Biblical Aramaic

Biblical Aramaic

Andreas Schuele

© 2012 Andreas Schuele

First edition

Published by Westminster John Knox Press Louisville, Kentucky

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Schuele, Andreas.

An Introduction to Biblical Aramaic / Andreas Schuele.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-0-664-23424-9 (alk. paper)

1. Aramaic language—Grammar. 2. Aramaic language—Grammar—Examinations, questions, etc. I. Title.

PJ5213.S38 2012

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2012011410

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Contents

ABOuT ThIS BOOK ix ABBrEvIATIONS xi WhAT IS “BIBLIcAL ArAMAIc”? 1

FrOM ThE PhOENIcIAN TO ThE ArAMAIc

WrITING SySTEM 3

C onsonants and syllables 3

the development of speCifiC phonemes in aramaiC

and hebrew 5

MASOrETIc vOWEL SIGNS 10

v owels and vowel signs 11

Exercise 1: Syllabic Structure of BA Words 14

differenCes between aramaiC and hebrew vowels 15

Exercise 2: Aramaic and Hebrew Word Comparisons 17

Ketib and Qere 17

ThE NOuN 19

g ender 19

absolute and ConstruCt states 20

The Determinate (Emphatic) State 21

Exercise 3: Basic noun parsings 22

partiCular groups of nouns 22

Nouns Ending in w- (-û) and y- (-î) 22

Nouns Ending in h- 24

v vi contents

i mportant individual nouns 24

ba; “father” 24

rB; “son” 24

tn"K. “associate, partner” 24

hL'mi “word, matter” 24

~vu “name” 25

nouns with suffixes 25 Exercise 4: Nouns with suffixes 27

a djeCtives 27

numerals 28

Ordinal Numbers 28

Cardinal Numbers 29

gentiliCs 30

prepositions 30

pronouns 32

Personal Pronouns 32

Demonstrative Pronouns (“This,” “These/Those”) 33

ThE vErB 35 the perfeCt 35 Exercise 5: Perfect forms (base conjugation) 36 the imperfeCt 37 Exercise 6: Imperfect forms (base conjugation) 38 the imperative 38 Exercise 7: Imperative forms (base conjugation) 39

t he jussive 39

the Conjugations 40

Basic Verbal Patterns 41

Exercise 8: Perfect forms in various conjugations 46

Exercise 9: Imperfect forms in various conjugations 46

the partiCiple 47

Exercise 10: Participle forms in various conjugations 49

the infinitive 50

Exercise 11: Infinitive forms in various conjugations 51

Exercise 12: Mixed forms 51

verbs with suffixes 52

Imperfect Forms with Suffixes and Energic Nun (-inn/-in) 53

Exercise 13: Verbs with suffixes 54

weaK verbs 54

Roots Beginning with נ (I n) 55

Roots Beginning with י (I y/w) 55

Roots Beginning with א (I ´) 55

Roots with a Long Vowel in Middle Position

(Hollow Roots; II î/û) 56

contents vii

Roots Ending in h (III y) 56

hta/ata 57

Roots with Identical Second and Third Consonants

(Geminate Roots; II=III) 57

Verbs with x, [, or r 58

Exercise 14: Weak verbs 58

speCial verbs 59

$lh “go” 59

qls “go up” 59

[dy “know” 60

hwh “be” 60

dba “perish” 60

Exercise 15: Weak verbs/special verbs with suffixes 61

Exercise 16: Mixed forms (II) 61

SyNTAx 63

m orphosyntax 63

Genitive Chains 63

Exercise 17: Genitive chains 64

The Particle of Existence yt;ai / yt;yai 65

The Accusative Particle ty" 66

l as Accusative Particle 66

The Interrogative Particle h 66

The Particles hm; and !m; 67

t enses and aspeCts 67

The Perfect 68

The Participle 68

Participle and Perfect as a Combined Tense 69

The Phrase rmaw hn[ 70

Participle and Imperative as a Combined Tense 70

The Imperfect 70

impersonal speeCh 71 Exercise 18: Impersonal speech 72 word order 72 Exercise 19: Word order 74

n arrative syntax 74

Perfect and Participle as Narrative Tenses 75

Circumstantial Clauses 76

Changing Word Order between Predicate and Subject 76

a nalytiC and synthetiC syntax 77

analytiC elements 78

The Particle yDI 78

Exercise 20: The Use of yDI 79

yDI in Compound Conjunctions 79

viii contents

Other Conjunctions 80

Exercise 21: Conjunctions 81

synthetiC syntax 82

Implicit Subjugation 82

Implicit Attributive Clauses 83

WOrd LIST 84

PErSIAN ANd GrEEK LOANWOrdS 91

cOMPArATIvE WOrd LIST (ArAMAIc/hEBrEW) 93

IdIOMATIc ExPrESSIONS 95

APPENdIx 1: ThE ZAKKur INScrIPTION 98

APPENdIx 2: ArAMAIc SAMPLES FrOM QuMrAN 101

a bram’s prayer for god’s help 101

levi’s farewell speeCh: a praise of wisdom 102

King nabonidus’s prayer 103

APPENdIx 3: TWO SAyINGS FrOM ThE WISdOM

OF AhIQAr 105

ANSWErS TO ExErcISES 107

PArAdIGMS 120

t he perfeCt 120

the imperfeCt 129

the imperative 135

the jussive 137

the partiCiple 139

the infinitive 144

About This Book

Like most, if not all, Aramaic instructors, I have been deeply indebted to Franz rosenthal’s seminal Grammar of Biblical Aramaic, arguably the most comprehensive reference grammar available. At the same time, I found myself—again, probably like most of my colleagues—developing my own charts, summaries, and exercises in order to introduce students to Biblical Aramaic, rather than just to review the grammar for them. In accordance with the basic structure of a reference grammar, this book’s purpose is to acquaint students with the writing system, phonology, morphology, and syntax of the pertinent texts in the books of daniel and Ezra. It is a book primarily for the classroom and only secondarily for the specialists in Semitic linguistics. As such, it also seeks to account for the fact that most students who come to Biblical Aramaic have had prior exposure to Biblical hebrew. While this introduction does not presuppose any particular level of expertise in hebrew, it gives students the opportunity to relate what they know about hebrew to their study of Aramaic. For this purpose, side glances at Biblical Aramaic’s “big brother” complement the grammar discussion throughout the book.

Inasmuch as this introduction is a book for the classroom it is also a book from the classroom. The decisions about what to unfold in detail and what to mention in passing were profoundly influenced by what students found to be challenging aspects of the language. Apart from the particularities of Aramaic nouns and verbs, this led me to place special emphasis on syntactical issues. Biblical Aramaic is both a uniquely idiomatic and a highly formulaic language, which means that, even more than in hebrew, the ability to parse forms is only the first step toward understanding the meaning of sentences and entire texts.

The reader should note that I refer throughout to the Masoretic versification, which, in the book of Daniel, differs from the English versions

x About This Book

in the following places: Eng. 4:1–3 = MT 3:31–33; Eng. 4:4–37 = MT 4:1– 34; Eng. 5:31 = MT 6:1; Eng. 6:2–28 = MT 6:2–29. unless otherwise noted, the translations of all texts are my own.

Finally a word of thanks. I am grateful to Westminster John Knox Press for including a technical book like this in their program. My hope is that this will help to cultivate an awareness in the church that thorough linguistic training is not a luxury reserved for the academic guild but rather an indispensible part of the training of those who seek to become interpreters of Scripture.

Abbreviations

abs. absolute (state)

adj. adjective

BA Biblical Aramaic

Bh Biblical hebrew

c. common

cent(s). century(ies)

cf. compare

const. construct (state)

dem. demonstrative

det. determinate (state)

f. feminine

ha. hap`el (conjugation)

hitpa. hitpa``al (conjugation) hitpe. hitpe`el (conjugation)

ho. hop`al (conjugation)

impf. imperfect

impv. imperative

inf. infinitive

lit. literal(ly)

m. masculine

m.l. mater lectionis

n.e. nun energicum (energic nun) neg. negation/negative

NrSv New revised Standard version pa. Pa``el (conjugation)

pe. Pe`al (conjugation)

pf. perfect

xii Abbreviations

pl. plural

prep. preposition

pron. pronoun

ptc. participle

reg. regular

rSv revised Standard version sg. singular

suf. suffix

What Is “Biblical Aramaic”?

The term Biblical Aramaic points to the fact that, in addition to Biblical hebrew, the Old Testament/hebrew Bible hosts one other Semitic language. Parts of the books of daniel (dan 2:4–7:28) and Ezra (4:8–6:18; 7:12–26), as well as one verse from the book of Jeremiah (Jer 10:11) and two words in Genesis 31:47 were written in Aramaic. The pertinent passages in daniel and Ezra seem to have been consciously inserted into literary contexts that otherwise used hebrew (cf. dan 2:4 and Ezra 4:7). The reason for the change of language is apparent in Ezra: these texts include correspondence between Jewish officials and the Persian court. Although exegetes dispute if or to what extent these are authentic documents, it is clear that at the time of the Persian Empire any correspondence between a province and the royal court, whether authentic or imaginary, had to be in Aramaic, the lingua franca. It is the literary genre itself that calls for Aramaic. however, in the book of daniel, there is no obvious reason why the language changes from hebrew to Aramaic and then returns to hebrew in chapter 8. According to one hypothesis, the text of Daniel as we have it in the Hebrew Bible is an unfinished translation from Aramaic into hebrew. This view is based on the assumption that, by the time the book was composed (in the first half of the 2nd cent. BCE), Hebrew had already been recognized as the language of the canonical traditions, whereas Aramaic had become the dominant spoken and written language. But such an explanation may not be required. Most likely, the daniel tradition, which, as the Greek transmission shows, extended well beyond the biblical material, comprised texts in both hebrew and Aramaic that were then included in the biblical book of daniel.

On linguistic grounds, Biblical Aramaic is a bit of an awkward category. Although dating and locating the Ezra and daniel texts is tricky, most exegetes agree that there may be more than two centuries between Ezra and most of daniel, and that not only time but also space separates them. Ezra’s frame of reference is the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem, while daniel’s world is that of the Babylonian diaspora. despite these striking differences in context, the language used in both traditions is relatively similar. Because of their genre as folktales, the daniel narratives exhibit an Aramaic that is more idiomatic than Ezra’s, but there are hardly any differences in morphology and syntax. This can be explained by the fact that the language of both Ezra and daniel is part of what Semitists call Imperial (or Official) Aramaic. By the late Assyrian and Babylonian periods Aramaic, rather than cuneiform, was being used in the official communication between Mesopotamia and Syria-Palestine. In the Persian period, Aramaic finally advanced to the status of the lingua franca, the common language of the Achaemenid Empire. If it was ever true in early antiquity that the earth had the same language and the same words, as Genesis 11:1 depicts it, then this was Imperial Aramaic. This does not mean that there was only one spoken language at that time. People certainly continued to use their native languages and local dialects. however, the remarkable degree of coherence of the texts that have come to us from this period can be attributed to the use of Aramaic as the standard written language—not unlike medieval Latin or even today’s common English. An introduction to Biblical Aramaic, therefore, provides access not only to the pertinent texts in Ezra and daniel but also to the literary remnants of the Persian period^1 and beyond. Even the Aramaic texts from Qumran^2 (mostly from the 2nd and 1st cents. BcE), despite their particularities, are still indebted to Imperial Aramaic as their predecessor. It is only toward the end of the first millennium BCE and in the following centuries that two grammatically distinct types of Aramaic emerge: an Eastern type (in Mesopotamia) and a Western type (in Syria-Palestine).3

1. cf. the vast amount of epigraphic material from Egypt, especially the documents from Elephantine (today’s Aswan), where a Jewish military colony was stationed during the Achaeminid period. See B. Porten, ed., Jews of Elephantine and Arameans of Syene: Fifty Aramaic Texts with Hebrew and English Translations (Jerusalem: hebrew university, 1976); B. Porten and A. yardeni, Textbook of Aramaic Documents from Ancient Egypt, 4 vols. (Jerusalem: hebrew university, 1986–1999). One document that needs to be mentioned in particular for its historical importance is the Behistun (or Bisitun) inscription of King darius. It exists in three different versions: Old Persian, Akkadian, and Aramaic. See J. C. Greenfield and B. Porten, eds., The Bisitun Inscription of Darius the Great: Aramaic Version, corpus Inscriptionum Iranicarum (London: Lund humphries, 1982).

