A Handbook of Biblical Hebrew : Volume 1: Periods, Corpora, and Reading Traditions Volume 2: Selected Texts.

386 Pages·2016·11.587 MB·English

by  W. Randall Garr, Steven E. Fassberg

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A Handbook of A
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D A Handbook of
Biblical Hebrew
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Biblical Hebrew
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Biblical Hebrew is studied worldwide by university students, seminarians, and

the educated public. It is also studied, almost universally, through a single prism— O
that of the Tiberian Masoretic tradition, which is the best attested and most widely F
available tradition of Biblical Hebrew. Thanks in large part to its endorsement by
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Maimonides, it also became the most prestigious vocalization tradition in the Middle I
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Ages. For most, Biblical Hebrew is synonymous with Tiberian Biblical Hebrew.
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There are, however, other vocalization traditions. The Babylonian tradition was I VOLUME 1: PERIODS, CORPORA,
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widespread among Jews around the close of the first millennium CE; the tenth-
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century Karaite scholar al-Qirqisani reports that the Babylonian pronunciation was AND READING TRADITIONS
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in use in Babylonia, Iran, the Arabian peninsula, and Yemen. And despite the fact that

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Yemenite Jews continued using Babylonian manuscripts without interruption from
generation to generation, European scholars learned of them only towards the middle E
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of the nineteenth century. Decades later, manuscripts pointed with the Palestinian
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vocalization system were rediscovered in the Cairo Genizah. Thereafter came the
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discovery of manuscripts written according to the Tiberian-Palestinian system and,
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perhaps most importantly, the texts found in caves alongside the Dead Sea.

What is still lacking, however, is a comprehensive and systematic overview of the

different periods, sources, and traditions of Biblical Hebrew. This handbook provides

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students and the public with easily accessible, reliable, and current information in
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English concerning the multi-faceted nature of Biblical Hebrew. Noted scholars L
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in each of the various fields contributed their expertise. The result is the present M
two-volume work. The first contains an in-depth introduction to each tradition; and E
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the second presents sample accompanying texts that exemplify the descriptions of

the parallel introductory chapters.

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edited by
Eisenbrauns
POB 275 W. Randall Garr and Steven E. Fassberg
Winona Lake, IN 46590
www.eisenbrauns.com
EISENBRAUNS
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A Handbook of Biblical Hebrew
Volume 1

A Handbook of Biblical Hebrew
Volume 1: Periods, Corpora,
and Reading Traditions
edited by
W. R G and S e. F
andall aRR teven aSSbeRG
Winona Lake, Indiana
eiSenbRaunS
2016
© 2016 by Eisenbrauns Inc.
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.

www.eisenbrauns.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Garr, W. Randall, editor. | Fassberg, Steven Ellis, editor.
Title: A handbook of biblical Hebrew / edited by W. Randall Garr and Steven E.
Fassberg.
Description: Winona Lake, Indiana : Eisenbrauns, [2016] | This title consists of 2
physical volumes sold only as a set. | Includes bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016011709 (print) | LCCN 2016012454 (ebook) | ISBN
9781575064697 (vol. 1, hardback : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781575064703 (vol.
2, hardback : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781575063713 (set, hardback : alk. paper) |
ISBN 9781575063720 (pdf)
Subjects: LCSH: Hebrew language—Grammar, Comparative. | Bible Old
Testament—Language, style.
Classification: LCC PJ4567.3 .H36 2016 (print) | LCC PJ4567.3 (ebook) | DDC
492.4/82421—dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016011709
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American Na-
tional Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Mate-
rials, ANSI Z39.48–1984. ♾™
For Laura and Yaʿala

Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Part I
Phases of Biblical Hebrew
1. Standard/Classical Biblical Hebrew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
JoSeph lam and denniS paRdee
2. Archaic Biblical Hebrew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
aGuStinuS Gianto
3. Transitional Biblical Hebrew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
aaRon d. hoRnkohl
4. Late Biblical Hebrew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
mattheW moRGenSteRn
Part II
Contemporary Hebrew Attestations
5. Epigraphic Hebrew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Shmuel aḥituv, W. Randall GaRR,
and Steven e. FaSSbeRG
6. Ben Sira . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Wido van peuRSen
7. The Hebrew of the Dead Sea Scrolls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Jan JooSten
Part III
Ancient and Medieval Reading Traditions
8. Hebrew in Greek and Latin Transcriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
alexey eliyahu yuditSky
vii