DOCSLIB.ORG

Intermediate Biblical Hebrew Grammar

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Intermediate Biblical Hebrew Grammar INTERMEDIATE BIBLICAL HEBREW GRAMMAR Press SBL R ESOURCES FOR BIBLICAL STUDY Editor Marvin A. Sweeney, Old Testament/Hebrew Bible Number 89 Press SBL INTERMEDIATE BIBLICAL HEBREW GRAMMAR A Student’s Guide to Phonology and Morphology E ric D. Reymond Press SBL Atlanta C opyright © 2018 by E ric D. Reymond A ll rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by means of any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permit- ted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed in writing to the Rights and Permissions Office,S BL Press, 825 Hous- ton Mill Road, Atlanta, GA 30329 USA. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Reymond, Eric D., author. Title: Intermediate biblical Hebrew grammar : a student’s guide to phonology and mor- phology / by Eric D. Reymond. Description: Atlanta : SBL Press, [2017] | Series: Resources for biblical study ; number 89 | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers:LCCN 2017037103 (print) | LCCN 2017037346 (ebook) | ISBN 9780884142492 (ebook) | ISBN 9781628371895 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780884142508 (hardcover : alk. paper) Subjects: Hebrew language—Phonology. | Hebrew language—Morphology. Classification: LCC PJ4576 (ebook) | LCC PJ4576 .R49 2017 (print) | DDC 492.45/9— dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017037103 Press Printed on acid-free paper. SBL T o Robin, Lucy, and Oliver ἀρχὴ γὰρ αὐτῆς ἡ ἀληθεστάτη παιδείας ἐπιθυμία “The beginning of wisdom is open yearning for instruction” (Wis 6:17). Press SBL Press SBL C ontents A cknowledgments ............................................................................................xi Abbreviations ................................................................................................. xiii List of Tables ....................................................................................................xix Preface: Transliteration, Etymological Bases, and Basic Terms...................1 1. Introduction ................................................................................................9 1.1. What Is Biblical Hebrew? 9 1.2. Varieties of Ancient Hebrew 13 2. Phonology of Ancient Hebrew: Consonants ........................................17 2.1. Classical and Tiberian Biblical Hebrew Consonants 17 2.2. Begadkepat 20 2.3. Classical Hebrew /ḫ/, /ġ/, /ś/ 23 2.4. Pronunciation of Gutturals 29 2.5. Proto-Semitic/Proto-Northwest Semitic /ṯ/, /ḏ/, //, // 29 2.6. Proto-Semitic/Proto-Northwest Semitic /w/ 37 2.7. Correspondences between Weak Roots 38 2.8. Correspondences between Roots with Similarly Articulated Consonants 43 2.9. Correspondences between Etymologically Unrelated Roots 48 2.10. Variation of Orthography and Pronunciation within Roots and Words Press 57 2.11. Chapter Summary 58 3. Phonology of Ancient Hebrew: Vowels ....................................................61 3.1. Tiberian Biblical Hebrew Vowels 65 3.2. Classical Biblical Hebrew Vowels 70 3.3. DevelopmentsSBL of Individual Vowels 72 viii CONTENTS 3.4. Lengthening and Lowering of Vowels in Tonic Syllables 79 3.5. Lengthening of Pretonic */i/ and */a/ and the Place of Stress 82 3.6. Vowel Reduction 85 3.7. “Attenuation” and Similar Changes 90 3.8. “Philippi’s Law” and Similar Changes 94 3.9. Canaanite Shift nda Historical */ā/ 96 3.10. Loss of Final Short Vowels 99 3.11. Feminine Singular *-at > *-ā 100 3.12. Triphthongs and Diphthongs 100 3.13. Compensatory Lengthening 104 3.14. Epenthesis 109 3.15. Loss of Gemination and Shewa 110 3.16. Qamets in the Tiberian Hebrew Tradition and Earlier Vowels 110 3.17. Pausal Forms 111 3.18. Chapter Summary 112 4. Morphology