2. For editions cf. K. Beyer, Die aramäischen Texte vom Toten Meer, 2 vols. (Göttingen: vandenhoeck & ruprecht, 1984–2004); J. h. charlesworth, ed., The Dead Sea Scrolls: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek Texts with English Translations (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1994–).

3. An overview of the history of Aramaic is provided by K. Beyer, The Aramaic Language: Its Distribution and Subdivisions, trans. J. F. healey (Göttingen: vandenhoeck & ruprecht, 1986).

From the Phoenician to the Aramaic Writing System

ConSonAnTS AnD SyLLABLeS

The inventors of the Northwest Semitic writing system were the Phoenicians, who had lived in the northern coastal area of Syria-Palestine long before Arameans and canaanites (among them especially Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, and eventually Israelites and Judeans) settled in the same area. compared especially with the much more sophisticated cuneiform system of Mesopotamia, the Phoenician system presents a rather handy and easy-to-learn alphabet. It consists of twenty-two signs, the same as in the hebrew alphabet (see comparison table on p. 4).

This writing system had its merits. It was easier to learn and to use than cuneiform, which required a much greater level of scribal sophistication and expertise. however, since it includes only consonants, the simplicity of the Phoenician script involved a significant level of ambiguity regarding the vocalization and meaning of words. A simple form like l[p can have a variety of grammatical functions and meanings: infinitive, all imperative forms (except f. pl.), 3rd masculine or feminine singular perfect, 3rd plural perfect, singular participle (all forms), plural participle (const.). Although these possibilities are never equally likely in a given literary context, the writing of consonants alone requires the reader to complete the phonemic structure of a word. This is certainly not a specific problem of Northwest Semitic languages, since no writing system (except perhaps the International Phonetic Alphabet) could ever represent the entire phonemic inventory of a given language. however, it seems that the lack of any vowel signs was perceived as a problem, at least by those who adopted the Phoenician writing system.

original form Square script A a B b G g D d H h W w Z z j x F j Jy y K k / $ L l M m / ~ N n / ! s s [ [ p p / @ x c / # q q r r c X t t The Phoenicians themselves never changed or developed their script. Significant changes occurred, however, when the Arameans took it over and adjusted it to the needs of their own language. The most significant novelty that the Arameans introduced was vowel signs (also called matres lectionis, “reading aids”); they used some of the signs (a, h, y, and w) to indicate vowels. This was probably not a deliberate invention but resulted from the coming together of the Phoenician script and Aramaic phonetics. For example, the Arameans pronounced wmnp (a Phoenician personal name) Panamū, whereas the Phoenicians themselves pronounced it Panamuwa. To the Arameans, the w in wmnpwas not a consonant but a symbol expressing the final -ū. So it was to a certain extent by coincidence that the Arameans introduced vowel signs to the Phoenician script.

Originally, these vowel signs were used only for long vowels at the ends of words. At a later stage, however, they were increasingly used in the cores of words and for short vowels, as the Qumran texts especially show (atmkwx trcwa, “The treasures of wisdom”; the w in trcwa indicates a long (and in this case contracted) vowel [´awṣār > ´ōṣār]; in atmkwx, however, the vowel is short [ḥokmātā´] and would not have been written in Old/Ancient/Early Aramaic texts).

The DeveLoPmenT oF SPeCIFIC PhonemeS In ArAmAIC AnD heBreW

vowel signs are a genuine feature of the Aramaic script. They are familiar to students who know hebrew before they come to Aramaic. historically, however, it was the other way round: when the Palestinian tribes settled down, they took over the writing system from their immediate neighbors, the Arameans.

A problem for the Arameans was that the Phoenician alphabet did not match entirely the phonemic inventory of their language. In particular, the Arameans had more consonants than the Phoenicians, which meant that some signs had to be used for more than one consonantal value. The following chart indicates those cases where, for reasons to be explained below, a consonant expressed two or three different phonemes.4

4. One of the texts that provide insight into this stage of the development of Aramaic is the royal inscription of King Zakkur of hamat, which dates from the 9th cent. BcE. A portion of this inscription is included in appendix 1 of this book.

old Aramaic

a ´ b b g g d d h h w w z z, d x H, h j † y y k k l l m m n n s s [ `, ṟ^5 p p c c, ts q q, g r r X š, ś, t t t

But how does one know about multiple consonantal values, if there is only one sign? This becomes clear if one compares Old Aramaic with another Semitic language, such as Biblical hebrew. A few rules help us to understand why certain words are spelled differently in hebrew than in Aramaic, although they are the same words.

ז

Besides the soft sibilant /z/, as in English “zoo,” z also represented the interdental /d/, as the th in “those.” It is called “interdental” because it has a

5. A deep laryngeal, rolled /r/.

sibilant ( s-like) and a dental (d/t-like) component. For example, the masculine singular demonstrative pronoun “this (one)” was originally spelled yz and pronounced /dī/. In later Aramaic (including BA), the same word was spelled differently, namely yd. This suggests that the pronunciation had changed to /dī/. The interdental had become purely dental. Ancient hebrew had the same interdental but here it turned into a sibilant; the word hz was still written with a z but pronounced /zæ/.

The practical rule for students who are already familiar with hebrew is that in some cases (where ancient Northwest Semitic had an interdental) BA shows a d, while Bh has a z.

Ancient Semitic z /d/

BA Bh d/d/ z /z/

This includes the following words:

BA Bh “gold” bh;D> bh'z" “altar” xB;d>m; x;Bez>mi “arm” [r"D> [;Arz> “to sacrifice” xb;D. xb;z"

צ

The same principle of interdentals splitting up into a dental component (Aramaic) and a sibilant component (hebrew) applies to /ts/, a consonant that has no equivalent in English (one would have to pronounce /Ts/ and /Th/ at the same time). In Aramaic this interdental eventually became an emphatic /†/ (nonexistent in English), written j; in hebrew it became an emphatic /c/ (as in “tsetse fly”), written c.

Ancient Semitic c /ts/

BA Bh j /†/ c /c/

Examples

BA Bh “mountain” rWj rWc “summer” jyIq; #yIq;

ש

A third case of interdentals becoming dentals and sibilants is /t/, such as the th in “thing” or “therapy.” In Aramaic this developed into a simple /t/, written t, in hebrew into a /š/, as in “ship,” written X.

Ancient Semitic X /t/

BA Bh t /t/ X /š/

Examples

BA Bh “three” tl'T. vl{v' “to return”/“to do again” bWT bWv “to sit/settle down” bt;y> bv;y"

ק

A final case where Aramaic and Hebrew developed different consonantal values from the same ancient Northwest Semitic phoneme is an emphatic laryngeal whose original pronouncation, again, is uncertain. The most important word that includes this sound is “land,” in Old Aramaic written qra (as in Jer 10:11). Students of hebrew know this word as #ra (#r<a,). The original sound seems to have had an emphatic sibilant component that in hebrew merged with c, whereas in later (Biblical) Aramaic it merged with [ and became [ra ([r:a]).

Ancient Semitic

q /g/

BA Bh [ /`/ c /c/

Examples

BA Bh “land” [r:a] #r,a, “wool” rm;[] rm,c,

Eventually, the alphabet of Imperial Aramaic comprised twenty-two signs that stood for twenty-three consonants (only X still expressed two consonantal values: [š] and [S]).

BA

a ´ b b g g d d h h w w z z x H j † y y k k l l m m n n s s [ ` p p c c q q r r X š, ś t t

masoretic vowel Signs

Whereas BA texts represent the consonants of Imperial Aramaic, vowel signs were added to these texts at a much later stage by the Tiberian Masoretes (8th to 10th cents. cE). As with Bh, more than a millennium lies between the consonants and the addition of vowel signs. The Masoretes applied a vocalizing system that, in their view, represented the Aramaic vowels of the ancient texts. however, since the Masoretes themselves spoke Aramaic, there is reason to assume that, to a large extent, the Masoretes’ vocalization of BA reflects the Aramaic of their own time.

The Masoretes distinguished between stops and spirants for the following six consonants: b, g, d, k, p, and t (the so-called begadkepat consonants). The stop pronounciation (b, g, d, k, p, t) is indicated by a dagesh lene (B, G, D, K, P, T) and applies when no vowel precedes the consonant: %yrIB. “blessed” (beginning of a word), aK'l.m; “the king” (mal-kā´, no vowel before K). If a vowel stands before one of these consonants, they are spirantized and written without a dagesh: ba; “father,” dbe[' “making” (vowels precede both the b and the d). For the purpose of reading it is not crucial to distinguish between stop and spirant. One can pronounce these consonants either as stops, regardless of whether they carry a dagesh, or use the Modern hebrew pronounciation that distinguishes between stop and spirant only in the cases of b (/b/ or /v/), k (/k/ or /k/), and p (/p/ or /f/).6

The dagesh sign can also indicate the doubling of a consonant (hL'mi “word,” AMhi “they”); in these cases, it is called a dagesh forte. All consonants can be doubled except the laryngeals (or gutturals): a, h, x, [, and r. Note that for the begadkepat this means that a dagesh can be either a dagesh forte (vyDIq; qaddîš

6. For the remaining three consonants the spirant pronounciations are /θ/ (t) as in “thick,” /th/ (d) as in “those,” and /ġ/ (g), a laryngeal r-like sound.

10

“holy,” hK'nUx]ḥănūkkâ “consecration”) or a dagesh lene; in !yPiG: gappîn “wings,” the dagesh in G is a dagesh lene, whereas in P it is a dagesh forte.

voWeLS AnD voWeL SIgnS

The three basic vowels in most of the ancient Semitic languages are a, i, and u.They are either long or short. Other vowels can be seen as filling the phonic spectrum between a/i and a/u.

Long vowels

ā

ē ō

ī ū

The Masoretic names of these vowels are:

ā qāmeṣ, ē ṣērê, ī (long) ḥīreq, ō ḥōlem, ū (long) qibbûṣ

Short vowels a

e (æ) o (ó)

i u

a pataḥ, e (æ) sěgōl, i (short) ḥīreq, o (ŏ) qāmeṣ ḥāṭûp, u (short)qibbûṣ The vowel signs are identical with those of Bh:

qāmeṣ ā B' qāmeṣ ḥaṭûp^7 o B' pataḥ a B; sěgōl e B, ṣērê ē Be ḥīreq i/ì Bi qibbûṣ u/ù Bu ḥōlem ö Bo

7. As in Bh, the qāmeṣ sign can also stand for the qāmeṣ ḥāṭûp (short open o as in “obstacle”) in closed syllables that do not carry the main emphasis of the word. For example, in hm'k.x' (ḥokmâ) “wisdom” the emphasis is on the last syllable. The first qāmeṣ does not have an emphasis and occurs in a closed syllable; thus it is a qāmeṣ ḥāṭûp.

According to the Masoretic system, there are “long” and “over-long” (or “ultra-long”) syllables. A long syllable can be an open syllable, consisting of a consonant + long vowel (bā, mī,kū), or a closed syllable, consisting of a consonant + short vowel + closing consonant (bab, min, kul). A syllable is over-long if it is closed and has a long vowel (bāb, mīn, kūl).

however, there are also examples of open syllables with short vowels ( ba, mi, ku), for example, ybia; (two syllables: ybi-a;, ´a-bî “my father”), in which case the Masoretes usually add an accent (metheg) to the short syllable in order to lengthen it.

