ASSOCIATION for JEWISH STUDIES NEWSLETTER No

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

ASSOCIATION for JEWISH STUDIES NEWSLETTER No ASSOCIATION FOR JEWISH STUDIES NEWSLETTER No. 10 January 1974 Editor: A. J. Band IN THIS ISSUE EDITORIAL Editorial 1 I AJS Regional Conference Program (Series II) 3 Viewed from the other side of the October War, the Sixth World Congress of Jewish Studies held in Jerusalem last summer New AJS Members 3 seems coldly remote and its concerns, dimly trivial. The serenity and confidence of August have been dissipated by the shock and despair of November and December — as anyone who reads the New Appointments 4 Israeli press or corresponds with Israeli colleagues knows only too well. And yet, just as the war has forced us to put the Congress in AJS FIFTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE its perspective, the Congress and the cultural achievement it implies can help us put the war in its proper perspective. After Conference Resolutions 4 two centuries of cultural erosion in open societies, after the Russian Revolution and the Holocaust, after successive agonies of Abstracts of Papers the new community in Israel, Zunz' predictions concerning the future of Judaism and its study have not come true. For all its The Structure of the Commandments of the Torah natural shortcomings, the Sixth Congress emerged as a bold in Maimonides' Mishneh Torah and his Guide of affirmation of cultural vigor. No matter how the future borders the Perplexed (Lawrence V. Berman) 5 of Israel shall be drawn, there shall be in the future many congresses of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem. The Siddur of R. Jacob Emden (David Shapiro) 5 An adequate assessment of a scholarly congress of such Non-Jewish Sources for Jewish History dimensions is the task of a broad committee of experts in various disciplines. Confronted with sue hundred papers, often twelve (Joseph Shatzmiller) (Hebrew) 7 being read simultaneously, an individual can only hope to follow sessions in his own area. The blind man feeling the elephant is Sherrow Prize Essay (Abstract) probably a better judge of reality since the elephant, we assume, stands still. A few subjective observations, nevertheless, are in Conceptions of History in Zionist Thought order. The inevitable change of the guard was more apparent in this than in previous congresses perhaps because of the absence of (Steven Bayme) . 8 some of the great scholars who have dominated the scene by their very presence since the 1930's. Though nineteenth-century Sherrow Memorial Prize Competition for 1974 8 philological scholarship is still the dominant mode, the impressive representation of linguistics, folklore, archaeology, and more Graduate Association for Jewish History 9 structural handling of traditional materials indicates that new vistas have been opened. Perhaps this is why so many looked forward to the opening address by Prof. Urbach who had replaced BIBLIOGRAPHIA JUDAIC A the late Prof. Dinur as president of the congress. With the historical perspective highlighted by the twenty-fifth anniversary Book Reviews (Nahum M. Sarna, Arnold J. Band) 10 of the State of Israel, one expected an exhortation to explore new areas or to review well-studied fields with new methodol- More on EJ ogical tools as a continuation of the great progress made over the past two generations. Instead one heard praise of the past masters The Study of the Study of the Bible in the Middle Ages: Some Brief Observations and advice to check bibliographies thoroughly. A discussion of the function of critical methodology in Judaic scholarship is long (Frank Talmage) 13 overdue; we must examine what we mean by "scientific scholar- ship." EJ on Jews of Latin America (Judith Elkin) 15 continued on p. 2 Summer Programs in Jewish Studies 3,15 Election of AJS Officers and Board of Directors 16 2 EDITORIAL (continued from p. I) an increased program of publications we are opening and facilitating means of communication without which no scholarly The participation of American scholars was widely noticed, discipline oan flourish. but not accurately described. The approximately one hundred and fifty Americans constituted the largest group of non-Israeli m scholars (there were less than fifty other non-Israeli scholars), but The lengthy list of new appointments published in both the only half of them are ordinarily recognized as Judaic scholars in last and the present Newsletter is concrete evidence of the this country, and less than half are members of the Association encouraging growth of Jewish Studies on the American campus for Jewish Studies. Paradoxically, the Israelis, who usually even in a period marked by stringent budgets in most areas. specialize narrowly in their academic work, consider as Judaic Obviously, university administrators are convinced of both the scholars a large group of Americans for whom this area is demonstrable need and the solidity of this academic discipline. tangential to their other intellectual concerns. Unfortunately, the How long this favorable situation will obtain is difficult to youngest group of American specialists who received