of Ancient Hebrew: The Noun ..........................................115 4.1. Morphology of the Hebrew Noun 115 4.2. Case and Number in Second-Millennium Northwest Semitic 116 4.3. Noun Patterns 122 4.4. Inflection of Basic Masculine and Feminine Nouns 123 4.5. Peculiarities of Some Possessive Suffixes 127 4.6. Biconsonantal Bases 129 4.7. Nouns of the *Qatul and *Qatāl Bases 132 4.8. Nouns of the *Qutul, *Qitāl, and *Qutāl Bases 132 4.9. Nouns of the *Qātil Base 134 4.10. Other Nouns with Long Vowels (without Gemination) 135 4.11. Nouns with Three Root Consonants, One of Which Is Geminated 136 4.12. Aleph-, Yod-, Mem-, and Tav-PreformativePress Nouns 139 4.13. Nouns with Afformatives 142 4.14. I-Aleph, I-Nun, and I-Vav/Yod Nouns 144 4.15. II-Vav/Yod Nouns 144 4.16. III-Vav/Yod Nouns 145 4.17. Geminate Nouns with One Vowel in The Stem 146 4.18. Segolate Nouns 148 4.19. SuppletiveSBL Plurals and Co nstruct Forms in Nouns 157 CONTENTS ix 4.20. Aramaic-Like Forms 158 4.21. Chapter Summary 158 5. Morphology of Ancient Hebrew: The Verb ...........................................163 5.1. Terms for the Verb 163 5.2. History of the Verbal Forms 166 5.3. Verb with Object Suffixes 178 5.4. Verbs in the Non-Qal Conjugations: General Comments 181 5.5. Verbs in the Non-Qal Conjugations: Passive Qal 183 5.6. Verbs in the Non-Qal Conjugations: Piel 184 5.7. Verbs in the Non-Qal Conjugations: Hiphil 186 5.8. Verbs in the Non-Qal Conjugations: Niphal 190 5.9. Verbs in the Non-Qal Conjugations: Pual and Hophal 191 5.10. Verbs in the Non-Qal Conjugations: Hithpael and Hishtaphel 191 5.11. Verbs in the Non-Qal Conjugations: Polel, Pilpel, Poel, Polal, Pilpal, and Poal 193 5.12. Weak Roots: General Comments 194 5.13. Weak Roots: Gutturals and I-Nun 195 5.14. Weak Roots: I-Vav/Yod 198 5.15. Weak Roots: II-Vav/Yod 200 5.16. Weak Roots: III-Vav/Yod 203 5.17. Weak Roots: Geminate 208 5.18. Aramaic and Aramaic-Like Forms 213 5.19. Chapter Summary 213 6. Charts of Nouns and Verbs ......................................................................217 Appendix: Producing Nominal and Verbal Forms ...................................265 Producing Nominal Forms 265 Producing Plural Nouns 265 Producing Masculine Nouns with Press(Most) Suffixes 270 Producing the Construct Form of Nouns 275 and -כֶ ן and -כֶ ם Producing Masculine Singular Nouns with 278 -הֶ ן ,-הֶ ם and -כֶ ן ,-כֶ ם Masculine Plural Nouns with Producing Feminine Nouns with Suffixes 279 Producing the Qåṭal Verb Form 280 Producing the Wəqåṭal Verb Form 283 ProducingSBL the Yiqṭol Verb Form 283 x CONTENTS Producing the Short-Yiqṭol and Wayyiqṭol Verb Forms 283 Producing the Imperative 284 Summary for Producing Verbal Forms 285 Bibliography ...................................................................................................289 Ancient Sources Index ..................................................................................299 Author Index ..................................................................................................311 Word Index .....................................................................................................314 Press SBL A cknowledgments The initial draft of this book was written during a professional develop- ment leave that I was granted in the spring of 2015. It is in large part due to this leave that I have been able to complete this project in a relatively short time. The present book has its roots in handouts prepared for dif- ferent classes I have taught here at Yale Divinity School, including a class in historical Hebrew grammar. I would like to thank the students in my classes for their help in spotting errors of different kinds and in suggesting alternative ways of presenting the material. Their suggestions have helped me make the information