The Masoretes also created a set of signs to indicate where there was no full vowel or no vowel at all. Except for the laryngeals a, h, x, and [, the sign for a “semi-vowel” or “half-vowel” is the vocal shewa^8 (or, using Latin, shewa mobile) (e.g., B., transliterated bě-).9 Since the vocal shewa is not a full vowel, it cannot stand in an open syllable on its own. Thus the consonant carrying the shewa is an upbeat or reduced syllable to the following full syllable: ~l'v.šělām or šě-lām “wellbeing.”

however, the Masoretes also used the shewa sign to indicate the end of a closed syllable: ay"r>qi (ay"-r>qi) qir-yā´ “city,” hm'k.x' (hm'-k.x') ḥok-mâ “wisdom.” In these cases, the shewa is silent and thus called silent shewa or shewa quiescens.

These rules are roughly the same in BA and Bh. The following list includes Aramaic words analyzed according to their syllabic structure:

!yDI “judgment” t[em.vi “I have heard”

%t'Wkl.m;B. “in your kingdom”

!yMijur>x; “magicians” !yDI (one closed syllable)

t[e - m.viB. (two closed syllables, first one with silent shewa)

%t' - Wk - l.m;B. (1. closed syllable, ending with silent^10shewa; 2. open syllable; 3. closed syllable)

!ymi - mju - r>x; (1. closed syllable, ending with silent shewa; 2. closed syllable;11 3. closed syllable)

at'WlG" “the exile”

8. We will be using the transliteration shewa, which most textbooks prefer, instead of šewā or schwa.

9. Sometimes also transliterated as ǝ or e.

10. Notice that even though the shewa is silent, the following kaph has no dagesh. This anomaly has been noted by scholars, but there is no good explanation. On occasion, the Masoretes apparently did not follow their own rules.

11. Note that the doubled m counts as two consonants for the syllabic structure of the word.

WL[;hu “they were brought”

tx;k;T.v.hi “it was found”

at'y>r>qi “the city”

xl;v.yI “he will send” at' - Wl - G" (three open^12 syllables)

Wl - l[; - hu (1. open syllable; 2. closed syllable; 3. open syllable^13)

tx; - k;T. - v.hi (1. closed syllable with silent shewa; 2. open syllable, with vocal shewa; 3. closed syllable)

at'y> - r>qi (1. closed syllable with silent shewa; 2. open syllable, with vocal shewa)

xl; - v.yI (1. closed syllable with silent shewa; 2. closed syllable)

In the case of the laryngeals ( a, h, x, and [) the Masoretes decided that the vocal shewa should have an a-like sound and thus put a pataḥ, qāmeṣ, or sěgōl next to the shewa (B] / B\ / B/). These are called ḥāṭēp pataḥ, ḥāṭēp qāmeṣ,14 and ḥāṭēp sěgōl.

ah'l'a/ “God” ah' - l'a/ (1. open syllable, with ḥāṭēp sěgōl; 2. open syllable

an"r>m;a] “we said” an" - r>m;a] (1. closed syllable, with ḥāṭēp pataḥ, ending with silent shewa; 2. open syllable)

at'w"x]p;W “and the governors” at' - w"x] p;W (1. open syllable, beginning with w;15 2. open syllable, with ḥāṭēp pataḥ; 3. open syllable)

~d"q\ “before” ~d"q\ (1. closed syllable, with ḥāṭēp qāmeṣ)

12. Note that the aleph does not close the syllable, even though it is a consonant (here and in several examples to follow). In all these cases, aleph is m. l. for a long vowel at the end of a word (either feminine ending or article).

13. The doubled l counts as two consonants.

14. The ḥāṭēp qāmeṣ has roughly the same pronounciation as the qāmeṣ ḥāṭûp (o). Note, however, that the ḥāṭēp qāmeṣ occurs only in open syllables, the qāmeṣ ḥāṭûp only in closed syllables.

15. Note that the conjunction w> or W “and” is considered part of the word (noun or verb) to which it is attached and as such “lengthens” the opening syllable.

exercise 1: Syllabic Structure of BA Words Analyze the syllabic structure of the following words.

!yKil.m; “kings”

an"h]K' “priest”

aY"m;v. “heaven”

h['B.r>a; “four”

yhiALGIl.G: “its wheels”

yBin:t.hi “he prophesied”

amer>t.yI “he shall be cast” an"w"G>r>a; “purple”

hx'K'v.h;l. “in order to find”

It is important to realize that the rules for pointing words in BA are even less systematic than in Bh. As with all the ancient Semitic languages written in the Phoenician alphabet, it is helpful to first develop a sense of the consonantal patterns, since the Masoretic vowel signs are a later addition to, but not a part of, the original text.

DIFFerenCeS BeTWeen ArAmAIC AnD heBreW voWeLS

For students who come to BA from Bh, a few observations help us understand the differences between the systems of vowels in both languages.

observation 1

Sometimes Bh has a ḥōlem where BA has a qāmeṣ. In these cases, BA is closer to the original Northwest Semitic vowel pattern than Bh, which shifted ā to ō/ô.

BA Bh “human/humankind” vn"a/ vAna/ “generation” rD" rAD, rDo “sound, voice” lq' lAq “killing” (ptc.) ljeq' ljeAq

observation 2

unlike Bh, BA has very few segolate nouns^16 (e.g., Bh@s,K, “silver, money”). The singular absolute forms of this group of nouns in BA have a vowel pattern ě–a (shewa–pataḥ): @s;K.. “silver, money.” There are a few exceptions to this rule, where the hebrew and the Aramaic forms are identical: %l,m, “king,” !r,q,, “horn,” and at,D, “grass” (Bh av,D,). It remains unclear whether these exceptions were made on purpose or if the Masoretes more or less unconsciously used the hebrew patterns for the Aramaic as well.

Other examples include:

BA Bh “man,” “a certain one” rb;G> rb,G< “salt” xl;m. xl;m, “interpretation” rv;P. rv,Pe “meal,” “feast” ~x,l. ~x,l, “servant” dbe[] db,[, “wrath” @c;q. @c,q,

observation 3

unlike their vocalization of hebrew words, the Masoretes did not lengthen vowels in pretonic syllables (syllables preceding the main emphasis of a word) in Aramaic. According to Masoretic rules, there should be no open syllables with a short vowel (e.g., ba, mu, ki). As a consequence, they had to either lengthen the vowel (consonant plus long vowel: bā, mū, kī) or they had to reduce it to a half-vowel (shewa or ḥāṭēp vowel: bě, bă). In pretonic syllables, the Masoretes chose long vowels in Hebrew and half-vowels in Aramaic:

1. Perfect 3 m. sg.: The original Northwest Semitic form was qatál. For the Hebrew, the Masoretes decided that the first (pretonic) syllable should have a long vowel, lj;q'., whereas in Aramaic they reduced the vowel to shewa: lj;q..

2. Nouns in the singular absolute state. Because there is no lengthening of originally short vowels in pretonic syllables, a large number of Aramaic nouns begin with shewa or ḥāṭēp vowels.

16. Originally, these were nouns with double consonance at the end (/ kasp/ “money”). The Masoretes, however, decided to break up the double consonance by inserting a short vowel between the second and third consonants. Since this short vowal is typically a segol (or, with laryngeals, ḥātēp pataḥ), this group of nouns is referred to as segolate nouns.

Hl'a/ “God”

!yIm;v. “heaven” am'x/ “anger, “rage” tc'q. “end,” “part (of)”

exercise 2: Aramaic and hebrew Word Comparisons Based on the Aramaic phonetic system as well as on the Masoretic vocalization rules outlined above, try to construct the hebrew forms of the following BA words. Where there are no vowels, identify the three root consonants in hebrew.

~l'v. vm;v.

[r;z> rbt

td;x] rAT

j[y gl;T.

~lec. bdk

KeTIB AnD Qere

As in Bh, the Masoretes decided to vocalize certain Aramaic words against the vocalization that the consonantal text itself suggests. It is not clear whether they wished to “correct” the written text (they obviously did not feel at liberty to change the sacred consonantal text itself) or if they intuitively used the vocalization (qěrê “what is read”) to which they were accustomed, although it did not always match the consonants that were written (kětîb “what is written”). For example, the consonants for “zither” are swrtyq, which suggests that one should read sArt'yqi (qîtārôs “guitar”). however, the Masoretes vocalize it sArt.yq; (qatrôs), as if the y was not there.17 In a number of Bible editions both the Qere and the Ketib are printed next to each other. Other editions, like the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, keep the original consonantal text together with the masoretic vowels. Other examples:

hT.n>a; (BA 2 m. sg. pron.) “you.” The Ketib htna suggests that one should read hT'n>a;; the Masoretes vocalize it T.n>a;.

17. The most famous example of a Qere is the Tetragrammaton. hwhy follows the pattern of an imperfect form: Yahweh. The Masoretes, however, avoided pronouncing the divine name and used the vowels of the word yn"doa] (´ădōnāy) “Lord” instead. Note, however, that, while the Tetragrammaton occurs in the hebrew sections of daniel and Ezra, it is never used in the Aramaic passages of these books.

av'wn"a] (BA m. sg. noun) “human being”: Ketib avwna (→av'Ana/); Qere av'n"a].

The noun

genDer

Biblical Aramaic distinguishes between masculine and feminine forms; there is no third—neutral—gender. Where gender is grammatically expressed, the feminine singular ending, as in Bh, is ā. This can be indicated through h- or less commonly (and unlike Bh) a-.18

%l,m, “king” hK'l.m; “queen”

!yDI “judgment” (m.)

hn"ydIm. “(judicial district =) province” (f.)

aybin> “prophet” (m.) ha'Wbn> “prophecy” (f.)

hw"yxe or aw"yxe “animal” (f.)

18. Note that in those cases where a- represents the feminine ending, it could mistakenly be interpreted as the Aramaic definite article (see below).

19

ABSoLuTe AnD ConSTruCT STATeS

As in most Semitic languages, Aramaic has an absolute and a construct state. The absolute state indicates that a noun is not determined by any other noun, whereas in the construct state it is followed by one or several other nouns (genitive, or construct chain). For example, in the phrase “the house of david,” “house” is the construct noun because it is determined in this case by a proper noun that explains whose house it is.

Whereas the masculine singular forms show no difference in the absolute and construct states, there are specific endings for the absolute and construct in the feminine singular and all of the plural forms.

endings absolute construct

m. sg. f. sg.

m. pl. f. pl.

h '/ a '

!y i^19 ! '

t ;

y e

t '20

Paradigm

m. sg. f. sg.21 m. pl. f. pl.

absolute %l<m,,

hK'l.m;

!yKil.m; !K'l..m;

construct %l<m,,

tK;l.m;

-yKel.m;

tK'l.m;22

examples

!n"T.m;

!yKil.m; arEm' lb,B' tn:ydIm. yG:x; ta;Wbn> “gifts” (sg. hn"T.m;)

“the lord of kings”

“the province of Babylon” “the prophecy of haggai” (abs. ha'Wbn> “prophecy”) !ymiyKix; “wise men”

lb,B' ymeyKix; “the wise men of Babylon”

!m'z> “(appointed) time” (sg.!; n is part of the root)

19. cf. the hebrew pl. ending ~y I- (îm).

20. cf. the hebrew pl. ending tA- (ôt) where the Aramaic form has a (´ā).

21. There are, however, fem. nouns that do not have the fem. endings in the sg.; for example, x:Wr “spirit,” !r<q< “horn,” !b,a, “stone.”

22. Note that the only difference between the fem. sg. and pl. const. forms is the pataḥ in the sg. and the qāmeṣ in the pl.

The Determinate (emphatic) State

The determinate (or emphatic) state denotes a noun plus thedefinite article. The form of the article in BA is unique. Whereas in hebrew (and Arabic) the article precedes the word with which it is connected, it follows it in Aramaic as a '- (pronounced ā).

aK'l.m; “the king” (Bh%l,M,h;)

~lec. “a statue/image” am'l.c; “the statue/image”

rf;B. “flesh”

ar"f.Bi “the flesh” (in Dan 2:11 meaning “humankind”)

ah'l'a/-tyBe “the house of God/the temple” (cf. Bh~yhil{a/h'-tyBe)

One possible explanation for the difference in the article is that in both hebrew and Aramaic it was originally a deictic element ah' (hā´) “see (this).” In hebrew it was placed before the word to which it referred. This eventually led to the assimilation of ato the first consonant of the following noun. This could be the reason why the article requires a doubling at the beginning of a word (ha´ melek > hammelek). In Aramaic the same deictic element was placed after the word, and the heventually disappeared so that only the א remained (malk-hā´ > malkā´).

unlike Bh, the construct (not the absolute) forms provide the basis of the emphatic state.