their degrees predict. By the middle of the 1960's, unheeded predictions were in the past five years was not well represented. From correspond- published warning against the overproduction of university ence and conversations we have learned that some were not professors who would find no employment in a period of invited and others could not afford the trip. We hope that both diminished student enrollment and support for higher education. obstacles will be eliminated by the next congress in 1977. Four sobering Decembers have proven the wisdom of the demographers. In Jewish studies, however, the opposite is true: n the number of budgeted positions has tripled or quadrupled since Size and its problems are clearly the dominant theme in 1966. Though the simple facts of the past seven years bode well, discussions of the state of the field of Jewish studies in America the example of other disciplines counsels caution. Ihe time has today. This was apparent in the sessions of the Fifth Annual perhaps come for a careful study of the situation, particularly by Conference of our association held at the Harvard Faculty Gub directors of graduate studies. With about one hundred and twenty on October 21 and 22. Gone is the intimacy of past meetings, of graduate students in various stages of their professional training the days not so distant when everyone knew everyone else. The and many scholars, who find their progess in other areas blocked, one hundred and fifty scholars attending (slightly more than one declaring themselves as Jewish Studies specialists — at times, quarter of our membership) can no longer be accomodated in specialists in all the many areas of Jewish Studies — responsibility plenary sessions. Only yesterday we were a small learned society; dictates concerted action. One step must be avoided: we must today we are middle sized. As in all scholarly conferences, the never adopt the attitude of the 1930's which resulted in the level of papers read was uneven — but certainly compared drastic curtailment of the training of Judaics scholars. Jewish studies are broadly-based in American universities today; all favorably with the level of those read in Jerusalem. comparisons with the 1930's are therefore pointless. A slow-down Though a relatively new association, we are ever cognizant of in the rate of growth would not take us back to 1935; it would, our predecessors whose contribution to the field was manifest in however, allow the universities to demand higher academic every session and, especially, in Prof. Nuham Glatzer's banquet qualifications as they always do when supply exceeds demand. address. The obvious comparisons one could draw between the state of the art in Germany in the 1920's and that fifty years later SOS (Of SOS SOS X3S **** SOS SOS SOS SOS SOS SOS SOS SOS in this country or in Israel inspire admiration for the achievement AJS SIXTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE of our predecessors and hope for the future. Prof. Harry Wolfson, who attended most of the sessions of the conference, murmured 27-28 October 1974 to me: "If I believed in miracles, I would place this conference in HARVARD UNIVERSITY that category. When I began my career sixty years ago, there was Harvard Faculty Club no evidence that this could have happened, particularly in this 20 Quincy Street country." Cambridge, Massachusetts The success of the conference was largely due to the devoted Conference Program Chairman: efforts of Prof. Michael Meyer, the conference chairman, and Dr. Charles Berlin, our executive secretary. Both are already working Prof. Michael A. Meyer on next year's national conference which will attempt to Hebrew Union College - incorporate suggestions offered during and after the conference: Jewish Institute of Religion parallel sessions, a more leisurely schedule, a broader spread in Cincinnati, Ohio areas represented. By these national conferences, the regional conferences, the interchange with our colleagues in Israel, and by Program details and registration information will be announced in the next issue of the Newsletter. 3 Second Series of AJS Regional Conferences New AJS Members Series II of the AJS Regional Conference Program has been Curtis M. Arnson Hebrew Union College, Jerusalem scheduled for the Spring of 1974. The four conferences of this Roberta M. Balkan SUNY College at Purchase Series will take place as follows: Conference 1 at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, on 27-28 March 1974; Kalman 0. Bland Duke University Conference 2 at Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati, Ohio, on 31 Bernhard Bhimenkranz Centre National de la Recherche March -1 April 1974; Conference 3 at University of Pennsylvania, Scientifique, Paris Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 3-4 March 1974; and Conference 4 at University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, on 28-29 April 1974. Daniel Carpi Tel Aviv University Edna A. Coffin University of Michigan Conferences 1-2 deal with "Ancient Hebrew Prayer" and are under the direction of Moshe Greenberg (Hebrew University, Sol Cohen Reconstructionist Rabbinical College Jerusalem).