in the book easier to read and understand. The numerous symbols that I have used and my idiosyncratic transliteration of Hebrew has, no doubt, added to the burden of producing the book. Therefore, I wish also to thank the team at SBL for putting the book into a form that will make its material accessible, if not also easy to use. My colleagues here at YDS and beyond have also been of assistance in ways they perhaps did not perceive. I have learned much about Hebrew and its texts from my conversations with them, including with Joel Baden, Hindy Najman, Jean-Sébastien Rey, Jan Joosten, and Samuel Adams. My parents have been a constant source of encouragement for this work, as well as for all my other projects; they seemed sometimes more anxious than I to see the book completed. My wife and children deserve the ultimate thanks. Their contribution to this work was not only in their patient acceptance at my periodic absence but also in the genuine interest they expressed in the topic of the work itself and in its steadyPress progress. SBL-xi - Press SBL A bbreviations Grammatical Abbreviations 1cp first common plural 1cs first common singular 2fp second feminine plural 2fs second feminine singular 2mp second masculine plural 2ms second masculine singular 3fp third feminine plural 3fs third feminine singular 3mp third masculine plural 3ms third masculine singular abs. absolute acc. accusative adj(s). adjective(s) Aram. Aramaic cohort. cohortative const. construct state du. dual esp. especially fem. feminine fp feminine plural fs feminine singular Press gen. genitive impv. imperative inf(s). infinitive(s) intrans. intransitive l(l). line(s) masc. masculine mp masculine plural SBL-xiii - xiv ABEITB R V A IONS ms masculine singular nom. nominative pl. plural ptc(s). participle(s) sg. singular spec. specifically suf. suffix trans. transitive Other Abbreviations AfAsL Afroasiatic Linguistics AfO Archive für Orientforschung
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Structure and Meaning in Lamentations Homer Heater Liberty University, [email protected]
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Liberty University Digital Commons Liberty University DigitalCommons@Liberty University Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary and Graduate Faculty Publications and Presentations School 1992 Structure and Meaning in Lamentations Homer Heater Liberty University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/lts_fac_pubs Part of the Biblical Studies Commons, Comparative Methodologies and Theories Commons, Ethics in Religion Commons, History of Religions of Eastern Origins Commons, History of Religions of Western Origin Commons, Other Religion Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Heater, Homer, "Structure and Meaning in Lamentations" (1992). Faculty Publications and Presentations. Paper 283. http://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/lts_fac_pubs/283 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary and Graduate School at DigitalCommons@Liberty University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications and Presentations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Liberty University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Structure and Meaning in Lamentations Homer Heater, Jr. Professor of Bible Exposition Dallas Theological Seminary, Dallas, Texas Lamentations is perhaps the best example in the Bible of a com­ bination of divine inspiration and human artistic ability. The depth of pathos as the writer probed the suffering of Zion and his own suf­ fering is unprecedented. Each chapter is an entity in itself, a com­ plete poem.1 The most obvious literary device utilized by the poet is the acrostic; that is, poems are built around the letters of the alpha­ bet.