Paradigm

m. sg. aK'l.m; a '+ klm

f. sg. at'K.l.m; a '+ tk;lm

m. pl. aY"K;l.m; a '+ yklm

f. pl. at'K'l.m; a '+ tk'lm^23

It is important to be aware that the determinate state in BA is very common and can sometimes replace the absolute state without any change in meaning. Moreover, in many cases in BA one can only guess what the absolute form of a noun is because only the determinate form is attested. Also, sometimes the article can be written h- instead of a-; this can be confusing, since, in these cases, a word looks like a feminine form: ab't'K. “the writing” is a determinate masculine form (abs. bt'K.), but it can also be written hb't'K..24

23. Note that the only difference between the f. sg. and f. pl. are the vowels before the ending at-.

exercise 3: Basic noun Parsings

Parse and translate the following forms with the help of a dictionary.

av'm.vi aY"m;Ay

aT'n>ydIm. aT'r>Wbg>W at'm.k.x'

hB'z>bin> hw"yxe

aY"n:h]K' at'l.aev.

an"j'l.v' at'w"x]p;

aY"[;r"T' ht'[]v;

aY"n:V'li aY"m;v. lyxe

aK'l.m; tw:r>[; at'n"ydIm. ynEjol.vi

Particular groups of nouns Nouns Ending in ו- (û) and י- (î)

Absolute Singular

W- (û) and, to a lesser extent, y - (î), are common endings of feminine nouns. In many cases, these nouns are derived from roots ending in h-.25

24. In dan 5:7 and 15 both forms occur in each verse. Other words that have the article written as h- sometimes as well as a- are hK'l.m; “the king,” and hz"r" “the mystery/riddle.”

25. Wzx/ “vision, appearance” (from hzx “to see”) is another important noun ending in ו-; in the plural, however, it has masculine forms: HvearE ywEz>x, “the visions of his head.”

W[B' “prayer, request” (h[b “ask for, request”) Wbr> “greatness” (hbr “be/become great”)

WlG" “exile” (hlg “uncover, reveal”)

Wlv' “neglect” (hlX “be at ease, rest”)

Wkz" “purity, innocence” (hkz “be pure, blameless”) W[r> “pleasure, will” (h[r “to shepherd”)

Wbc. “thing, matter”

Wlw"n> / yliw"n> “dunghill, refuse heap”

yrIx\a' “another” (f.), probably derived from the m. form !r"x\a'

Construct Singular

In the singular, the construct and determinate endings are simply added to the absolute ending W- (û). In the construct forms, this is the standard feminine ending t-, which leads to tW- (e.g., tW[B'). As with other nouns, the construct form also provides the basis for the determinate state (e.g., at'WlN")26 and pronominal suffixes (e.g., HteW[B' “his petition”; see below).

Determinate Singular

at'Wlg"-ynEB. “deportees” (lit. “the sons of the exile”)

No absolute forms are attested in the plural. Construct Plural

The W- turns into a full consonant, to which the feminine ending t "- (āt) is added.

tw"K.l.m; “kingdoms of . . .”

Determinate Plural (const. form plus article)

at'w"K.l.m;-lK' “all [other] kingdoms”

26. There are, however, exceptions. Sometimes the article can be attached to the absolute form, as in aw"z>x, “the vision.”

Nouns Ending in ה

Another group of nouns that change their form in different states are those ending in h-. As in most Semitic languages, a final h is unstable and turns either into w or y when followed by another consonant.

hyEr>a; “lion” (abs. sg.) but

at'w"y"r>a; “the lions” (det. pl.)

h[;m. (a['m.) “abdomen” but

!yI[;m. “entrails”

Important Individual nouns

בא “father”

The same h- expansion of the word stem that one finds in ~vu/th'm'v. also occurs in the plural (const.) of ba;: th'b'a].27

רבַּ “son”

rB; has a different second consonant from the corresponding Bh term !Be (n and r, however, belong to the same group of the so-called liquid consonants). In the plural forms, however, BA too has a n: !yIn:B' (abs.), av'n"a]-ynEB. “humans.”

תנָכְּ “associate, partner”

A common Aramaic noun. In BA it occurs only in its plural construct form: tw"n"K..28

הלָּמִ “word, matter”

hL'mi covers about the same semantic field as BH rb'D". It has regular forms in the singular construct and determinate states (const. aK'l.m; tL;mi “the word of the king”; det. at'L.mi as in at'L.mi-rv;P. “the interpretation of the matter”). Although it is a feminine noun, the plural endings are masculine: !yLimi (abs.), aK'l.m; yLemi (const.), aY"L;mi (det.).

27. Attested are two suffixed forms: ynit;h'b'a] (“my ancestors”) and an"t;h\b'a] (“our ancestors”). For nouns with suffixes see the next paragraph.

28. Attested is the suffixed form !Aht.w"n"K. (“their associates”).

םשֻׁ “name”

Note the Aramaic vocalization ~vu as opposed to Bh ~ve. Although this is a masculine noun, the plural forms are gramatically feminine. Also, in the plural construct, the word stem has an additional h: th'm'v. (no other plural forms are attested).

Nouns with Suffixes

To express a possessional relationship ( your mother, my nerves, etc.) BA uses pronominal suffixes, most of which are similar to those in BH. However, the suffixes of the third masculine singular (by far the most frequent of all pronominal suffixes in BA) show especially distinct forms.

sg. noun + 3 m. sg. suf.

Bh AtyBe

“his house”

BA HTey>B;

pl. noun + 3 m. sg. suf. wyn"B'

“his sons”

yhiAnB.

The pronominal suffixes of BA are the following:

sg. noun pl. noun

1 c. sg. y Iy ;

2 m. sg. % - %yI ;

3 m. sg. H eyhiA

3 f. sg. H ;Hy ;

1 c. pl. an ;- any ;

2 m. pl. ~ko .- / !ko .~koy e- / !koy e

3 m. pl. ~ho .- / !ho .~hoy e- / !hoy e

3 f. pl. !whe .- / !he .29 ~whey e- / !hey eSuffixes attached to masculine nouns:

29. The Ketiv indicates that the ending should be read !Ah-. The masoretic Qere, however, suggests a reading !he-.

sg. noun

1 c. sg. yhil'a, “my god”

2 m. sg. %h'l'a, “your god”

3 m. sg. Hhel'a, “his god”

3 f. sg. Hh;l'a, “her god”

1 c. pl. an"h;l'a, “our god”

2 m. pl. ~koh]l'a, / !koh]l'a, “your god”

3 m. pl. ~hoh]l'a, / !hoh]l'a, “their god”

3 f. pl. !wheh]l'a, / !heh]l'a, “their god”

pl. noun

yh;l'a, “my gods”

%yIh'l'a, “your gods”

yhiAhl'a, “his gods”

Hyh;l'a, “her gods”

anyh;l'a, “our gods”

~koyhel'a, / !koyhel'a, “your gods” ~hoyhel'a, / !hoyhel'a, “their gods” ~wheyhel'a, / !heyhel'a, “their gods”

In the case of feminine nouns, both singular and plural, the suffix is always attached to the t- ending of the construct forms. This means that the suffixes added to the singular forms and those added to the plural forms do not differ.

Suffixes added to feminine nouns (note that, due to the small number of suffixed f. nouns, not all paradigmatic forms are attested):

sg. noun

1 c. sg. ytiK;l.m; “my queen”

2 m. sg. %t'K;l.m; “your queen”

3 m. sg. HteK;l.m; “his queen”

3 f. sg. Ht;K;l.m; “her queen”

1 c. pl. an"t;K;l.m; “our queen”

2 m. pl. ~kot.K;l.m; / !kot.K;l.m; “your queen”

3 m. pl. ~hot.K;l.m; / !hot.K;l.m; “their queen”

3 f. pl. !whet.K;l.m; / !het.K;l.m; “their queen”

pl. noun

ytiK'l.m; “my queens”

%t'K'l.m; “your queens”

HteK'l.m; “his queens”

Ht;K'l.m; “her queens”

an"t;K'l.m; “our queens”

~kot.K'l.m; / !kot.K'l.m; “your queens” ~hot.K'l.m; / !hot.K'l.m; “their queens” !whet.K'l.m; / !het.K'l.m; “their queens”

examples

ytiWKl.m; “my kingdom,” yn:Ay[.r: “my thoughts,” !Aht.w"n"K. “their associates,” an"t;h'b'a] “our fathers,” an"x.l;m. “our salt,” HW:G: “her midst,” HM;PU “its mouth,” yhiALG>l.G: “its wheels,” %m'l.x, “your dream.”

Exercise 4: Nouns with Suffixes

Identify the suffixes and translate the following words with the help of a dictionary.

HrEB. ytih'b'a]

~hoyvear" !Ahycer>q;

Htel'g>ve Hm;v.GI

%b"b.li !AkyTeb'

yhiAdb'[]m; %d"y>

yn:y>[; HrEt.a;

%t'y"B.z>b'n> ~hot.h'm'v.

HteWKl.m; HteyLi[i

ADjeCTIveS

Adjectives typically follow the noun to which they refer and match it in number and generally also in nominal state (absolute or determinate):

hr"yTiy: x;Wr

aB'r: aM'y:

!yviyDIq; !yhil'a/

ay"L'[i ah'l'a/

!a'yGIf; !b"r>b.r: !n"T.m; yrIx\a' hw"yxe

“an excellent spirit” (f.) “the great sea”

“holy gods”

“the Most high God” “many great gifts”

“another beast”

In some cases (especially in metaphorical/descriptive language), the noun and its corresponding adjective are the subject and predicate of a nominal sentence:

ayGIf; HmeWrw> a['r>a; aAgB. !l"yai

“(There was) a tree in the middle of the earth, and its height (was) great” (dan 4:7)

ryPiv; HyEp.['

“Its foliage (was) beautiful” (dan 4:9)30

!ypiyQit; hm'K. yhiAhm.tiw> !ybir>b.r: hm'K. yhiAta'

“how great (are) his signs, how powerful his wonders!”(lit. “his signs, how great, and his wonders, how powerful!”; dan 3:33)

Especially in direct speech, adjectives can also serve as the predicate of a sentence where a noun is implied:

aK'l.m; ab'yCiy: aK'l.m;l. !yrIm.a'w>

“And they said to the king: ‘certainly [or: (this is) certainly so], O king!'” (dan 3:24)

numerALS

ordinal numbers

Ordinal numbers typically have the ending y "- (āy): ym'd>q;“first, former” (m.), hy"['ybir> “fourth” (f.), and they are used in the same way as adjectives (usually following the noun and congruent in gender/number):

at'y"m'd>q; aY"n:r>q; hyEr>a;k. at'y>m'd>q; ayEm'd>q;

hn"y"n>ti hw"yxe

ay"t'ylit. Wkl.m; hy"['ybir> hw"yxe “the first horns”

“the first (beast) was like a lion” “the former (ones)”

“a second beast”

“a third kingdom”

“a fourth beast”

30. Given the relative scarcity of adjectives in BA, in some cases nouns function as adjectives, especially in nominal clauses: !yDI Htex'r>aw> jvoq. yhiAdb'[]m;-lK' “All his deeds are true” (lit. “truth”) and all his ways are just” (lit. “judgment”; dan 4:34).

Cardinal numbers The following are attested in BA:

m. abs. m. const. f. abs. f. const. 1 dx; hd"x]

2 yreT. !yTer>T;

Note that for 3 to 10 the masculine cardinal numbers are connected with feminine nouns^31 and feminine numbers with masculine nouns.32 3 tl'T. ht'l'T.

4 [B;r>a; h['B.r>a;

5

6 tve

7 h['b.vi t[;b.vi

8

9

10 rf;[] hr"f.[; 31. rf;[] !yIn:r>q; “ten horns” (!r<q, is f.!). 32. !yviarE h['B.r>a; “four heads.”

