Copyright © 2014 Richard Charles Mcdonald All Rights Reserved. The
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Copyright © 2014 Richard Charles McDonald All rights reserved. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has permission to reproduce and disseminate this document in any form by any means for purposes chosen by the Seminary, including, without, limitation, preservation or instruction. GRAMMATICAL ANALYSIS OF VARIOUS BIBLICAL HEBREW TEXTS ACCORDING TO A TRADITIONAL SEMITIC GRAMMAR __________________ A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary __________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy __________________ by Richard Charles McDonald December 2014 APPROVAL SHEET GRAMMATICAL ANALYSIS OF VARIOUS BIBLICAL HEBREW TEXTS ACCORDING TO A TRADITIONAL SEMITIC GRAMMAR Richard Charles McDonald Read and Approved by: __________________________________________ Russell T. Fuller (Chair) __________________________________________ Terry J. Betts __________________________________________ John B. Polhill Date______________________________ I dedicate this dissertation to my wife, Nancy. Without her support, encouragement, and love I could not have completed this arduous task. I also dedicate this dissertation to my parents, Charles and Shelly McDonald, who instilled in me the love of the Lord and the love of His Word. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.............................................................................................vi LIST OF TABLES.............................................................................................................vii PREFACE.........................................................................................................................viii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................1 Thesis..................................................................................................................3 Methodology.......................................................................................................3 History of Research ............................................................................................4 Arabic and Biblical Hebrew Grammar.......................................................4 Early Jewish grammarians .................................................................5 Christian grammarians .....................................................................10 Arabic as the paradigm for biblical Hebrew grammar.....................15 Akkadian, Ugaritic, and Biblical Hebrew Grammar................................18 Akkadian..........................................................................................18 Ugaritic ............................................................................................20 Influence on Hebrew Grammar .......................................................22 Akkadian and Ugaritic as a paradigm for biblical Hebrew grammar ..................................................24 iv Chapter Page Modern Linguistics and Biblical Hebrew Grammar ................................25 Modern linguistic monographs ........................................................27 Modern linguistics and biblical Hebrew grammars .........................30 The influence of modern linguistics on biblical Hebrew grammar ...................................................35 Modern linguistics as a paradigm for biblical Hebrew grammar ........................................................39 Conclusion ........................................................................................................40 2. GRAMMATICAL ANALYSES AND METHODOLOGICAL COMPARISONS BASED ON GENESIS 2:1-25.................................................41 Grammatical Analysis.......................................................................................41 Conclusion ........................................................................................................87 3. GRAMMATICAL ANALYSES AND METHODOLOGICAL COMPARISONS BASED ON GENESIS 3:1-24.................................................89 Grammatical Analysis.......................................................................................89 Conclusion ......................................................................................................130 4. GRAMMATICAL ANALYSES AND METHODOLOGICAL COMPARISONS BASED ON RUTH 1:1-22 ....................................................132 Grammatical Analysis.....................................................................................132 Conclusion ......................................................................................................180 5. CONCLUSION...................................................................................................181 Appendix 1. EXCURSUS: GEOFFREY KHAN’S USE OF COMPARATIVE SEMITICS TO DEFEND THE COPULA PRONOUN THEORY........................................185 2. EXCURSUS: JOHN A. COOK’S VIEW OF THE PARTICIPLE......................195 3. RESPONSES TO THE EXTERNAL READER.................................................203 v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS BDB F. Brown, S. R. Driver, and C. A. Briggs. Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. 1906. Reprint; Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2000. LXX Septuagint NAV New Arabic Version NENA North Eastern Neo-Aramaic dialect group NJPS Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures: The New JPS Translation according to the Traditional Hebrew Text S-V Subject-followed-by-verb clause TB Babylonian Talmud V-S Verb-followed-by-subject clause 1cs First person common singular 1cp First person common plural 2ms Second person masculine singular 2mp Second person masculine plural 2fs Second person feminine singular 2fp Second person feminine plural 3ms Third person masculine singular 3mp Third person masculine plural 3fs Third person feminine singular 3fp Third person feminine plural 3cp Third person common plural vi LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Longacre’s verbal ranking scheme for narrative texts...............................................36 2. Accentual pattern in casus pendens ...........................................................................79 3. Accentual pattern of the appositional phrase in Ruth 1:2a ......................................145 A1. Abridgment of Khan’s present copula and present tense verb conjugations ........186 A2. Abridgment of Khan’s pronominal paradigm for Ṭuroyo and modern Mandaic..187 A3. Casus pendens construction of Murūj al-đahab III, 16.9 .....................................190 vii PREFACE I would like to express my thanks to Dr. Russell Fuller for his guidance in this project. His extensive knowledge of the biblical languages and his insightful help with Arabic served as an invaluable resource to me. I am also tremendously grateful for the time I was his Garrett Fellow. Serving as his assistant afforded me many opportunities to observe how he studies and teaches the biblical languages. Several individuals have played an important role in this process. My esteemed brother in Christ, Beau Hutchinson, has always been available to listen to me, to encourage me, or to simply watch college football. My pastor from Louisiana, Bro. Jerry White, has never ceased to drive me back to the Word and has constantly reminded me of the bigger picture. I’m thankful to have sat under his teaching in my formative years. I will always be grateful for Ryan Paulson, my general manager at J. Alexander’s Restaurant, where I served as the Administrative Assistant for many years. His flexibility and willingness to work around my schooling made my life easier. Moreover, the skills I learned while working at the restaurant are skills I will take with me in the ministry. I am also thankful for Ihab Griess and Scott Bridger, who provided valuable assistance in understanding the Arabic language. I would also like to thank my in-laws, Larry and Carol Hurley. They have encouraged me in my studies and have made my time in school easier. Moreover, they have always offered a helping hand. In prepping our new house, fixing minor car problems, welcoming our foster child, they were available and have helped reduce my stress. Our visits to their Tennessee home have always been refreshing and relaxing. I could not even have thought of entering this program without my family. My viii mother and father, Charles and Shelly McDonald, instilled in me and my siblings the values of hard work and discipline early in life. They would not allow us to settle for half-way. I remember that as a small child I would observe my dad taking diligent notes in church; this example instilled in me a desire to be an active listener of the Word and not simply passive. My mom, who led my brother and me to Christ, has always reminded me of the simple trust in God and His Word. Although we have always tried to be distinct from one another, I will always be proud of studying at SBTS alongside my twin brother, Danny. And our sister, Kelly, who always knew how to push my buttons, has always taught me unconditional love. I would be remiss if I failed to mention my sister-in-law, Angie, and my brother-in-law, Allan. And of course, mention should always be made of the best nieces and nephew a PhD candidate could ask for: Maddie, Libby, Emma, Sophie, and Evan. Kendall, our foster child, certainly deserves gratitude. Although she was in our home for such a short time, Nancy and I are forever thankful that she was part of our family. She brought much joy and happiness to our home, and she is sorely missed. We pray for