    [Show full text]
  • Hebrew Aleph-Bet and Letter As Numbers
    Hebrew Aleph-Bet and Letter as Numbers Letter Name in Hebrew Keyboard Letter Number Value aleph or alef t 1 bet (& vet) c 2 gimel or gimmel d 3 dalet s 4 hey or heh v 5 vav u 6 zayin z 7 chet or khet j 8 tet y 9 yud or yod h 10 kaf f 20 lamed k 30 mem n 40 nun b 50 samech or samekh x 60 ayin g 70 pey or peh (& fey) p 80 tzadi or tsadi m 90 kuf e 100 resh r 200 shin a 300 tav , (comma) 400 kaf sofit l mem sofit o nun sofit i fey sofit ; (semi-colon) tzadi sofit . (period) NOTE: the above English keyboard letter for the Hebrew letters are for the standard Hebrew keyboard. There are Hebrew fonts floating around that are non-standard. The sofit letters sound the same as the normal letters, but are used when they are the last letter in a word. For Bible code purposes. the regular letter and final letter are fully equivalent. In other words, in the code, a nun sofit could appear in the middle of a valid term and the regular letter nun could be at the end of a word. (discussion of numbers on the next page) If the Hebrew letters only go to 400, how can you look for higher number in the Bible code, like the year 1998 (5758)? When you have numbers over 1000, you use the thousands letter as a digit. For example, 1561 would start out with “aleph” which is 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Torah from JTS Worship, JTS
    Exploring Prayer :(בלה תדובע) Service of the Heart This week’s column was written by Rabbi Samuel Barth, senior lecturer in Liturgy and Torah from JTS Worship, JTS. Simhat Torah: Which Way When the Circle Ends Bereishit 5774 The annual celebration of Simhat Torah brings great joy to so many of us of all generations, and it is a fitting and triumphant conclusion to the long and multifaceted season of intense Jewish observance and focus that began (a little before Rosh Hashanah) with Selichot. In Israel and in congregations observing a single day of festivals, Simhat Torah is blended with Shemini Atzeret, offering the intense experience in the morning of Hallel, Hakkafot (processions with dancing) and Geshem (the prayer for Rain). At the morning service of Simhat Torah there are four linked biblical readings (three from the Parashah Commentary Torah), and the relationship among them invites us to think about the flow of sacred text in a multidimensional context. The first reading is Vezot HaBrakha, the last chapters of Deuteronomy This week’s commentary was written by Dr. David Marcus, professor of Bible, containing the final blessings from Moses to the community—and the account of the death of Moses, alone with God on Mount Nebo. To receive the final aliyah after everyone else present JTS. has been called to the Torah is considered a great honor, and the person with this honor is called up with a special formula (a short version is presented in Siddur Sim Shalom for Shabbat Bereishit with a Capital Bet and Festivals, 215) that affirms, “May it be the will of the One Most Powerful to grant abundant blessings to [insert the name of the one called] who has been chosen to complete the Torah.” With this week’s parashah, we once again commence the cycle of reading the Torah from the first chapter of Genesis, which begins with the Hebrew word bereishit.
    [Show full text]
  • ב Bet ה Heh ו Vav ט Tet י Yod ך מ Mem ם
    Exercise 1A: Writing the Hebrew Square Script Using the examples at the right, practice writing out the Hebrew characters on the lines provided for you. Be sure to accurately reflect the position of the letter in relation to the base line. Boxes are used to indicate final forms. Letter Name aleph א aleph bet ב bet gimel ג gimel dalet ד dalet heh ה heh vav ו vav zayin ז zayin .het ח ḥet tet ט tet yod י kaph כ yod ך kaph final kaph lamed ל mem מ lamed ם mem 3 Exercise 1A: Writing tHe Hebrew SquAre Script final mem Letter Name nun נ ן nun final nun samek ס samek ayin ע pe פ ayin ף pe final pe tsade צ ץ tsade final tsade qoph ק qoph resh ר resh שׂ sin sin shin ׁש shin tav ת tav NAme: __________________________________________________ Exercise 1A: Writing tHe Hebrew SquAre Script 4 Exercise 1B: Reading Proper Names In this exercise you will practice identifying the Hebrew consonants by reading familiar proper names. Write the English name in the space to the left of the Hebrew name. Since the alphabet has no vowels, you will have to provide vowel sounds to recognize each word. Start by trying an “a” vowel between each con- sonant. The “a” vowel is the most common vowel in Hebrew and, while it will not always be the correct one, it should help you recognize these names. לבן Laban יעקב אסתר אברהם עבדיה יצחק יחזקאל יׂשראל דוד רבקה נחמיה נבכדנאזר ירבעם ירדן מרדכי מׁשה דברה גלית יׁשמעאל עׂשו 5 Exercise 1B: ReAding Proper NAmes Exercise 1C: Hebrew Cursive (Optional) Using the examples shown, practice writing out the cursive Hebrew characters on the lines provided for you.