For numbers above 10 the following are attested:

12 rf;[] yrET.

20 !yrIf.[,

30 !ytil'T.

60 !yTivi

100 ha'm.

200 !yIt;am' (dual of 100)

400 ha'm. [B;r>a;

1,000 @l;a] (sg. abs.), @l,a, (sg. const.), aP'l.a; (sg. det.) thousands !yPil.a; (pl. of 1,000)

10,000 ABrI

genTILICS

Like ordinal numbers, gentilics^33 have the ending y " : ys'r>P; “the Persian”; in the determinate state, the article is added to y " > ay" ". This suggests the pronunciation ay"s'r>P; parsāyā’. Note, however, that in a number of instances the Masoretes vocalize differently: a'ys'r>P; parsā’ā. In this case, the Ketib (what is written) differs from the Qere (what is read).

The plural ending (abs.) is written !ya-, which is usually pointed !yai ", as in !yaiD"f.K;kaśdā’în; however, for the term “Judahites,” the Masoretes also suggest the reading !yIad"Why> yěhûdā’yīn. A difference between the written text and the Masoretic vocalization also occurs in the plural determinate: the ending is ay-, which suggests the reading ayED"f.K;kaśdāyē’; the Masoretes, however, vocalize aeyD"f.K; kaśdā’ē.

PrePoSITIonS

The BA prepositions and their meaning are mostly identical with those in Bh. One-consonantal prepositions are attached to the referring noun; longer prepositions stand as separate words before the noun.

-B.

Spatial (“in,” “at”): lb,B' tn:ydIm.Bi ar"WD t[;q.biB. “in the plain of dura, in the province of Babylon” (dan 3:1)

33. Nouns that express national, ethnic, or religious affiliation.

Temporal (“in,” “at”): hd"x] tn:v.Bi“in the first year” (lit. “in year one”; Dan 7:1; Ezra 5:1)

Instrumental (“with,” “through”): hm'k.x'B. “through any wisdom” (dan 2:30)

-K.

Comparative (“like,” “as”): rW"xi gl;t.Ki HveWbl. “his garment was white as snow” (lit. “his garment, like snow [it was, namely] white”; dan 7:9)

-l.34

Temporal (“for a period of time”): !ymil.['l. “forever” (dan 2:4) Relational (“with regard to”): %t'w>lev.li hK'r>a; awEh/T, !he “So that your prosperity may be prolonged” (lit. “so that there may be length to your prosperity”; dan 4:24)

Directional (“to, toward, into”): Htey>b;l. laYEnID" !yId:a/“then daniel went to his home” (dan 2:17); !WTa;-aAgl. “into the midst of a furnace” (dan 3:6)

!mi

Spatial (“[away] from”): yd"y>-!mi “from my hands” (dan 3:15) Temporal (“since, from”): am'l.[' tm'Ay-!mi “from old days” (Ezra 4:15) Comparative (“bigger, smaller, etc. than,” “different from”):

at'w"yxe-lK'-!mi hy"N>v;m. “different from all the beasts” (dan 7:7)

l[;

Spatial (“on, upon”): lt;k.-yDI ar"yGI-l[; “upon the plaster of the wall” (dan 5:5); in a more idiomatic sense: yhiAl[] baej. ayGIf; aK'l.m; “the king was exceedingly glad” (lit. “the king—very good on him”; dan 6:24)

Spatial^35 (“to, toward”): bWty> yl;[] y[iD>n>m;W “and my reason returned to me” (dan 4:31, 33)

Relational (“against”): Agn> dbe[]w: %v;yme %r:d>v;-l[; “against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego” (dan 3:19)

~d"q\

Spatial (“before”): aK'l.m;-~d"q\ ayED"f.k; An[] “the chaldeans answered before the king” (dan 2:10); aK'l.m; ~d"q\ Wyt'yhe %Leai aY"r:b.GU !yId:aBe “then these men were brought before the king” (dan 3:13)

As in BH, prepositions can take suffixes, in which case the same pronominal suffixes apply that are also used for nouns: Hle “to/for him,” yli “to/for me,” HB; “in it (f.),” %B' “in you,” etc. A particular use of B.is with a proleptic suffix: ht'[]v;-HB; “in that hour/when” (lit. “in it, the hour”), an"m.zI-HBe “at that time” (lit. “in it, the time”).

34. Note that the preposition l also serves as the marker of the direct (accusative) object (see the section on “Morphosyntax”).

35. In BA l[; apparently took the place of Bhla, (“to,” “toward”).

Note that in the cases of l[; and ~d"q\the pronominal suffixes for plural (!) nouns are used: %yIl;[] “on/upon you”; yhiAl[] “on/upon him”; ym;d"q") “before me”;36 yhiAmd"q\ “before him.”

PronounS

Personal Pronouns

1 c. sg. Hn"a] “I”

2 m. sg. hT'n>a; “you”

3 m. sg. aWh “he” 3 f. sg. ayhi “she”

1 c. pl. an"x.n:a] “we”

2 m. pl. !WTn>a; “you (all)”

3 m. pl. !AMhi, AMhi, !WNai “they” 3 f. pl. !yNIai “they”

usually, the personal pronoun is used as the subject of a sentence or in order to emphasize the subject (“I, daniel, saw the vision . . .”; dan 8:15).

In the case of the 3 person pl., however, it can also assume the role of the (accusative) object:

rC: n<d>k;Wbn> dy:B. AMhi bh;y>

“he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar” (Ezra 5:12)

36. In the case of ~d"q\ + 1 sg. suf., the Masoretes added an accent (metheg) to the opening syllable in order to lengthen it, instead of reducing it to a half-vowel: ym;d"q' ) instead of ym;d"q\.

As in Bh, the pronouns of the third person serve as a copula (connector) between two nouns, expressed through the auxiliary verb “be” (“A is B” or “A was it”):37

aY"m;v. Hl'a/-ydI yhiAdb.[; AMhi an"x.n:a]

“We are the servants of the God of heaven” (Ezra 5:11)

th'm'v. !WNai-!m; ~hoL. an"r>m;a]

“We asked them what their names were” (Ezra 5:4)

laYEnId" aWh hT'n>a; laYEnId"l. rm:a'w> aK'l.m; hnE['

“The king answered and said to daniel: ‘So you are daniel . . .’” (dan 5:13)

Demonstrative Pronouns (“this,” “these/those”) The “these”-type pronouns indicate persons or things within close distance (the pronoun can be placed before or after the noun to which it refers).

m. sg. hn"D> f. sg. aD" c. pl. !yLeai / !Leai

examples

hn"D> hz"r"-l[; “regarding this mystery” (dan 2:18)

[: rotew> qDIT; !yLeai-lK' “It [the fourth kingdom] shall crush and shatter all these” (dan 2:40)

The “those”-type pronouns indicate spatial and sometimes also emotional distance (the pronoun is usually placed after the noun to which it refers).

m. sg. %De / !KeDI

f. sg. %D" !KeDI

c. pl. %Leai

37. cf. dan 2:9, 20, 28, 38, 47; 3:15; 4:19, 27; 6:11; 7:17; Ezra 5:11, 13; 6:15.

examples

anEB.t.Ti %d" at'y>r>qI !he “If that city is rebuilt . . .”38 (Ezra 4:13, 16)

~[ej. aK'l.m; %yIl;[] Wmf'-al' %Leai aY"r:b.GU “Those men pay no heed to you, O king” (dan 3:12)

38. The speakers in this case are the opponents to the rebuilding of Jerusalem (Ezra 4:13).

The verb

Biblical Aramaic has four verbal inflections: perfect, imperfect, jussive, and imperative. Since their consonantal forms have many similarities with Bh, it is relatively easy to identify them, even though the respective vowel patterns are different.

As in all Semitic languages, the three root consonants (or radicals^39) are associated structurally with a characteristic vowel pair for the perfect and imperfect. For example, the root btk “write” has an a/u pair: a in the perfect and a u in the imperfect: bt;K./bTuk.yI; lav “ask, request” has an a in both perfect and imperfect; la;v./la;v.yI; lky “be able to” has an e in the perfect and an u in the imperfect: lkey>/lKuyI. It is not important to know these vowel pairs for each root; one should, however, be aware that different verbs follow different patterns.

The following paradigms show the basic structure of each of the four inflections. As in BH, the individual forms consist of prefixes and suffixes added to the three radicals. Note that in order to recognize a form as perfect, imperfect, jussive, or imperative it is helpful to develop a sense of what the consonantal forms (without masoretic vowel points) look like. This is also important with regard to extrabiblical, unpointed texts.

The PerFeCT

Forms of the perfect^40 are composed of the verbal root plus personal endings. Only the 3 m. sg. has no ending.

39. From Latin radix “root.”

40. Some textbooks refer to this as the “suffix conjugation.”

35

Structure

3 m. sg. btk 3 m. pl. W + btk

3 f. sg. t ; + btk 3 f. pl. w + b'tk^41

2 m. sg. t. / t' + btk 2 m. pl. !Wt + btk 2 f. sg. 2 f. pl.

1 c. sg. t E + btk 1 c. pl. an" + btk

Paradigm

3 m. sg. bt;K.42 3 m. pl. Wbt;K.

3 f. sg. tB;t.Kii 3 f. pl. wb't;K.43

2 m. sg. T'b.t;K. / T.b.t;K. 2 m. pl. !WTb.t;K. 2 f. sg. 2 f. pl.

1 c. sg. tBet.Ki 1 c. pl. an"b.t;K.

exercise 5: Perfect Forms (base conjugation)

Parse the following forms and translate them with the help of a dictionary.

an"x.l;v. Wbt;K.

rm;a] laev.

@c;q. !WTx.l;v.

t[em.vi T.b.h;y>

tq;p.n< T'l.key>

41. The masoretic Qere suggests a reading h"-; the Ketib, however, indicates that the feminine ending was not distinct from the masculine ending.

42. Note that the same vowel pattern is used for some of the nouns (m. sg. abs.): bh;D> “gold,” gl;T. “snow.”

43. cf. footnote 41.

an"x.l;m. tq;l.si

wl'p;n> Wqlis.

The ImPerFeCT

Due to their characteristic prefixes, imperfect^44 forms are easy to identify. As in Bh, the forms of the 3 f. sg. and 2 m. sg. are identical. The plural forms, however, differ from BH: the 3 and 2 m. pl. have a final !-; also, unlike Bh, there is a distinct form for the 3 f. pl.

Structure

3 m. sg. btk + y 3 m. pl. !W + btk + y 3 f. sg. btk + t 3 f. pl. ! + btk + y

2 m. sg. btk + t 2 m. pl. !W + btk + t 2 f. sg. 2 f. pl.

1 c. sg. btk + a 1 c. pl. btk + n

Paradigm

3 m. sg. bTuk.yI 3 m. pl. !WbT.k.yI 3 f. sg. bTuk.Ti 3 f. pl. !b'T.k.yI

2 m. sg. bTuk.Ti 2 m. pl. !WbT.k.Ti 2 f. sg. 2 f. pl.

1 c. sg. bTuk.a, 1 c. pl. bTuk.nI

A special imperfect form is used for the root hwh “to be.” Instead of the regular י prefix, it has l: hwEh/l, “he/it will be.”

%r"dom. hwEh/l, ar"B' tw:yxe-~[iw>

“And with the animals of the field will be your dwelling” (dan 4:22)

44. Some textbooks refer to this as the “prefix conjugation.”

at'Wkl.m;B. aT'l.T; jyLiv; awEh/l,-yDI yhiAl[] WzrIk.h;w>

“And they made a proclamation concerning him [daniel], that he should rank third in the kingdom” (dan 5:29)

exercise 6: Imperfect Forms (base conjugation)

Parse the following forms and translate with the help of a dictionary.

!n"K.v.yI jl;v.yI

dGUs.yI !WDb.[;T;

~vur>Ti rm;ayE

aDE[.T, arEq.a,

!Wpl.x.y: rm;anE

The ImPerATIve

Since the imperative occurs only in direct speech, it is usually easy to recognize. however, the consonants of the m. sg. and pl. forms are identical with those of the 3 m. sg. and 3 m. pl. pf.

