Journal of Semitic Studies - current issue

On Some Alleged Developments of the Proto-Semitic Phoneme /t/ in Iron Age Canaanite Dialects

Bloch, Y. — 2008-04-11

This article takes issue with two proposals made in recent scholarship concerning the development of the Proto-Semitic phoneme /t/ in Iron Age Canaanite dialects: 1) retention of this phoneme in the dialects of Transjordan, and 2) its merger with the phoneme /t/ in the Hebrew of northern Cisjordan. The article argues that both proposals are untenable. Proposal (1) is based on a problematic interpretation of Judg. 12:5–6 and of the spellings of an Ammonite royal name in an Ammonite seal impression (b‘lys‘) and in Jer. 40:14 (Ba‘alîs). Moreover, this proposal is contradicted by the evidence of Neo-Assyrian spellings of Transjordanian proper names, which testify to the merger of /t/ with /s/: uruAs-tar-tu (the city of Ashtaroth) and likely also mBa-a'-sa (a royal name which is argued to derive from the original root b‘t). Proposal (2) is contradicted by the evidence of Hebrew inscriptions from northern Cisjordan, which consistently render the Proto-Semitic /t/ with the letter s. It is possible that the phoneme /t/ was initially retained in the Hebrew of northern Cisjordan, but there is no positive evidence to support such a possibility. Hence, it is more reasonable to uphold the view that the merger of /t/ with /s/ was characteristic of all Iron Age Canaanite dialects.

The Paradigm Root in Hebrew

Rubin, A. D. — 2008-04-11

In grammars of Hebrew, a variety of different roots have been used in order to illustrate the verbal paradigms. The reasons for choosing one root over another are worthy of examination, and ultimately such an exercise leads to the question of which root is ideal for this purpose. In fact, no one root is ideal, and the choice of paradigm root is ultimately connected with the goals of the individual authors.

The Copular Clause in Jewish Zakho Neo-Aramaic

Cohen, E. — 2008-04-11

This is a description of the complex behaviour and interrelationships of the copular system in Zakho. Substantival and adverbial rhemes, compound tenses (perfect and progressive), as well as presentatives, are all part of this system. In addition the compound tenses are opposed to other verbal forms. The component order is highly relevant in differentiating between the different patterns and allo-patterns of the copular system. Included in the description is a treatment of the copular presentative which poses various problems in this language. The description is texteme-sensitive: there are marked differences in both distribution and function of the different copular expressions (even between different persons of the same copula) depending on supra-clausal conditions, that is, narrative or dialogue. In addition, a particular sub-genre, the personal experience narrative (PEN), has all sorts of peculiarities which are accounted for separately.

A Comparison of the References to Muqatil b. Sulayman (150/767) in the Exegesis of al-Tha 'labi (427/1036) with Muqatil's Own Exegesis

Koc, M. A. — 2008-04-11

Muqatil b. Sulayman's work is the oldest surviving exegesis which comments on the entire Qur'an from the beginning to the end. Analytical comparisons between different manuscripts of this exegesis and the quotations made by the exegetes, who greatly benefited from Muqatil, give us important information about the history of Quranic exegesis. al-Tha ‘labi's references to Muqatil offer valuable data illuminating the role of ‘the changing contents’ of the manuscripts in understanding the history of the exegesis. Changing evaluations and criticism about Muqatil's personality and his opinions show that the history of Quranic exegesis needs to be further critically studied.

A Hospital Handbook for the Community: Evidence for the Extensive Use of Ibn Abi 'l-Bayan's al-Dustur al-bimaristani by the Jewish Practitioners of Medieval Cairo

Lev, E., Chipman, L., Niessen, F. — 2008-04-11

Al-Dustur al-bimaristani by Ibn Abi 'l-Bayan forms an important part of the Arabic tradition of hospital dispensatories and has remained well-known to the traditional practitioners of the Middle East. So far, eleven fragments of the Dustur have been identified in the Taylor-Schechter Genizah Collections at the Cambridge University Library, of which eight are in Arabic script and three are in Judaeo-Arabic. This article discusses the significance of these fragments, particularly those in Judaeo-Arabic. We also provide editions and translations of two of the fragments.

On the Use of the Aspects, Independent Personal Pronouns, Fillers, and Attention Grabbers in Algerian Arabic Oral Narratives

Kaye, A. S. — 2008-04-11

This paper examines, via microlinguistic or micropragmatic textual analysis, the use of the perfect and imperfect aspects, independent personal pronouns, so-called fillers, and attention grabbers, among other interrelated topics related to information flow, in two Algerian Arabic (AA) oral narratives: the first of a mother, and second a father (both from the city of Tbessa, located south of Constantine and close to the Tunisian border) talking to their daughter describing events that occurred in the past. One conclusion offered from an investigation of these stories is that the imperfect contributes to the ‘immediacy’ of the narratives in that they are ‘made’ to take place in the here and now, although the monologue refers to events which have already taken place. This traditional analysis affirms that it is as if the past in the narrative is brought into the present in which it is being told.¹ This is similar to English: ‘So he says to me — he says ...’, in which ‘says’ really means ‘said’.² Another conclusion is that AA can use the perfect that must be translated, according to the context, with the English present tense: fhmti ‘(Do) you understand?’ = ‘(You) see what I'm saying?’ (and not ‘You saw what I'm saying?’). Repetition is another major ingredient of this discourse³ (see Johnstone [1991], although none of the examples in this book are from colloquial Arabic dialects), and many examples of this phenomenon can be adduced in the AA texts that follow.