    [Show full text]
  • Attitudes Towards Linguistic Diversity in the Hebrew Bible
    Many Peoples of Obscure Speech and Difficult Language: Attitudes towards Linguistic Diversity in the Hebrew Bible The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Power, Cian Joseph. 2015. Many Peoples of Obscure Speech and Difficult Language: Attitudes towards Linguistic Diversity in the Hebrew Bible. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:23845462 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA MANY PEOPLES OF OBSCURE SPEECH AND DIFFICULT LANGUAGE: ATTITUDES TOWARDS LINGUISTIC DIVERSITY IN THE HEBREW BIBLE A dissertation presented by Cian Joseph Power to The Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the subject of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts August 2015 © 2015 Cian Joseph Power All rights reserved. Dissertation Advisor: Professor Peter Machinist Cian Joseph Power MANY PEOPLES OF OBSCURE SPEECH AND DIFFICULT LANGUAGE: ATTITUDES TOWARDS LINGUISTIC DIVERSITY IN THE HEBREW BIBLE Abstract The subject of this dissertation is the awareness of linguistic diversity in the Hebrew Bible—that is, the recognition evident in certain biblical texts that the world’s languages differ from one another. Given the frequent role of language in conceptions of identity, the biblical authors’ reflections on language are important to examine.
    [Show full text]
  • Epigraphic Notes on the 'Amman Citadel Inscription
    7 Epigraphic Notes on the 'Amman Citadel Inscription [1969] In 1969 Professor Siegfried H. Hom published the tury BCE, in the inscription of King Yaril).<azar4 of Beth important Ammonite inscription from the citadel of an­ <Ammon, as well as sporadically in contemporary and cient Rabbath <Ammon, modem <Amman. 1 We wish to later Aramaic. However, the same simplified f:,,et is found comment (I) on the script of the inscription and its date, in the Mesha< Inscription regularly and appears not infre­ and (II) on certain of the readings in the text. quently in Hebrew scripts of the eighth (Samaria Ostraca) and seventh centuries BCE (the Yabneh-yam Inscrip­ I. tion). 5 $ade is unique. The long leg is characteristic of The script of the <Amman Citadel Inscription be­ ninth-century Aramaic, eighth-century Phoenician. 6 longs to the series of Aramaic lapidary scripts of the 1Alep in the <Ammonite script has most archaic traits. ninth century BCE. It shares with these scripts a number The downstroke breaks only a short distance through the of traits which differentiate them from contemporary lower horizontal. Elsewhere such forms are characteristic Phoenician (including the early Hebrew scripts of Gezer only of the tenth-century and earlier Phoenician texts, and the Moabite Stone). The tail (right down-stroke) of and in the ninth century, uniquely in the 1aleps of the dalet is already developed; it will develop more slowly in Honeyman and Nora Phoenician texts. The vertical Phoenician and Hebrew. The letter he in the <Amman in­ downstroke slants well to the right of the point of the hor­ scription tends to a rounded semicursive Aramaic form.
    [Show full text]
  • Technical Reference Manual for the Standardization of Geographical Names United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names
    ST/ESA/STAT/SER.M/87 Department of Economic and Social Affairs Statistics Division Technical reference manual for the standardization of geographical names United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names United Nations New York, 2007 The Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat is a vital interface between global policies in the economic, social and environmental spheres and national action. The Department works in three main interlinked areas: (i) it compiles, generates and analyses a wide range of economic, social and environmental data and information on which Member States of the United Nations draw to review common problems and to take stock of policy options; (ii) it facilitates the negotiations of Member States in many intergovernmental bodies on joint courses of action to address ongoing or emerging global challenges; and (iii) it advises interested Governments on the ways and means of translating policy frameworks developed in United Nations conferences and summits into programmes at the country level and, through technical assistance, helps build national capacities. NOTE The designations employed and the presentation of material in the present publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The term “country” as used in the text of this publication also refers, as appropriate, to territories or areas. Symbols of United Nations documents are composed of capital letters combined with figures. ST/ESA/STAT/SER.M/87 UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATION Sales No.