Structure

m. sg. btk m. pl. w + btk f. sg. y + btk f. pl.

Paradigm

m. sg. btuK. m. pl. WbtuK. f. sg. ybituK. f. pl.

exercise 7: Imperative Forms (base conjugation)

Parse the following forms and translate with the help of a dictionary.

Wqbuv. qrUP.

rm;a/45 ylikua]

Wrm;a/46 lz<ae

The juSSIve

The jussive is a command form of the third person (e.g., “let him/her/them perish”). In most cases, the jussive form is identical with the imperfect. The difference lies in the stress patterns: whereas the imperfect has the emphasis on the last syllable (yaktúb), the jussive carries it on the first (yáktub). A clear distinction can be drawn in the plural forms, where the imperfect ends in !, which is omitted in the corresponding jussive forms:

Wdb;ayE “Let them perish”; the imperfect in this case would be !Wdb.ayE “they will perish.” ANT;v.yI-la;; “do not let it [your face, pl.] change”; impf. !ANT;v.yI.47

As usually in Bh, the jussive has la;; as a negative particle, whereas the imperfect has al'; cf. %l'h]b;y>-la; “let it not terrify you.”

While the jussive is a command form of the third person, jussive forms can also occur in the second person, replacing the imperative. This is the general rule with prohibitions. Since the imperative cannot be negated, the jussive takes its place: dbeAhT.-la; “do not destroy.”

As in the imperfect, the jussive of hw"h] has a lprefix: awEh/l, “let him/it be,” e.g., awEh/l, [:ydIy> “let it be known.”48

45. Note that the perfect 3 m. sg. is rm;a].

46. compare the perfect 3 m. pl.: Wrm;a].

47. Note, however, that the 3 f. pl. seems to keep the final ! also in the jussive: !y"w>h,l,(; as the context of dan 5:17 suggests, this is a jussive rather than imperfect form: “Let them [your gifts] be for yourself.”

48. [:ydIy> is a Pe`il ptc. of [dy (see under “conjugations” below).

The ConjugATIonS

Like most other Semitic languages, BA distinguishes among three different modes of action:

1. The basic mode (in grammar books also referred to as Pe`al or, borrowing from Bh, Qal, which lit. means “light/simple”).

2. The factitive-resultant mode. Some textbooks refer to this category as “intensive action,” the assumption being that its main characteristic—the doubled second radical—indicates that originally the verb was repeated (katab katab > katteb) in order to “intensify” its meaning. Other studies have argued, however, that the doubling expresses the result or facticity of (repeated) action. Note that, according to masoretic rules, the second consonant cannot be doubled if it is a, h, x, [, or r. however, this is a secondary rule that, in all likelihood, does not reflect the spoken Aramaic behind the biblical texts. For the purpose of clarity, the charts below double the second radical of the paradigm verb l[p (“to do”) in all three conjugations of the factitiveresultant group (Pa``el, Pa``al, and hitpa``al).

3. The causative mode. Semitic languages regard certain kinds of action (such as “show” or “bring”) as the result of a cause (to make someone see something = to show; to make something go = to bring).

These three different modes of action can be correlated with three different modes of speech: active, passive, and reflexive. This simply means that the same fact or event can be accentuated in different ways: “The teacher introduced a new student”; “A new student was introduced by the teacher”; “The student introduced herself.”

If one combines the three modes of action with the three modes of speech, the result is a system of nine distinct conjugations. The seven conjugations of Bh fall into this system as follows:

Bh

Active

Passive reflexivepassive

base conjugation factitive-resultant causative

Qal (or Pa `al ) Pi``el hip`il Nip`al Pu``al hop`al Nip`al hitpa``el

One notices that only the factitive-resultant group has three distinct conjugations for active, passive, and reflexive. In the causative group, a reflexive conjugation is missing. The base group has not retained its original passive or reflexive conjugations. Here the Nip`al (an originally independent conjugation) is used instead.

BA

active passive

base conjugation factitive-resultant Pe`al (Qal) Pa``el Pe`il Pa``al (only ptc.)

causative

hap`el (´Ap`el) hop`al, hap`al

(only ptc.) passivereflexive

hitpe`el (´Itpe`el) hitpa``al (´Itpa``al)

The only empty position in the BA system is the passive-reflexive of the causative group. In comparison, BA shows three major differences from Bh:

1. In the base family, there are passive and reflexive conjugations that are missing in Bh; conversely, BA has not retained the Nip`al conjugation.

2. The passive form of the factitive-resultant group is not a Pu ``al (as in Bh) but a Pa``al, which is limited to the participle.

3. In the causative group, there are two passive forms: hop`al (as in Bh) and hap`al (for participles).

Note that, alternatively to the h and thprefixes of the Hitpe`el, hitpa``al, and hap`el, BA also uses a and ta (´Itpe`el, ´Itpa``al, ´Ap`el).49

A few verbs have a v prefix in the causative group. The causative active conjugation is then called Šap`el (instead of hap`el) and the causative reflexive Hištap`al. There is general agreement that the v prefix is an Akkadianism, since one finds the v-causative (instead of the h-causative) also in Babylonian and Assyrian. verbs with v-causative include the following:

bzIyve “deliver/free”50 root: bz[ aciyve “fulfill”51 root: acy llik.v; “fulfill” root: llk

Basic verbal Patterns

due to the very limited number of BA texts, many of the verbal paradigms are incomplete. Especially for the so-called weak verbs,52 sometimes only a few examples are attested, mostly for the 3 m. sg./pl. and 2 m. sg./pl. The following charts give the full paradigm of the strong^53 verb for all the conjugations. Not all of these forms are attested (some only in extrabiblical sources).54 Not included are the forms of the 2 f. sg./pl., which do not occur in BA and only scarcely in epigraphic texts of Imperial Aramaic.

49. These a and ta prefixes are not be confused with the a prefix of the 1 sg. impf.

50. In some dictionaries listed as bzIyve.

51. In some dictionaries listed as aciyve.

52. The term “weak” in this case refers to verbs that have one or more root consonants/radicals that can either drop, assimilate, or change into a different consonant.

Pe`al (basic active)

perfect

3 m. sg. bt;K.

3 f. sg. tB;t.Ki

2 m. sg. T.b.t;K./T'b.t;K.

1 c. sg. tBet.Ki

imperfect imperative bTuk.yi

bTuk.Ti

bTuk.Ti bTuK. (m.), ybiTuK. (f.) bTuk.a,

3 m. pl. Wbt;K.

3 f. pl. wb't;K.55

2 m. pl. !WTb.t;K.

1 c. pl. an"b.t;K. !WbT.k.y i

!b'T.k.yI

!WbT.k.Ti WbTuK. bTuk.nI

Pe `il (basic passive) The characteristic feature of this conjugation is the long /ī/, which is written with a mater lectionis in most, though not all, cases. There are no imperfect forms in the Pe`il.

perfect

3 m. sg. bytiK.

3 f. sg. tB;ytiK.

2 m. sg. T'b.ytiK.

1 c. sg. tBeytiK.

3 m. pl. WbytiK.

3 f. pl. wb'ytiK.

2 m. pl. !WTb.ytiK.

1 c. pl. an"bytiK.

53. “Strong” means that all root consonants remain stable throughout the paradigm. 54. The paradigms at the end of this book list all attested forms.

Hitpe`el (basic reflexive)

In this conjugation a prefix thiis added. It merges with the prefixes of the imperfect and the participle: bteK.t.hiy> > bteK.t.yI; bteK.t.him. > bteK.t.mi.

Note that in BA, as in Bh, a metathesis (switch of consonants) occurs when the root begins with a sibilant (z, c, X). Thus the hitpe`el of xkX is xk;T.v.hi (instead of xk;v.t.hi). Additionally, in the case of !mz the hitpe`el prefix changes to -dh: !WTnm;D>z .hi (instead of !WTnm;z>t.hi).

perfect

3 m. sg. bteK.t.hi

3 f. sg. tB;t.K;t.hii

2 m. sg. T.b.teK.t.hi T'b.teK.t.hi

1 c. sg. tBet.K;t.hi

imperfect imperative bteK.t.yI

bteK.t.Ti

bteK.t.Ti

bteK.t.a,

3 m. pl. WbtiK.t.hi

3 f. pl. wb'tiK.t.hi

2 m. pl. !WTb.teKi.t.hi

1 c. pl. an"b.teK.t.hi !Wbt.K;t.yI !b't.K;t.yI !Wbt.K;t.Ti bteK.t.nI

Pa``el (factitive-resultant active)

The Pa ``el forms double the second radical. The vowel that precedes the doubled radical is a (pataḥ). Since the Pa``el does not require any additional prefixes (except for the ptc., m), its consonantal structure looks exactly like the Pe`al.

Note that in cases where the second consonant is a, h, x, [, or r it cannot be doubled, according to masoretic rules. The preceding a (pataḥ) is then sometimes (although not always) lengthened to ā (qāmeṣ; substitutional lengthening): %rIB' “he blessed” (3 m. sg. pf., with lengthening) but axem;y> “he will hinder” (3 m. sg. impf., without lengthening).

perfect imperfect imperative

3 m. sg. bTeK; bTek;y>

3 f. sg. tb;T.K; bTek;T.

2 m. sg. T.b.TeK; bTek;T. bTeK;

1 c. sg. tbeT.K; bTek;a]

3 m. pl. WbTiK; !WbT.k;y>

3 f. pl. wb'TiK;56 !b'T.k;y>

2 m. pl. !WTb.TeK; !WbT.k;T. WbTiK;

1 c. pl. an"b.TeK' bTek;n>

Hitpa``al (factitive-resultant reflexive/passive)

The hitpa ``al has a doubled second radical and, in addition, the prefix th that merges with the prefixes of the imperfect (thy > ty). As with the hitpe`el forms, a metathesis occurs in the imperfect when the first root consonant is a sibilant (v, z, or c): [B;j;c.yI (instead of [B;c;t.yI, with additional t > j shift).

perfect

3 m. sg. bT;K;;t.hi

3 f. sg. tb;T.K;;t.hi

2 m. sg. T.b.T;K;;t.hi

1 c. sg. tbeT.K;;t.hi

imperfect imperative bT;K;t.y i

bT;K;t.Ti

bT;K;t.Ti

bT;K;t.a,

3 m. pl. WbT;K;;t.hi

3 f. pl. wb'T;K;t.hi^57

2 m. pl. !WTb.T;K;t.hi

1 c. pl. an"b.T;K;;t.hi !WbT.K;t.yI !b'T.K;t.yI !WbT.K;t.Ti bT;K;t.nI

56. cf. footnote 41.

Hap`el/’Ap`el (causative active)

The prefix h (in some cases a) is the characteristic element of this conjugation. Unlike BH, this prefix is also retained in some of the imperfect forms: lPiv.h;y>. The typical vowel pattern is a-ē/ī.

perfect imperfect imperative

3 m. sg. bTek.h; bTek.h;y> or bTek.y:

3 f. sg. tb;T.k.h; bTek.h;T. or bTek.T;

2 m. sg. T.b.Tek.h; bTek.h;T. or bTek.T; bTek.h;

1 c. sg. tbeT.k.h; bTek.h;a, or bTek.a;

3 m. pl. WbTik.h; !WbT.k.h;y> or !WbT.k.y:

3 f. pl. wb'Tik.h; !b'T.k.h;y> or !b'T.k.y:

2 m. pl. !WTb.Tek.h; !WbT.k.h;T. WbTik.h; or !WbT.k.T;

1 c. pl. an"b.Tek.h; bTek.h;n> or bTek.n:

Hop`al (causative passive)

The hop`al has the hprefix plus the characteristic vowel o.58 There are no imperfect forms in the hop`al.

perfect

3 m. sg. bT;k.h'

3 f. sg. tB;T.k.h'

2 m. sg. T'b.T;k.h'

1 c. sg. tbeT.k.h'

3 m. pl. WbT;k.h'

3 f. pl. wb'T;k.h'

2 m. pl. !WTb.T;k.h'

1 c. pl. an"b.T;k.h'

58. Short, open o as in “shock.” exercise 8: Perfect Forms in various Conjugations Parse and translate the following forms.

tl;yjiq. tx;n>h'

WlJiB; al' txeB.v;

WbrIq.h; T'x.B;v;

Wj[;y"t.ai^59 xk;T.v.hi

hn"x.K;v.h; WbD>n:t.hi

WtpiK. !WTn>miD>z>hi^60

exercise 9: Imperfect Forms in various Conjugations Parse and translate the following forms.

dbe[]t.yI brEq'T.

qzIn>h;T. !WlB.q;T.