Recommended publications
  • Volume 12 Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
    From Scrolls to Scrolling Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – Tension, Transmission, Transformation Edited by Patrice Brodeur, Alexandra Cuffel, Assaad Elias Kattan, and Georges Tamer Volume 12 From Scrolls to Scrolling Sacred Texts, Materiality, and Dynamic Media Cultures Edited by Bradford A. Anderson Die freie Verfügbarkeit der E-Book-Ausgabe dieser Publikation wurde ermöglicht durch den Fach- informationsdienst Jüdische Studien an der Universitätsbibliothek J. C. Senckenberg Frankfurt am Main und 18 wissenschaftliche Bibliotheken, die die Open-Access-Transformation in den Jü- dischen Studien unterstützen. ISBN 978-3-11-062959-0 e-ISBN (PDF) 978-3-11-063444-0 e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-3-11-063146-3 ISSN 2196-405X DOI https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110634440 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. For details go to http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 Library of Congress Control Number: 2020933703 Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de. © 2020 Bradford A. Anderson, published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston. The book is published with open access at www.degruyter.com. Typesetting: Integra Software Services Pvt. Ltd. Printing and binding: CPI books GmbH, Leck www.degruyter.com Open-Access-Transformation in den Jüdischen Studien Open Access für exzellente Publikationen aus den Jüdischen Studien: Dies ist das Ziel der ge- meinsamen Initiative des Fachinformationsdiensts Jüdische Studien an der Universitätsbiblio- thek J. C. Senckenberg Frankfurt am Main und des Verlags Walter De Gruyter.
    [Show full text]
  • Aethiopica 17 (2014) International Journal of Ethiopian and Eritrean Studies
    Aethiopica 17 (2014) International Journal of Ethiopian and Eritrean Studies ________________________________________________________________ RICCARDO CONTINI, University of Naples ߋL߈Orientaleߌ Personalia In memoriam Gideon Goldenberg (1930߃2013) Aethiopica 17 (2014), 195߃209 ISSN: 2194߃4024 ________________________________________________________________ Edited in the Asien-Afrika-Institut Hiob Ludolf Zentrum fÛr £thiopistik der UniversitÃt Hamburg Abteilung fÛr Afrikanistik und £thiopistik by Alessandro Bausi in cooperation with Bairu Tafla, Ulrich BraukÃmper, Ludwig Gerhardt, Hilke Meyer-Bahlburg and Siegbert Uhlig Bibliographical abbreviations used in this volume A¨ Annales d߈¨thiopie, Paris 1955ff. £thFor £thiopistische Forschungen, 1߃35, ed. by E. HAMMERSCHMIDT, 36߃40, ed. by S. UHLIG, Stuttgart: Franz Steiner (1߃34), 1977߃1992; Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz (35߃40), 1994߃1995. AethFor Aethiopistische Forschungen, 41߃73, ed. by S. UHLIG, Wiesbaden: Harrasso- witz, 1998߃2011; 74߃75, ed. by A. BAUSI and S. UHLIG, ibid., 2011f.; 76ff. ed. by A. BAUSI, ibid., 2012ff. AION Annali dell߈Universit¿ degli studi di Napoli ߋL߈Orientaleߌ, Napoli: Universit¿ di Napoli ߋL߈Orientaleߌ (former Istituto Universitario Orientale di Napoli), 1929ff. BSOAS Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, London 1917ff. CSCO Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium, 1903ff. EAe S. UHLIG (ed.), Encyclopaedia Aethiopica, I: A߃C, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2003; II: D߃Ha, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2005; III: He߃N, Wiesbaden: Har- rassowitz, 2007; (in cooperation with A. BAUSI), IV: O߃X, Wiesbaden: Harras- sowitz, 2010; A. BAUSI (ed. in cooperation with S. UHLIG), V: Y߃Z, Supple- menta, Addenda et Corrigenda, Maps, Index, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2014. EFAH Deutsches ArchÃologisches Institut, Orient-Abteilung, Epigraphische For- schungen auf der Arabischen Halbinsel, herausgegeben im Auftrag des Instituts von NORBERT NEBES. EMML Ethiopian Manuscript Microfilm Library, Addis Ababa. IJAHS International Journal of African Historical Studies, Boston, MA ߃ New York 1968ff.
