Dallas International University, April 2020 Supervising Professors: Dr. Joshua Harper and Dr. Peter E. Unseth The use of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek in the Land of Israel in the early Roman period (63 BC to AD 135) has been a topic of intensive scholarly interest for many decades. The aim of the present study is to use evidence to systematically portray the use of Classical Hebrew, Late Classical Hebrew, Middle Hebrew, Imperial Aramaic, Middle Aramaic, and Koine Greek in early Roman Israel. Through secondary literature, language use data are garnered from primary sources such as rabbinic traditions and written texts from the Judean Desert. The dates of the primary sources are carefully considered. The pieces of data are classified according to domains of language behavior. It is found that in many domains, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek were all used. Besides Aramaic and Greek, Hebrew was also used in non-religious domains, even outside Qumran. Language attitudes toward Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek are also investigated. In the conclusion, some implications for Bible translation and exegesis are discussed. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I deeply thank the three members of my thesis committee: Dr. Joshua Harper, Dr. Peter E. Unseth, and Dr. JoAnna M. Hoyt, for their excellent teaching, insightful comments, and patient assistance. Many thanks to all the staff of DIU, who have rendered essential help for students. My sincere gratitude also goes to all those who walked alongside me during my season of study, including new friends I have met at DIU, old buddies back home, and kindred souls now in different parts of the world. Your words and deeds of encouragement and love have been beautiful sources of strength and joy. I am also indebted to all the professors and teachers with whom I had the privilege to study with in DIU and other schools, who taught me about the Bible, Israel, Jewish traditions, Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and linguistics. Please accept my heartfelt appreciation. Last but not least, I thank my mother, who always encourages me. April 7, 2020 ix TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix LIST OF TABLES xvii LIST OF MAPS xix ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS xx 1 Introduction 1 1.1. The research question 1 1.2. Brief history of the Land of Israel, 63 BC to AD 135 6 1.3. The six codes 14 1.4. Thesis overview 15 2 Literature review 18 2.1. Aramaic and Greek 18 2.2. Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek 23 2.3. Conclusion 30 3 Methodological considerations 31 3.1. General method 31 3.2. Evidence-based 32 3.2.1. Not starting with any model 32 3.2.2. Evidence-based, not inference-based 33 3.2.3. NT calques are not evidence for Hebrew or Aramaic 34 3.3. Primary Sources 35 3.3.1. New Testament 35 3.3.2. Rabbinic traditions 35 3.3.2.1. Unusable rabbinic traditions for early Roman Israel 40 3.3.3. Written texts from the Judean Desert 46 3.3.3.1. Dead Sea Scrolls 46 3.3.3.2. Other written texts from the Judean Desert 48 xi 3.3.4. OT Pseudepigrapha and Apocrypha 49 3.3.5. Josephus 50 3.3.6. Inscriptions 51 3.3.7. Not included in the primary sources 54 3.4. Domains of language use 55 3.4.1. Education 63 3.4.1.1. At schools? 64 3.4.1.2. In synagogues? 