!Wns.x.y: !Wbh]y:t.yI

rQ;b;y> !W[M.T;v.yI

59. Note that in BA, as in Bh, the Masoretes do not double a, h, x, [, and r. In most cases, the preceding vowel is lengthened instead (“substitutional lengthening”).

60. In addition to the t/z metathesis, the t of the hitpe`el changes to d.

The PArTICIPLe

Since the participle is grammatically a noun, it has the endings of a noun in the absolute state. On its verbal side, the participle is included in the verbal stem system; as such, it can occur in the Pe`al, Pa``el, hap`el, and their related passive and reflexive conjugations.

Pe `al

m. sg. bteK' m. pl. !ybit.K'

m. pl. hb't.K'61 f. pl. !b't.K'

The Pe `al participle has no characteristic prefix, which distinguishes it from participles of other conjugations; the characteristic vowel pattern is ā–ē/ī. verbs with a h, x, [, or r as the third consonant of the root have ā–a. Since this is the only instance of an ā in the opening syllable of a verb, it is a reliable sign of the Pe`al participle.

ljeq' “the one who kills,” “killing” qliD" “burning”

rm;a' “speaking” (sg.)

!yrIm.a' “speaking” (pl.)

Pe`il

m. sg. bytiK. m. pl. !ybiytiK. f. sg. hb'ytiK. f. pl. !b'ytiK.

The passive participle has the same vowel pattern as the passive perfect (3 m. sg.): ě–î (in both cases, î serves as a marker for passive forms).

lyxiD> “being frightened” (m.) hl'yxiD> “being frightened” (f.)

In all of the following conjugations the participle has a mprefix and the characteristic vowel pattern of the respective conjugation.

61. The participle vowel ā- is never reduced to ŏ: hb't.K('kātěbâ (not kotbâ), !ybit.K'( kātěbîn (not kotbîn). The Masoretes indicate this by placing an accent (metheg) next to the qāmeṣ.

Hitpe `el/Itpe`el

m. sg. bteK.t.mi m. pl. !yBit.K;t.mi f. sg. hB't.K;t.mi f. pl.

bhey>t.mi (used in the phrase bhey>t.mi awEh/l, “let it be given,” Ezra 6:9) Pa``el

m. sg. bTeK;m. m. pl. !ybiT.K;m. f. sg. hb'T.K;m. f. pl. !b'T.k;m.

%LEh;m. (“walking about”) Pa``al (Pa``el passive)

Although no passive perfect is attested in the Pa ``el, there is a passive participle. unfortunately, it is only the literary context that suggests a passive meaning, since morphologically these forms could also be active (Pa``el).62

m. sg. bT;K;m. Pm. pl. !ybiT.K;m. f. sg. hb'T.K;m. f. pl. !b'T.k;m.

%r:b'm. “blessed”

!ytiP.k;m. “bound” (m. pl. abs.; from the context of dan 3:23–24 a passive meaning is clearly intended)

at'r"T.s;m. “the hidden (things)” (f. pl. det.; from the context of dan 2:22 a passive meaning is intended)

Hitpa``al

m. sg. bT;K;t.mi m. pl. !ybiT.K;t.mi f. sg. hb'T;K;t.mi f. pl.

!N:ßx;t.mi “seeking mercy”

lK;T;f.mi “considering” (root lkf)63

62. Only the m. sg. ptc. has a form that is morphologically distinct from the Pa ``el. however, all the pertinent verbs have a middle radical r (%r:b'm., br:['m.", vr:p'm.), which can take a pataḥ in both the Pa``el and Pa``al. Thus it is the narrative context that decides whether a form should be analyzed as active (Pa``el) or passive (Pa``al): am'l.['-d[;w> am'l.['-!mi %r:b'm. ah'l'a/-yDI Hmev. awEh/l, “Blessed be [rather than “blessing”] the name of God from age to age” (dan 2:20).

63. Note that in BA, as in Bh, there is a metathesis when the root begins with z, v, or c.

Hap`el/’Ap`el

Note that, as with the imperfect forms, the hap`el prefix h may or may not be written.

m. sg. bTek.h;m. or bTek.m; m. pl. !ybiT.k.h;m. or !ybiT.k.m; f. sg. hb'T.k.h;m. or hb'T.k.m; f. pl. !b'T.k.h;m. or !b'T.k.m;

!yxil.c.m; “prospering” lyPiv.m; “putting down”64

Hap `al (Hap`el passive)

As in the Pa``el, there is also a passive participle in the hap`el, although only one such form is attested in BA: !m;yhem. (from the root !ma) “being faithful.” Whereas the active participle has the pattern měhaqtēl, the passive participle has měhaqtal.

exercise 10: Participle Forms in various Conjugations Parse and translate the following forms.

qliD" xl;P'

hs'p.r" hl'L.m;m.

!ydIg>s' db,[]t.mi

xl;c.m; ha'F.n:t.mi rymiG. vr:p'm.

64. As in other cases, the hap`el might show an î instead of an ê.

The InFInITIve

In the Pe `al, the infinitives absolute and construct have a m-prefix (it is important not to confuse this with participle forms).65 The vowel pattern is i–a (miqtal), with laryngeals involved also a–a or e–a.

Pe`al infinitive bT;k.mi

vn:k.mi “to gather” dB;[.m, “to work”

In all other conjugations, the infinitive does not have a prefix; the characteristic vowel pattern is ā–ā(h) in the last two syllables. It is helpful to note that in most cases the infinitive is used with the preposition l in order to indicate a final clause (as in BH), expressing purpose.

hitpe`el infinitive hb't'K.t.hi

hl'j'q.t.hil. “in order to kill”

Pa``el infinitive hb'T'K;

hl'J'q; “to kill”

hitpa``al infinitive hb'T'K;t.hi

hb'D"n:t.hi “to offer freely”

hap`el infinitive hb'T'k.h;

hd"b'Ahl.W hd"m'v.h;l. “in order to destroy and blot out”

65. As a rule to memorize: in the Pe`al the infinitive has a m-prefix, whereas the participle does not. In all other conjugations it is the participle that has a m-prefix, not the infinitive.

A distinct form for the infinitive construct is very rare in BA. Where it occurs, it has the vowel pattern ā–û.

tWbD"n:t.hi

HteWlC'h;l. “to offer freely” (hitpa. inf.)

“in order to save him” (root: lcn, ha. inf. + 3 m. sg. suf.)

Exercise 11: Infinitive Forms in Various Conjugations Identify the conjugation and translate the following forms.

a[eb.mi hp'Q'T;

hl'h'B.t.hi hx'K'v.h;

ab'C'y: dB;[.m,

exercise 12: mixed verb Forms (I) Parse and translate the following forms.

!y[im.v' dbe[]t.yI

!W[M.T;v.yI !ytiP.k;m.

WxK;v.h;w> WvGIr>h; !yviN>K;t.mi

hp'c.x.m; rm;ame

rP;v.yI arEq'

axem;y> !x'ytiP.

tWbz"yvel. lkiy" Wnsix/h, !Wns.x.y: bzIyvem.

WlB.x; tP;q.Ti

T.l.Pev.h; hl'j'q.t.hil.

verBS WITh SuFFIxeS

Like nouns, verbs can carry pronominal suffixes. While suffixes attached to nouns are genitive objects, in combination with verbs they function as accusatives (or direct objects: “I see you,” “he loved her”).

Although the vowel structure changes when suffixes are added to verbs, it is relatively easy to identify the suffixes. Some of them are identical with the pronominal suffixes of nouns.

1 c. sg. ynI-

2 m. sg. %

3 m. sg. H e- (after a consonant) yhi (after a vowel)

3 f. sg. H :

2 m. pl. !Ak

1 c. pl. an-

examples

yhiWbr>q.h; an"T,[.d:Ah ynIWlB.x; al' “they approached him” “you [sg.] let us know” “they did not hurt me”

However, for the 3 m. pl., the personal pronoun is used instead of a suffix:

!yIr"m.v' yDI hy"r>qiB. AMhi bteAhw>

“And he settled them in the city of Samaria” (Ezra 4:10)

%h'y> vw<y"r>d"l. am'[.j;-d[; AMhi WlJib;-al'w>

“And they did not stop them until a report reached darius” (Ezra 5:5)

Imperfect Forms with Suffixes and Energic Nun (-inn/-in)

More frequently than in Bh, Aramaic verb forms have an “energic nun” or nun energicum (n.e.). This means that an additional n or a doubled n (N) is placed between the verb and the suffix. Originally, this may have been done to give the verb a fuller sound and so to highlight it where it was considered the key element of a sentence. In BA, however, the energic nun does not seem to add any particular emphasis to the verb. It occurs in all instances of suffixed imperfect forms.

While the energic nunis largely insignificant for translation purposes, it is important to analyze it properly in order to avoid mistaking it for one of the root consonants:

!Akn>biz>yvey> “he can save you [pl.]” ynIN:[ud>Ahy> “they will let me know”

ynIN:luh]b;y> yviarE ywEz>x,w> ybiK.v.mi-l[; !yrIhor>h;w> ynIN:lix]d:ywI tyzEx] ~l,xe

“I saw a dream that scared me, and thoughts on my bed and the visions of my head troubled me” (dan 4:2)

Exercise 13: Verbs with Suffixes Parse and translate the following forms.

ynIWlB.x; al' Hm;l.v.h;

Hm;t.x; !Akn>l,a]v.yI

HNEWm[]j;y> HNEluh]b;y>

%j'l.v.h; äan"T;[.d:Ah^66

WeAK verBS

The previous sections introduced the paradigm of the so-called strong verb, meaning that in all the forms, including the ones with suffixes, all three root consonants remain stable. The following paragraphs will focus on the weak verb. The term “weak” indicates that in some of their forms these verbs do not show the three radicals in the way that strong verbs do; one or more of their radicals either drop, assimilate, or change into a different consonant. If a root has two weak radicals (typically the first and the last), it is called “doubly weak.”

The most common rules for weak verbs are the following:

1. Some verbs drop their initial consonant. hence only the second and third consonants remain (e.g., bh; “give!” from bhy).

2. Some verbs assimilatetheir first or second consonants to what follows or precedes them (e.g., WqSih; “they brought up,” 3 m. pl. ha. from qls ”to go up”). Assimilation occurs more extensively in BA than in BH, in which only the first consonant of certain verbs (like !tn “to give”) assimilates to the one that follows it. Assimilation is typically expressed through a dagesh forte in the consonant to which the weak consonant assimilates.

66. [dy in the ha. “to let know/inform.”

3. Some verbs changetheir first consonant if it is an a, h, or y (e.g., [d;Ah “he informed,” 3 m. sg. ha. from [dy “to know”).

4. Some verbs change their third consonant. This is the case primarily with verbs that have a final a or h (e.g., tybIc. “I wanted,” from abc).

5. Special rules apply in cases where the middle radical of a verb is a vowel (û or î); see below under roots II û/î (or hollow roots).

In the following, these rules are applied to individual groups of weak verbs.

Roots Beginning with נ (I n)67

Two basic rules apply (as in Bh):

1. The initial n drops in the imperative: afe “take!” (from afn); WqPu “go out!”

(from qpn).

2. The n can assimilate to the following consonant if there is no vowel

between the two; in this case, the second radical is doubled: lPeyI (< lpny) “he

will fall” (lpn), HN:nIT.yI^68 (< hnntny) “he gives it” (!tn). however, this rule is not

as strict as in Bh; in some cases n remains unchanged: !WnT.n>yI “they will give.”