    [Show full text]
  • Jefferson.Historical.Significance.2013 ( PDF )
    The Historical Significance of the Cambridge Genizah Inventory Project Rebecca J. W. Jefferson1, 2 1 Taylor-Schechter Genizah Research Unit, Cambridge University Library 2 Isser and Rae Price Library of Judaica, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida [email protected] Abstract The Cambridge Inventory Project, sponsored by the Friedberg Genizah Project and carried out by a number of researchers at the Taylor-Schechter Genizah Research Unit, was the first attempt to provide accurate information regarding the size and classification of the more than 193,000 Genizah manuscript fragments held at Cambridge University Library. Prior to this project, no authoritative list of valid shelf marks was available, nor was it known how many fragments were classified under any one shelf mark. The provision of such data and the creation of a searchable database were essential for the planning and implementation of a future digitization project. This article not only describes the ensuing Inventory Project, it also uses the project‘s findings, together with additional information in previously unseen archives, to provide a new history of how these collections were formed over time. Keywords Cambridge Inventory Project, Cambridge Genizah Collections, Cambridge University Library, Friedberg Genizah Project, Cairo Genizah, Taylor-Schechter Genizah Research Unit, Genizah manuscripts, Genizah fragments, Solomon Schechter, library, digitization, shelf marks, handlists, folios, Hebrew, Arabic, collections, crates, residue A complete inventory of the Cambridge Genizah Manuscript Collections was compiled between the years 2004 and 2006. It was undertaken by researchers in the Taylor-Schechter Genizah Research Unit,1 under the auspices of the Friedberg Genizah Project,2 in order to prepare the way for the eventual digitization of these manuscripts.
    [Show full text]
  • Considerations About Semitic Etyma in De Vaan's Latin Etymological Dictionary
    applyparastyle “fig//caption/p[1]” parastyle “FigCapt” Philology, vol. 4/2018/2019, pp. 35–156 © 2019 Ephraim Nissan - DOI https://doi.org/10.3726/PHIL042019.2 2019 Considerations about Semitic Etyma in de Vaan’s Latin Etymological Dictionary: Terms for Plants, 4 Domestic Animals, Tools or Vessels Ephraim Nissan 00 35 Abstract In this long study, our point of departure is particular entries in Michiel de Vaan’s Latin Etymological Dictionary (2008). We are interested in possibly Semitic etyma. Among 156 the other things, we consider controversies not just concerning individual etymologies, but also concerning approaches. We provide a detailed discussion of names for plants, but we also consider names for domestic animals. 2018/2019 Keywords Latin etymologies, Historical linguistics, Semitic loanwords in antiquity, Botany, Zoonyms, Controversies. Contents Considerations about Semitic Etyma in de Vaan’s 1. Introduction Latin Etymological Dictionary: Terms for Plants, Domestic Animals, Tools or Vessels 35 In his article “Il problema dei semitismi antichi nel latino”, Paolo Martino Ephraim Nissan 35 (1993) at the very beginning lamented the neglect of Semitic etymolo- gies for Archaic and Classical Latin; as opposed to survivals from a sub- strate and to terms of Etruscan, Italic, Greek, Celtic origin, when it comes to loanwords of certain direct Semitic origin in Latin, Martino remarked, such loanwords have been only admitted in a surprisingly exiguous num- ber of cases, when they were not met with outright rejection, as though they merely were fanciful constructs:1 In seguito alle recenti acquisizioni archeologiche ed epigrafiche che hanno documen- tato una densità finora insospettata di contatti tra Semiti (soprattutto Fenici, Aramei e 1 If one thinks what one could come across in the 1890s (see below), fanciful constructs were not a rarity.