68 3.4.1.3. By parents 70 3.4.1.4. Discipleship 73 3.4.1.5. Conclusion 74 3.4.2. Religion 75 3.5. How to classify the language of a word 78 3.5.1. Method 78 3.5.2. Tools 79 4 Preliminaries for Classifying Data 82 4.1. How to determine the language of a proper name 83 4.2. Loanwords between Hebrew and Aramaic 88 4.3. Code-Mixing 92 4.3.1. Repetition 95 4.3.2. Feature-level mixing 103 4.3.3. Word-level mixing 104 4.3.4. Sentence-level mixing 108 4.3.5. Paragraph-level mixing 109 4.3.6. Conclusion 111 4.4. Semitic words in the NT 112 4.4.1. Data and analysis 113 4.4.2. Summary 156 4.5. Were Hebrew and Aramaic thought to be the same language? 158 4.5.1. Same Language Theory 159 4.5.2. Different Languages Theory 163 4.5.3. Conclusion 166 5 The evidence of language use 167 5.1. Hebrew 169 xii 5.1.1. Classical Hebrew 169 5.1.1.1. Daily-life speech: Israel: Jews 169 5.1.1.2. Religion: daily life: Jews. 169 5.1.1.3. Religion with liturgy: Temple: Jews 171 5.1.1.4. Scripture: archive: Essenes 175 5.1.1.5. Scripture: archive: Jews. 176 5.1.1.6. Scripture: reading or use: Jews 178 5.1.2. Late Classical Hebrew 183 5.1.2.1. Community administration: Qumran: Essenes 183 5.1.2.2. Daily-life speech: Qumran: Essenes 184 5.1.2.3. Religious and ethical instruction:Israel: Jews 185 5.1.2.4. Religious laws: Qumran: Essenes 187 5.1.2.5. Religious narratives: reading or use: Jews 188 5.1.2.6. Religious poetry: reading or use: Essenes 188 5.1.2.7. Religion with liturgy: Qumran: Essenes 189 5.1.2.8. Scripture: reading or use: Jews. 189 5.1.3. Middle Hebrew 190 5.1.3.1. Any topic: Israel: God or angels 190 5.1.3.2. Daily-life speech: Israel: Jews 191 5.1.3.3. Daily-life writing: Israel: anyone 195 5.1.3.4. Funerary: inscriptions: anyone 199 5.1.3.5. Genealogies: Israel: Jews 201 5.1.3.6. Government administration: Israel: client kings 202 5.1.3.7. Government administration: Israel: Jewish 202 5.1.3.8. Government administration: Israel: Roman 206 5.1.3.9. Religion: daily life: Jews 206 5.1.3.10. Religion with liturgy: synagogue: Jews 208 5.1.3.11. Religion with liturgy: Temple: Jews 209 5.1.3.12. Religious administration: Temple: Jews 210 5.1.3.13. Religious and ethical instruction: Israel: Jews 214 5.1.3.14. Religious narratives: composing: Jews 215 5.1.3.15. Religious laws: Israel: Jews 217 5.1.3.16. Religious laws: Qumran: Essenes 218 5.1.3.17. Written acknowledgments about property 219 xiii 5.1.3.18. Written declarations 221 5.1.3.19. Written declarations’ subscriptions 222 5.2. Aramaic 222 5.2.1. Imperial Aramaic 222 5.2.1.1. Religious laws: Israel: Jews. 222 5.2.1.2. Religious narratives: reading or use: Jews 223 5.2.1.3. Scripture: archive: Essenes 223 5.2.1.4. Scripture: reading or use: Jews. 224 5.2.1.5. Written acknowledgments about marriage 224 5.2.2. Middle Aramaic 225 5.2.2.1. Any topic: Israel: God or angels 225 5.2.2.2. Community administration: Israel: Jews. 226 5.2.2.3. Daily-life speech: Israel: Jews 226 5.2.2.4. Daily-life writing: Israel: anyone 227 5.2.2.5. Funerary: inscriptions: anyone 229 5.2.2.6. Government administration: Israel: Jewish 231 5.2.2.7. History books: composing: Jews 231 5.2.2.8. Letters: various settings: lay people 232 5.2.2.9. Religion: daily life: Jews 232 5.2.2.10. Religious administration: Temple: Jews. 233 5.2.2.11. Religious and ethical instruction: Israel: Jews. 233 5.2.2.12. Religious narratives: reading or use: Jews 234 5.2.2.13. Religious narratives: composing: Jews 234 5.2.2.14. Scripture: reading or use: Jews 234 5.2.2.15. Written acknowledgments about marriage. 235 5.2.2.16. Written acknowledgments about property 235 5.2.2.17. Written declarations 237 5.2.2.18. Written declarations’ subscriptions 237 5.3. Koine Greek 237 5.3.1. Community administration: Israel: Gentiles.