    [Show full text]
  • Language of the Old Testament: Biblical Hebrew “The Holy Tongue”
    E-ISSN 2281-4612 Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies Vol 4 No 1 ISSN 2281-3993 MCSER Publishing, Rome-Italy March 2015 Language of the Old Testament: Biblical Hebrew “The Holy Tongue” Associate Professor Luke Emeka Ugwueye Department of Religion & Human Relations, Faculty of Arts, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, PMB 5025, Awka- Anambra State, Nigeria Email: [email protected] phone - 08067674763 Doi:10.5901/ajis.2015.v4n1p129 Abstract Some kind of familiarity with the structure and thought pattern of biblical Hebrew language enhances translation and improved ways of working with the language needed by students of Old Testament. That what the authors of the Scripture say also has meaning for us today is not in doubt but they did not express themselves primarily for us or in our language, and so it requires training on our part to understand them in their own language. The features of biblical Hebrew as combined in the language’s use of imagery and picturesque description of things are of huge assistance in this training exercise for a better operational knowledge of the language and meaning of Hebrew Scripture. Keywords: Language, Old Testament, Biblical Hebrew, Holy Tongue 1. Introduction Hebrew language is the language of the culture, religion and civilization of the Jewish people since ancient times. It belongs to the northwest ancient Semitic family of languages. The word Semitic, according to Kitchen (1992) is formed from the name Shem, Noah’s eldest son (Genesis 5:32). It is an adjective derived from ‘Shem’ meaning a member of any of the group of people speaking Akkadian, Phoenician, Punic, Aramaic, and especially Hebrew, Modern Hebrew and Arabic language.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Download
    Judaica Librarianship Volume 9 Number 1–2 17-28 12-31-1995 Climbing Benjacob's Ladder: An Evaluation of Vinograd's Thesaurus of the Hebrew Book Roger S. Kohn Library of Congress, Washington, DC, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://ajlpublishing.org/jl Part of the Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, Information Literacy Commons, Jewish Studies Commons, and the Reading and Language Commons Recommended Citation Kohn, Roger S.. 1995. "Climbing Benjacob's Ladder: An Evaluation of Vinograd's Thesaurus of the Hebrew Book." Judaica Librarianship 9: 17-28. doi:10.14263/2330-2976.1178. , Association of Jewish Libraries, 30th Annual Convention, Chicago '.! I APPROBATIONS Climbing -Benjacob's Ladder: An Evaluation of Vinograd's Thesaurus of the Hebrew Book* Rogers.Kohn Stanford University Libraries Stanford, CA [Vinograd, Yeshayahu. Otsar ha-sefer ha '/vri: reshimat ha-sefarim she­ :,~yn ,.!>t,n ,~lN •ln,yw, ,,,n:m nidpesu be-ot '/vrit me­ 11,~y nuo W.!rTlWc,,.non 1ltl'W1 , reshit ha-def us ha- '/vri bi-shenat 229 (1469) 'ad· ""!:nmvr.i ~Yn Ol.!rTn 11,wNitl shenat 623 (186~. :c,~wl,, .(1863) l"!:>111nlW ;y C1469) Yerushalayim: ha-Makhon ,mwmtltl m.nill'~~~ 1l~tln le-bibliyografyah .n"lW1l·i"lW1l memuhshevet, 754-5, c1993-1995]. Vinograd, Yeshayahu. Abstract: The Thesaurus of the Hebrew The foremost French bibliographer of the Thesaurus of the Hebrew Book, by Yeshayahu Vinograd, is re­ previous generation, Louise-Noelle Malcles viewed in the context of both general (1899-1977), defines the term bibliography Book: Listing of Books bibliography and of general Hebraica thus: printed in Hebrew Letters bibliography.
    [Show full text]
  • Saudi Dialects: Are They Endangered?