    [Show full text]
  • Concept in Ancient Israel As Depicted in Deuteronomistic
    BERITH AS A SOCIO-POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC REGULATORY MECHANISM IN ANCIENT ISRAEL AND TRADITIONAL ÈGBẠ́ -YORÙBÁ SOCIETY ___________________________ OLUGBEMIRO OLUSEGUN BEREKIAH MAT. NO. 124391 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY AUGUST 2014 i BERITH AS A SOCIO-POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC REGULATORY MECHANISM IN ANCIENT ISRAEL AND TRADITIONAL ÈGBẠ́ -YORÙBÁ SOCIETY BY OLUGBEMIRO OLUSEGUN BEREKIAH MAT. NO. 124391 OND,(Bida) Dip.Th, Dip.RS, B.A.HONS, M.A. (Ibadan) A Thesis in the Department of Religious Studies, Submitted to the Faculty of Arts in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY of the UNIVERSITY OF ÌBÀDÀN UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY AUGUST 2014 ii Abstract Berith, a concept similar to ìmùlè ̣ among the Ègbạ́ -Yorùbá of South-Western Nigeria, is a pact ratified by oath, binding two or more parties in a relationship of moral commitment to certain stipulations. It was used to regulate socio-political and economic life in ancient Israel. Previous studies on Berith have focused on its legal aspect, neglecting its moral basis as a means of effectively regulating and controlling socio-political and economic aspects of human society in ancient Israel and its relevance to the traditional Ègbạ́ -Yorùbá sociocultural context with shared experiences. This study, therefore, examined the effectiveness of berith as a means of regulating socio-political and economic life in ancient Israel as replicated by ìmùlè ̣ among traditional Ègbạ́ -Yorùbá. The work was premised on Manus’ intercultural hermeneutics which relates the Bible to African socio-cultural situations. The historical-critical method was used to analyse relevant texts (2 Kgs.22:8-23:3; Exod.20:22-23:33; Deut.6:1-28:69), taking the Leningrad Codex as the vorlage.
    [Show full text]
  • Chaos Theory and the Text of the Old Testament1 Peter J
    Chaos Theory and the Text of the Old Testament1 Peter J. Gentry Peter J. Gentry is Donald L. Williams Professor of Old Testament Interpretation and Director of the Hexapla Institute at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has served on the faculty of Toronto Baptist Seminary and Bible College and also taught at the University of Toronto, Heritage Theological Seminary, and Tyndale Seminary. Dr. Gentry is the author of many articles and book reviews, the co-author of Kingdom through Covenant, 2nd ed. (Crossway, 2018) and God’s Kingdom through God’s Covenants (Crossway, 2015), and the author of How to Read and Understand the Biblical Prophets (Crossway, 2017), and he recently published a critical edition of Ecclesiastes for the Göttingen Septuagint (2019). Introduction Canon and Text are closely related. For those who believe in divine revelation mediated by authorized agents, the central questions are (1) which writings come from these agents authorized to speak for God and (2) have their writings been reliably transmitted to us? Although my inquiry is focused on the latter question, the former is logically prior. How one answers the first question will determine evaluation of evidence relating to the second. What defines a canonical text according to Nahum Sarna, is “a fixed arrangement of content” and “the tendency to produce a standardized text.”2 Since the very first biblical text constituted a covenant, this automatically implies a fixed arrangement of content and a standard text. I am referring to the Covenant at Sinai, a marriage between Yahweh and Israel. A marriage contract does not have a long oral pre-history.
    [Show full text]
  • Israel Prize