YUVAL GOREN, ISRAEL FINKELSTEIN and NADAV NA'AMAN, Inscribed in Clay: Provenance Study of the Amarna Tablets and other Ancient Near Eastern Texts

Campbell, S. — 2008-04-11

JEAN-MARC MICHAUD, La Bible et l'heritage d'Ougarit

Watson, W. G.E. — 2008-04-11

SIGURThUR HAFthORSSON, A Passing Power: An Examination of the Sources for the History of Aram-Damascus in the Second Half of the Ninth Century B.C.

Lipinski, E. — 2008-04-11

RICCARDO CONTINI and CRISTIANO GROTTANELLI (eds), Il saggio Ahiqar: Fortuna e trasformazioni di uno scritto sapienziale. Il testo piu antico e le sue versioni

Watson, W. G.E. — 2008-04-11

ROLF P. KNIERIM and GEORGE W. COATS, Numbers

Watson, W. G.E. — 2008-04-11

STEPHEN L. COOK and CORRINE L. PATTON, Ezekiel's Hierarchical World: Wrestling with a Tiered Reality

Clements, R.E. — 2008-04-11

ALICE M. SINNOTT, The Personification of Wisdom

Crenshaw, J. L. — 2008-04-11

GERHARD TAUBERSCHMIDT, Secondary Parallelism: A Study of Translation Technique in LXX Proverbs

Dines, J. — 2008-04-11

GABRIELE BOCCACCINI (ed.) Enoch and Qumran Origins: New Light on a Forgotten Connection.

Peters, D. M. — 2008-04-11

CATHERINE HEZSER, Jewish Slavery in Antiquity

Harrill, J. A. — 2008-04-11

LAWRENCE H. SCHIFFMAN (ed.), Semitic Papyrology in Context. A Climate of Creativity.

Jackson, B.S. — 2008-04-11

SHMUEL SHEPKARU, Jewish Martyrs in the Pagan and Christian Worlds.

Van Henten, J. W. — 2008-04-11

RA'ANAN S. BOUSTAN, From Martyr to Mystic: Rabbinic Martyrology and the Making of Merkavah Mysticism

Davila, J. R. — 2008-04-11

JOHN F. HEALEY, Leshono Suryoyo: First Studies in Syriac

Greenberg, G. — 2008-04-11

DAVID STEC, The Targum of Psalms

Gillingham, S. — 2008-04-11

JEROLD C. FRAKES (ed.), Early Yiddish Texts 1100-1750: With Introduction and Commentary. * JEAN BAUMGARTEN, Introduction to Old Yiddish Literature. Edited and translated by Jerold C. Frakes.

Dreessen, W.-O. — 2008-04-11

DELIA CORTESE and SIMONETTA CALDERINI, Women and the Fatimids in the World of Islam.

Naguib, S. — 2008-04-11

YASIN DUTTON, Original Islam: Malik and the madhhab of Madina

Melchert, C. — 2008-04-11

PATRICIA CRONE, From Kavad to al-Ghazali: Religion, Law and Political Thought in the Near East, c. 600-c. 1100

Newman, A. J. — 2008-04-11

AGUSTINUS GIANTO (ed.), Biblical and Oriental Essays in Memory of William L. Moran

Lambert, W.G. — 2008-04-11

PIETRO MANDER, Canti sumerici d'amore e morte. La vicenda della dea Inanna/Ishtar e del dio Dumuzi/Tammuz

Watson, W.G.E. — 2008-04-11

WILLIAM L. MORAN (Edited by JOHN HUEHNERGARD and SHLOMO IZRE'EL), Amarna Studies: Collected Writings

Lambert, W.G. — 2008-04-11

AGNES TICHIT, Le verbe en hebreu biblique * AGNES TICHIT, Hebreu Biblique: Grammaire de base et introduction aux fetes juives. Textes expliques

Lipinski, E. — 2008-04-11

DOUGLAS A. KNIGHT, Rediscovering the Traditions of Israel3

Brooke, G. J. — 2008-04-11

ROBERT B. CHISHOLM JR., Interpreting the Historical Books: An Exegetical Handbook

Brooke, G. J. — 2008-04-11

CARL S. EHRLICH and MARSHA C. WHITE (eds), Saul in Story and Tradition

Firth, D. — 2008-04-11

WILLIAM G. DEVER, Did God Have a Wife: Archaeology and Folk Religion in Ancient Israel.

Lizius, T. — 2008-04-11

MELVIN K.H. PETERS (ed.), XII Congress of the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies, Leiden, 2004

Brooke, G. J. — 2008-04-11

DAVID T. RUNIA and GREGORY E. STERLING (eds), The Studia Philonica Annual: Studies in Hellenistic Judaism

Brooke, G. J. — 2008-04-11

LARRY W. HURTADO (ed.), The Freer Biblical Manuscripts: Fresh Studies of an American Treasure Trove

Brooke, G. J. — 2008-04-11

CHRISTINE HELMER with the assistance of CHARLENE T. HIGBE (eds), The Multivalence of Biblical Texts and Theological Meanings

Brooke, G. J. — 2008-04-11

HAROLD W. ATTRIDGE and JAMES C. VANDERKAM (eds), Presidential Voices: The Society of Biblical Literature in the Twentieth Century

Brooke, G. J. — 2008-04-11

MICHAEL WALZER (ed.) Law, Politics, and Morality In Judaism.

Jackson, B.S. — 2008-04-11

JEROME ALAN LUND, The Book of the Laws of Countries: A Dialogue on Free Will Versus Fate. A Key-Word-in-Context Concordance.

Healey, J. F. — 2008-04-11