    Academic Research Publishing Group English Literature and Language Review ISSN(e): 2412-1703, ISSN(p): 2413-8827 Vol. 2, No. 12, pp: 131-141, 2016 URL: http://arpgweb.com/?ic=journal&journal=9&info=aims Saudi Dialects: Are They Endangered? Salih Alzahrani Taif University, Saudi Arabia Abstract: Krauss, among others, claims that languages will face death in the coming centuries (Krauss, 1992). Austin (2010a) lists 7,000 languages as existing and spoken in the world today. Krauss estimates that this figure could come down to 600. That is, most the world's languages are endangered. Therefore, an endangered language is a language that loses her speakers within a few generations. According to Dorian (1981), there is what is called ―tip‖ in language endangerment. He argues that a language's decline can start slowly but suddenly goes through a rapid decline towards the extinction. Thus, languages must be protected at much earlier stage. Arabic dialects such as Zahrani Spoken Arabic (ZSA), and Faifi Spoken Arabic (henceforth, FSA), which are spoken in the southern region of Saudi Arabia, have not been studied, yet. Few people speak these dialects, among many other dialects in the same region. However, the problem is that most these dialects' native speakers are moving to other regions in Saudi Arabia where they use other different dialects. Therefore, are these dialects endangered? What other factors may cause its endangerment? Have they been documented before? What shall we do? This paper discusses three main different points regarding this issue: language and endangerment, languages documentation and description and Arabic language and its family, giving a brief history of Saudi dialects comparing their situation with the whole existing dialects.
    [Show full text]
  • The Hebrew-Jewish Disconnection
    Bridgewater State University Virtual Commons - Bridgewater State University Master’s Theses and Projects College of Graduate Studies 5-2016 The eH brew-Jewish Disconnection Jacey Peers Follow this and additional works at: http://vc.bridgew.edu/theses Part of the Reading and Language Commons Recommended Citation Peers, Jacey. (2016). The eH brew-Jewish Disconnection. In BSU Master’s Theses and Projects. Item 32. Available at http://vc.bridgew.edu/theses/32 Copyright © 2016 Jacey Peers This item is available as part of Virtual Commons, the open-access institutional repository of Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, Massachusetts. THE HEBREW-JEWISH DISCONNECTION Submitted by Jacey Peers Department of Graduate Studies In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Bridgewater State University Spring 2016 Content and Style Approved By: ___________________________________________ _______________ Dr. Joyce Rain Anderson, Chair of Thesis Committee Date ___________________________________________ _______________ Dr. Anne Doyle, Committee Member Date ___________________________________________ _______________ Dr. Julia (Yulia) Stakhnevich, Committee Member Date 1 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my mom for her support throughout all of my academic endeavors; even when she was only half listening, she was always there for me. I truly could not have done any of this without you. To my dad, who converted to Judaism at 56, thank you for showing me that being Jewish is more than having a certain blood that runs through your veins, and that there is hope for me to feel like I belong in the community I was born into, but have always felt next to.
    [Show full text]
  • Psalm 119 & the Hebrew Aleph
    Psalm 119 & the Hebrew Aleph Bet - Part 14 The fourteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet is called “Nun” (pronounced “noon”) and has the sound of “N” as in “now”. It has the numeric value of 50, the number of the Jubilee. There are two ways to write a Nun. A Nun appearing at the end of a word (sofit) looks like a Vav, but is longer, extending below the baseline. A regular Nun looks much like the Kaph, but is half its width. The Nun stands for FISH. In modern Hebrew, the letter Nun can appear in three forms: Writing the Letter: Nun – The Nun is half as wide as the Kaph Nun: Letter of Faithfulness Nun represents both faithfulness and the reward for faithfulness. Moses is seen as the iconic humble servant of Yahweh. The word “Nun” itself is spelled Nun-Vav-(final) Nun and looks as follows: The one who is humble before God will stand upright in the final Day. In the olam hazeh (present life), this means that the tzaddik (righteous man) will simultaneously affirm: “I am nothing but dust.” Humble yourself in the sight of Yahweh, and He shall lift you up (James 4:10). Nun Study Page 1 Spiritual Meaning of the Nun Nun = 50 and means “FISH” of Yahweh or “The SAVED”. Our Messiah could be called “The Chief FISHERMAN.” He told His disciples that He would make them “FISHERS of men”, (Mark 1:17). Like a FLOURISHING, darting school of FISH that continues to propagate, our Saviour’s Love causes us to multiply and grow in numbers as we share Him with others.
    [Show full text]