    Year Winner Discipline 1953 Gedaliah Alon Jewish studies 1953 Haim Hazaz literature 1953 Ya'akov Cohen literature 1953 Dina Feitelson-Schur education 1953 Mark Dvorzhetski social science 1953 Lipman Heilprin medical science 1953 Zeev Ben-Zvi sculpture 1953 Shimshon Amitsur exact sciences 1953 Jacob Levitzki exact sciences 1954 Moshe Zvi Segal Jewish studies 1954 Schmuel Hugo Bergmann humanities 1954 David Shimoni literature 1954 Shmuel Yosef Agnon literature 1954 Arthur Biram education 1954 Gad Tedeschi jurisprudence 1954 Franz Ollendorff exact sciences 1954 Michael Zohary life sciences 1954 Shimon Fritz Bodenheimer agriculture 1955 Ödön Pártos music 1955 Ephraim Urbach Jewish studies 1955 Isaac Heinemann Jewish studies 1955 Zalman Shneur literature 1955 Yitzhak Lamdan literature 1955 Michael Fekete exact sciences 1955 Israel Reichart life sciences 1955 Yaakov Ben-Tor life sciences 1955 Akiva Vroman life sciences 1955 Benjamin Shapira medical science 1955 Sara Hestrin-Lerner medical science 1955 Netanel Hochberg agriculture 1956 Zahara Schatz painting and sculpture 1956 Naftali Herz Tur-Sinai Jewish studies 1956 Yigael Yadin Jewish studies 1956 Yehezkel Abramsky Rabbinical literature 1956 Gershon Shufman literature 1956 Miriam Yalan-Shteklis children's literature 1956 Nechama Leibowitz education 1956 Yaakov Talmon social sciences 1956 Avraham HaLevi Frankel exact sciences 1956 Manfred Aschner life sciences 1956 Haim Ernst Wertheimer medicine 1957 Hanna Rovina theatre 1957 Haim Shirman Jewish studies 1957 Yohanan Levi humanities 1957 Yaakov
    [Show full text]
  • Epigraphy, Philology, and the Hebrew Bible
    EPIGRAPHY, PHILOLOGY, & THE HEBREW BIBLE Methodological Perspectives on Philological & Comparative Study of the Hebrew Bible in Honor of Jo Ann Hackett Edited by Jeremy M. Hutton and Aaron D. Rubin Ancient Near East Monographs – Monografías sobre el Antiguo Cercano Oriente Society of Biblical Literature Centro de Estudios de Historia del Antiguo Oriente (UCA) EPIGRAPHY, PHILOLOGY, AND THE HEBREW BIBLE Ancient Near East Monographs General Editors Ehud Ben Zvi Roxana Flammini Alan Lenzi Juan Manuel Tebes Editorial Board: Reinhard Achenbach Esther J. Hamori Steven W. Holloway René Krüger Steven L. McKenzie Martti Nissinen Graciela Gestoso Singer Number 12 EPIGRAPHY, PHILOLOGY, AND THE HEBREW BIBLE Methodological Perspectives on Philological and Comparative Study of the Hebrew Bible in Honor of Jo Ann Hackett Edited by Jeremy M. Hutton and Aaron D. Rubin SBL Press Atlanta Copyright © 2015 by SBL Press All 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, SBL Press, 825 Hous- ton Mill Road, Atlanta, GA 30329 USA. Library of Congress has catologued the print edition: Names: Hackett, Jo Ann, honouree. | Hutton, Jeremy Michael, editor. | Rubin, Aaron D., 1976- editor. Title: Epigraphy, philology, and the Hebrew Bible : methodological perspectives on philological and comparative study of the Hebrew Bible in honor of Jo Ann Hackett / edited by Jeremy M.
    [Show full text]
  • The Tiberian Tradition in Common Bibles from the Cairo Genizah
    Cambridge Semitic Languages and Cultures Hornkohl and Khan (eds.) Studies in Semitic Vocalisation and Studies in Semitic Vocalisation Reading Traditions and Reading Traditions Aaron D. Hornkohl and Geoffrey Khan (eds.) EDITED BY AARON D. HORNKOHL AND GEOFFREY KHAN This volume brings together papers rela� ng to the pronuncia� on of Semi� c languages and the representa� on of their pronuncia� on in wri� en form. The papers focus on sources representa� ve of a period that stretches from late an� quity un� l the Middle Ages. A large propor� on of them concern reading tradi� ons of Biblical Hebrew, especially the vocalisa� on nota� on systems used to represent them. Also discussed are orthography and the wri� en representa� on of prosody. Beyond Biblical Hebrew, there are studies concerning Punic, Biblical Aramaic, Syriac, and Arabic, as well as post-biblical tradi� ons of Hebrew such as piyyuṭ and medieval Hebrew poetry. There were many parallels and interac� ons between these various language Studies in Semitic Vocalisation tradi� ons and the volume demonstrates that important insights can be gained from such a wide range of perspec� ves across diff erent historical periods. As with all Open Book publica� ons, this en� re book is available to read for free on the publisher’s website. Printed and digital edi� ons, together with supplementary digital material, can also be found here: www.openbookpublishers.com Cover image: Detail from a bilingual La� n-Punic inscrip� on at the theatre at Lepcis Magna, IRT 321 (accessed from h� ps://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Inscrip� on_Theatre_Lep� s_Magna_Libya.JPG).
