EDUARD YECHEZKEL KUTSCHER A HISTORY OF THE HEBREW LANGUAGE Edited by RAPHAEL KUTSCHER 1982 THE MAGNES PRESS, THE HEBREW UNIVERSITY, JERUSALEM E.J. BRILL, LEIDEN Published with the assistance of the Louis and Minna Epstein Fund of the American Academy for Jewish Research Distributed by N.V. Boekhandel en Drukkerij V/H E.J. Brill, Oudc Rijn 33a, Leiden Holland © The Magnes Press, The Hebrew University Jerusalem 1982 ISBN 965-223-397-8 Printed in Israel at “Ahva” Co. Press, Jerusalem TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xxv EDITOR’S FOREWORD xxix C hapter O n e : THE BACKGROUND. § 1 1 C hapter T w o : THE SEMITIC LANGUAGES. §2 3 C hapter T h r e e : HEBREW AS A SEMITIC LANGUAGE ... 5 A. What Is a Semitic Language? §3 5 I. Consonant-VowelRelationship. §4 5 II. Roots. §5 I 6 a. Patterns o f the Semitic Root. §6 6 B. Guttural (Laryngal and Pharyngal) and Emphatic Consonants. §7 7 hf). §8 7 ,’/) א, ה I. The Laryngals λ §9 8/״/Α/) ח, ע II. The Pharyngals s, qf). §10 8 ,//) ט, ,צ, ק III. The Emphatics C. Vowels. §11 8 D. Morphology * 8 I. Pronouns and Particles. §12 8 II. The Verb. §13 9 III. The Noun. §14 10 \V .Attributes of the Noun. §15 10 E. Syntax. §16 10 C hapter F o u r: BIBLICAL HEBREW 12 A. Tripartite Division of Biblical Hebrew. § 17 12 B. Methods of Presentation. §18 12 C. Phonology 12 I. Consonants. §19 12 a. Sibilants. §20 13 sf). §21 14/) ס sf) and/) ש T h e Merger o f. 1 2. The Sibbolet-Sibbolet Incident. §22 14 3. The Pronunciation of the Sibilants by Diaspora Jews as a Reflection of Their Respective Languages. §23 15 b, Gutturals. §24 17 in Greek Transliterations. §25 . 17 (/ ״/( ע h / and/) ח .1 2. The M erger o f Ix l with /h / and Igl with /'/. §26 . 18 3. The Weak Pronunciation of the Gutturals. §27 . 18 4. Refutation o f Kahle*s Theory o f Gutturals. §28 . 19 g, d, k, p ,tf). §29 21 ,<//) ב, ג, ד, כ, פ, ת c. The 1. Refutation of Kahle*s Theory of the /b, g, d, k, p, t/. §30 21 II. Vowels 22 a. The Proto-Semitic Long Vowels in BH. §31 22 1. Proto-Semitic I a:/ in BH. §32 23 a. Bauer's “Mixed Language” Theory. §33 . 23 ß. The /a :/> /0 :/ Shift in Cuneiform Trans- literation. §34 24 b. The Proto-Semitic Short Vowels in BH. §35 25 1. Stress as a Distinctive Feature. §36 26 2. Λ Sound-Change Attested During Three Thousand Years in Syria-Palestine. §37 26 3. Proto-Semitic Short //, u! in BH . §38 29 4. Vowel Length as a Distinctive Feature in BH. §39 29 D. Morphology 30 I. Indepdendent Pronouns 30 a. First Person Singular. §40 30 b. Second Person Feminine Singular. §41 30 c. First Person Plural. §42 31 d. Second and Third Persons Plural (Masc. and F em .).§ 43 31 II. Demonstrative Pronouns. §44 31 III. Relative Pronouns. §45 32 IV. The Possessive Suffix of the Second Person Masculine Singular. §46 32 V. The Verb 35 a . Stems. §47 35 1. Passive Qal. §48 36 2. Nifal. §49 36 3. Ifte'al. §50 37 b. Tenses. §51 37 1. Suffixes of the Perfect 37 a. Second Person Singular Masculine. § 52 .. 37 ß. Second Person Singular Feminine. §53 ... 37 P1. “Mirage”Forms. §54 38 y. Third Person Singular Feminine. §55 . ... 39 δ. Third Person Plural Feminine. §56 39 2. Prefixes and Suffixes o f the Imperfect. §57 .... 40 a. Second Person Singular Feminine and Second and Third Persons Plural Masculine. §58 40 β. Third Person Plural Feminine. §59 41 c. Active and Neutral Bases in the Qal 42 1. Perfect. §60 42 2. Imperfect. §61 42 3. Participle. §62 42 d. The W eak Verbs 42 Verbs. §63 42 ל "י) ל ״ ה 0( ^ ל״א .1 Verbs. §64 43 ע״ י and ע״ו.2 IV. The Noun. §65 43 E. Syntax 44 I. Syntax of the Verb in SBH. § 6 6 44 II. Syntax of the Verb in LBH. §67 45 III. Infinitives and Participles. § 6 8 45 F. Vocabulary 46 I. Foreign Loanwords. §69 46 a. How Is a Foreign Loanword Recognized? §70 .... 46 47 י. b. Wanderwörter (Travelling Words). §71 c. Akkadian and Sumerian Loanwords 48 1. Akkadian. §72 48 2. Sum erian. §73 50 d. Egyptian Loanwords. §74 . 51 e. Persian Loanwords. §75 52 f Loanwords from Other Languages. §76 52 g. Aramaic Loanwords ......................................................... 53 \\. The Native Vocabulary ......................................................... 53 a. The Vocabulary as a Reflection of Jewish Life. §77 . 53 b. Topographical Terms. §78 .................................... .. 54 1. Dialectal Differences? §79 .................................... 54 c. Thorns and Thistles. §80 ................................................ 55 d. “All the Fountains of the Great Deep and the Flood Gates o f the Sky”. §81 ................................................... 55 e. The Desert. §82 ........................ ....................................... 56 f Translation and Transculturation. §83 ........................ 56 g. Diachronic Investigation. §84 ....................................... 57 h. The Evidence fro m Place Names. §85 ......................... 57 1. Sound Changes in Places Names. § 8 6 .................. 59 2. Canaanite Deities in Places Names. §87 ............ 59 3. Place Names in Word Plays. § 8 8 ........................... 60 /. Personal Names. §89 ...................................................... 60 1. Personal Names Preserving Old Grammatical Forms. §90 ................................................................... 62 2. Special Vocabulary in Personal Names. § 91 . 63 G. Inscriptions. §92 ............................................................................ 64 I. Spelling. §93 ............................................................................... 65 II. Phonology. §94 ......................................................................... 66 III. Morphology. §95 .................................................................. 66 IV. Vocabulary. §96 ................................................................... 67 H. Hebrew Words in Akkadian Transliteration. §97 .................. 68 I. Hebrew Loanwords in Foreign Languages. §98 ..................... 68 J. Dialects of Biblical Hebrew. §99 ................................................ 70 K. The Aramaic Influence. § 100 ................................................... 71 I. In Phonology. §101 ................................................................... 73 II. In Morphology ......................................................................... 74 III. /Λ2 § 104 ..................................................................... 75 a. In the Verb. §102 ............................................................ 74 b. In the Noun. §103 ............................................................ 74 IV. In the Vocabulary. § 105 ...................................................... 75 a. Aram aic Caiques. § 106 ................................................... 76 L. Stratification of Biblical Hebrew (and El-Amarna). § 107 . 77 I. The El-Amama Glosses. § 108 ............................................. 77 a. Phonology. §109 .......................................................... 78 b. Morphology. § 110 ............................................................ 78 II. Archaic Biblical Hebrew. §111 .......................................... 79 a. Morphology. §112 ............................................................ 79 1. The Verb. §113 ......................................................... 79 2. The Noun. §114 ......................................................... 79 b. Syntax. § 115 ..................................................................... 80 c. Vocabulary. §116 ............................................................ 80 III. Late Biblical Hebrew. § 117 ................................................. 81 a. Spelling. § 118 .................................................................. 81 b. Pronouns. §119 ............................................................... 81 c. The Verb. §120 .................................................................. 81 d. The Noun. §121 ............................................................... 81 e. Syntax of the Verb and Noun. § 122 ........................... 82 f. Vocabulary. §123 ............................................................. 82 g. LBH Features not Found in Mishnaic Hebrew. § 124 84 1. A Canaanite Construction. §125 ........................... 85 M. Conclusions. § 126 ........................................................................ 85 C hapter F7ve: THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS AND CONTEMPORARY SOURCES ........................... 87 A. The Book of Ben Sira. §127 ....................................................... 87 I. The Cairo Geniza Fragments. §128 .................................... 88 a. Grammar. §129 ............................................................... 88 b. Vocabulary ........................................................................ 88 1. LBH Material ............................................................ 88 a. Verbs. §130 ......................................................... 88 ß. Nouns, §131 ......................................................... 88 2. M H Material. §132 ................................................... 89 a. Verbs. § 133 .......................................................... 89 ß.Nouns. §134 ......................................................... 89 3. Aramaic Material ...................................................... 89 a. Verbs. § 135 ......................................................... 89 ß. Nouns. §136 .......................................................... 89 y. An Aramaic Calque. §137 .............................. 89 4. A Word from an Unknown Source. § 138 ............... 90 II. The Masada Fragments. § 139 ................................................