    [Show full text]
  • Changes Made to the Biblical Hebrew Text the Torah: a Modern Commentary, Revised Edition (URJ Press, 2005)
    The Torah: Documentation for the Revised Edition Changes Made to the Biblical Hebrew Text The Torah: A Modern Commentary, Revised Edition (URJ Press, 2005) Description n the Hebrew text of the Torah and haftarot, more than a thou- sand minor discrepancies exist between the revised edition and I the first edition. Readers may well notice the difference in a particular passage and ask: Was that change made on purpose—or by mistake? If it was on purpose, for what reason? What does it mean? Answers to such questions can be found here. In preparing the revised edition’s Hebrew text, we not only attended to errors in the first edition, we also drew upon what schol- ars now know that the first edition’s editors did not. (Happily, we also enjoyed some technical and institutional advantages that they lacked.) The present work accounts for the resulting changes. This documentation has an additional purpose. It sheds light on the paradox of the Masoretic text: Plausible readings of the biblical text are often wrong, whereas unusual readings are often correct. This is the reality that challenges editors, proofreaders, rabbis, cantors, educators, and tutors—that is, all those who are asked to ac- count for a particular textual reading. But the documentation here can help them with the task of explanation, for it details the types of variance in the text of the Hebrew Bible as we have received it. It turns the revised edition into a teaching tool for understanding the Masoretic text. David E. S. Stein Masoretic Hebrew Text Editor Hebrew Documentation 16.doc 4/13/05 Changes Made to the Biblical Hebrew Text • Page 2 of 36 The .
    [Show full text]
  • ENCYCLOPEDIA of HEBREW LANGUAGE and LINGUISTICS Volume 3 P–Z
    ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HEBREW LANGUAGE AND LINGUISTICS Volume 3 P–Z General Editor Geoffrey Khan Associate Editors Shmuel Bolokzy Steven E. Fassberg Gary A. Rendsburg Aaron D. Rubin Ora R. Schwarzwald Tamar Zewi LEIDEN • BOSTON 2013 © 2013 Koninklijke Brill NV ISBN 978-90-04-17642-3 Table of Contents Volume One Introduction ........................................................................................................................ vii List of Contributors ............................................................................................................ ix Transcription Tables ........................................................................................................... xiii Articles A-F ......................................................................................................................... 1 Volume Two Transcription Tables ........................................................................................................... vii Articles G-O ........................................................................................................................ 1 Volume Three Transcription Tables ........................................................................................................... vii Articles P-Z ......................................................................................................................... 1 Volume Four Transcription Tables ........................................................................................................... vii Index
    [Show full text]
  • 6. the Distinction Between Branches of Rabbinic Hebrew in Light of the Hebrew of the Late Midrash
    Cambridge Semitic Languages and Cultures Heijmans Studies in Rabbinic Hebrew Studies in Rabbinic Hebrew Shai Heijmans (ed.) EDITED BY SHAI HEIJMANS This volume presents a collec� on of ar� cles centring on the language of the Mishnah and the Talmud — the most important Jewish texts (a� er the Bible), which were compiled in Pales� ne and Babylonia in the la� er centuries of Late An� quity. Despite the fact that Rabbinic Hebrew has been the subject of growing academic interest across the past Studies in Rabbinic Hebrew century, very li� le scholarship has been wri� en on it in English. Studies in Rabbinic Hebrew addresses this lacuna, with eight lucid but technically rigorous ar� cles wri� en in English by a range of experienced scholars, focusing on various aspects of Rabbinic Hebrew: its phonology, morphology, syntax, pragma� cs and lexicon. This volume is essen� al reading for students and scholars of Rabbinic studies alike, and appears in a new series, Studies in Semi� c Languages and Cultures, in collabora� on with the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Cambridge. As with all Open Book publica� ons, this en� re book is available to read for free on the publisher’s website. Printed and digital edi� ons, together with supplementary digital material, can also be found here: www.openbookpublishers.com Cover image: A fragment from the Cairo Genizah, containing Mishnah Shabbat 9:7-11:2 with Babylonian vocalisati on (Cambridge University Library, T-S E1.47). Courtesy of the Syndics of Cambridge University Library. Cover design: Luca Baff a book 2 ebooke and OA edi� ons also available OPEN ACCESS OBP https://www.openbookpublishers.com © 2020 Shai Heijmans.
    [Show full text]