Roots Beginning with י (I y/w)

The following phenomena occur in this group:

1. The intial י drops in the imperative: [D: “know!” ([dy).

2. Among the I y roots is a group of verbs that were originally I w. In this case, the initial y turns into wwhen a prefix is added and y becomes part of the opening syllable: [d:Ah “he informed”69 (ha.) ([dy, originally [dw); bteAh “he settled” (ha.) (bty, originally btw).

Roots Beginning with א (I ´) In this group, the initial a disappears if it becomes part of the prefix syllable.

70 !miyhe “he trusted” (3 m. sg. ha. pf.) from !ma

azEmel. “to heat” (pe. inf. + l) from aza

rm;mel. “as follows”71 (cf. Bhrmoale) from rma

(For hta “go” and dba “perish” see below.)

67. With regard to nomenclature, root consonants are numbered according to their position: I (first consonant), II (second consonant), III (last consonant). Thus I n(first consonant is a n), II ū (the vowel ū in middle position), etc.

68. Imperfect form with n.e. and 3 f. sg. suf.

69. Originally hawda‘ (> hôda‘).

70. The original form in this case was haʼmen. The opening syllable first dissimilated (haymen) and then contracted (hēmin).

71. however, the same form is written rm;amel. in dan 2:9.

roots with a Long vowel in middle Position (hollow roots; II î/û) Instead of a consonant, hollow roots have an î or û in second position, which can change, depending on the form and conjugation of a given verb. In the Pe`al, the î and û are preserved (although not always written) in the imperfect, imperative, and infinitive, while they become ā or a in the perfect.

Imperfect: ~Wqy> (~Wq) “he will rise”

Perfect: ~f' “he placed” (~yfi); T'm.f' / T'm.f; “you placed”; tB' “he spent the night” (tyb); Wmq' “they rose.”

While these rules are essentially the same as in Bh, the participles of hollow roots show some distinct forms in BA. In order to maintain the characteristic vowel pattern of the Pe`al participle (ā–e), a consonant, a or y, is inserted instead of the long middle vowel. This gives the hollow root the appearance of a full three-consonantal form. From the root ~wq “stand up, rise,” the following participles are attested:

~aeq' (m. sg. abs.)

!ymia]q' (Qere !ymiy .q') (m. pl. abs.)

aY"m;a]q" (m. pl. det.)

The same phenomenon of an inserted “artificial” consonant also occurs in the Pa``el infinitive. Here too this was done to maintain the characteristics of the infinitive, the doubling of the middle radical and the -a-ā(h) vowel pattern: hm'Y"q;. however, since hollow roots technically do not have a second radical that could be doubled, other Pa``el forms in Aramaic (and hebrew) double the last consonant instead. This is then called Poleland, for the passive-reflexive category, Hitpolel. In BA, though, there is only one pertinent form, the 2 m. sg. pf. hitpolel of ~wr: T'm.m;Art.hi “you have exalted yourself” (dan 5:23).

In the hap `el and hop`al forms, hollow roots typically shift the middle vowel for both II û and II î toward î or ê: ~yqeh] (ha.) “he raised”; tm;yqih\ (ho.) “it [the beast] was raised.”

One finds somewhat unpredictable forms in the Pe`il. The perfect has either î or û: ~yfi “he was put” (3 m. sg.); tm;fu “it was placed” (3 f. sg.).

Roots Ending in י (III y) Some of verbs with h (or a) originally had י as their final radical, indicating that these roots ended in iy.72 This ending was preserved in a number of instances:

72. Because of the original iyending, the pertinent roots are classified here as III y, rather than III h.

1. In forms with personal endings or suffixes: t'y>z:x] “you have seen” (from hzx), tybic. “I wanted” (from abc), an"ymer>, “we cast” (from hmr).

2. The Pe`al pl. ptc. shows the form !yIn:B' (from hnb; bānyīn > bānayin).

3. In the hap`el: ylig>h; “he deported” (from hlg), WyDI[.h, “they took away” (from hd[).

In other cases, the original y contracted with vowels that preceded or followed it. The most frequent examples are:

1. 3 m. pl. pf. AnB. “they built” (banayū > běnô), An[]“they answered” (from hn[).

2. 3 m. pl. impf. !Anb.yI “they will build” (yibněyūn > yibnôn).

התא/אתא

The root hta deserves particular mention, since it is one of the doubly weak verbs (I´ and III y). As such, both the final a/h and the initial a can change. The attested forms are:

Perfect (pe.): ht'a] “he came”; Ata] “they came”

Infinitive (pe.): atemel. “in order to bring” (prep. l + inf.; first consonant a is dropped)73

Participle (pe.): htea' “coming”

Perfect (ha.): ytiy>h; “he brought,” wytiy>h; “they brought” (both initial and final consonants are y)

Infinitive (ha.): hy"t'y>h;l. “in order to bring” (prep. l + inf.) Perfect (ho.): tyIt'yhe “it [f.] was brought”; Wyt'yhe “they were brought”

roots with Identical Second and Third Consonants (geminate roots; II = III)

roots with identical second and third consonants have two characteristics:

1. When there is no vowel between these consonants, the two merge into one.

WqD" “they were shattered” (qqd; daqqū > dāqû) WL[;hu “they were brought” (ll[ ho.; hu`alělû > hu`allû) 73. See verbs I ´.

2. When there is no vowel between the first and second consonants, regressive assimilation occurs (the second consonant assimilates to the first).

WqDIh; “they broke in pieces” (qqd ha.; hadqiqû > haddîqû) qDIT; “it [f.] breaks in pieces” (qqd ha.; tadqiq > taddiq) HN:qiD>T; “it breaks it in pieces” (qqd with n.e. and 3 f. sg. suf.) l[; “he entered” (ll[; `elal > `al)74

An Aramaic characteristic appears with the root ll[: In some cases nasalization or regressive assimilation dissolves when a n, as a quasi-first consonant, is inserted.75 The root seems to be l[n in these cases; thus it is important to know that this initial נ is a secondary feature.

l[en>h; “he brought in” (ll[ ha.; ha`lel > ha``el > han`el) hl'['n>h; “to bring in” (ll[ ha. inf.; ha`lālâ > ha``ālâ > han`ālâ)

Verbs with ח, ע, or ר

verbs with x, [, or r are not “weak” in the sense that these consonants drop, change, or assimilate. however, in a number of cases, the vowels associated with these consonants differ from the usual vowel patterns of verbs and participles.

A rule of thumb is that these laryngeals are preceded by a or e rather than i/e or u/o: rm;a' “saying,” [d:y" “knowing” (whereas the pe. ptc. typically has an ā–e pattern, as in bhey" “giving”); xl;c.h; “he promoted” (whereas ha. pf. typically has a–ē, as in qPen>h; “he came out”); rB;s.yI “he intends” (whereas impf. typically has u rather than a).

exercise 14: Weak verbs

Parse, identify the root, and translate the following forms.

qPen>h; tm,yqeh]

wyrIv' t'yNIm;

74. Note that this form looks like the prep. l[; “above, on, over, to.” In dan 2:24 the verb and the preposition occur next to each other: %Ayr>a;-l[; l[; laYEnID' “daniel went in to Arioch.”

75. cf. the discussion of [dy below.

an"y[eB. tY:rIK.t.a,

tD:n: [d:Ah

tm,f' !WrdUy>

lLim; !WlP.Ti

SPeCIAL verBS

In most of the Semitic languages, certain consonants—especially n (nun)— are assimilated to the following consonant when there is no vowel between the two consonants (!Ten .yI > !TeyI). This is called progressive assimilation. In BA there are also examples of regressive assimilation, meaning that a consonant—especially l—is assimilated to the preceding consonant. This is the case with two very common verbs: $lh (“go, walk”; cf. Bh) and qls (“ascend, go up”).

ךלה “go”

Imperfect (pe.): %h'y> (<%l"h.yI) “it goes”

Infinitive (pe.): %h'm. “to go”

Note, however, that in forms with a vowel between h and l no assimilation takes place: %LE h;m. (pa. ptc.) “walking (back and forth).”

קלס “go up”

Perfect (ha.): WqSih; “they took up”

Perfect (ho.): qS;hu “he was taken up”

In the case of qls another phenomenon occurs: in certain forms the assimilation of l to s triggers a dissimilation, in which S splits into s and n. This results in a quasi three-consonantal form, qsn instead of qls. This dissimilation occurs in the hap`el infinitive: hq"s'n>h; “to bring up”76 (original hq'l's.h; > assimilated hq'S'h; > dissimilated hq"s 'n>h;).

76. The full form in dan 6:24 is hq's'n.h;l..

עדי “know”

[dy belongs to the I y/w verbs. In Bh the imperfect is [d:yyE / [d:yE with a long ē. Instead of this long vowel, BA inserts n as an additional consonant (cf. qls). hence these forms look as if the root was [dn.

[D:n>Ti “you know” [D:n>ai “I know” !W[D>n>yI “they know”

הוה “be”

The imperfect prefix of the 3 m. sg. is l (instead of the usual y):

%r"dom. hwEh/l, ar"B' tw:yxe-~[iw>

“And with the animals of the field will be your dwelling” (Dan 4:22)

דבא “perish”

Like other roots of the I ´ group, dba (“perish”; ha. “destroy”) can lose its initial awhen a prefix is added. In BA dba is attested mainly in the hap`el and hop`al, where amerges with the prefix syllables as follows: ha´- >hô- (ha.) and hu´- > hû- (ho.); in both cases w replaces a.

dbeAhT. “you will destroy” (2 m. sg. impf. ha.)

hd"b'Ah “To destroy” (inf. ha.)

db;Wh “he was destroyed” (3 m. sg. pf. ho.)

Note that w is not part of the root but serves as a mater lectionis for ô in the hap`el and û in the hop`al.77 It can also be written without a mater:

!Wdb.hoy> “They will destroy” (3 m. pl. impf. ha.)

77. In the ha. the original imperfect form was těha´abed, which developed into těhābed and finally těhōbed.

Exercise 15: Weak Verbs/Special Verbs with Suffixes Parse and translate the following forms:

an"Wbytih] yhin"B.

HN:nIT.yI yhiAnv.

ynIwOx]h; ynIT;[.d:Ah

HN:WIx;y> ynIl.[eh;

exercise 16: mixed Forms (II) Parse and translate the following forms:

[D:n>Ti tb;yhiy>

%h'm.li HN:viWdT.

!q'l.s' !AD[.h;y>

!WmWqy> tm,yqEh] h['d"Ahl. tm;yqih\

tywEh] Wyt'yhe

an"Wbytih] wyNIv;

hy"n"v.h;l. htev'

!ANT;v.yI HrEt.s; l[en>h; Ht;y>n:B/

Syntax

morPhoSynTAx^78

genitive Chains

One of the most characteristic features that distinguishes Aramaic from its neighboring languages is its ways of constructing genitive (construct) chains. There are three types of genitive chains:

Type I

BA uses the same combination of noun (const. state) + genitive (det. state) that one also finds in BH.

ar"Wn aAG “the middle of the fire” (Dan 3:25) at'w"y"r>a; bGO “the lions’ den” (dan 6:8, 13, 25)

To distinguish a determined from an undetermined genitive chain, the preposition ל is used (as in BH): br: laer"f.yIl. %l,m, “a great king of Israel.” however, as the following examples show, the rules for genitive chains are not as strict as in Bh:

!yhil'a/ rB; “a divine being” (lit. a “son of god”; dan 3:25 [no l in this case])

aT'r>G:ai !g<v< r>P; “a copy of the letter” (Ezra 4:11 [grammatically determined, although the context suggests that it should be undetermined])

78. Morphosyntax focuses on the relation between two linguistic units, which involves both morphological and syntactical features.

63

Type II

The most common way of expressing a genitive chain in BA is through a relative clause: at'w"y"r>a; yDI aB'GU “the den, that of the lions” (dan 6:17, 20). In this case, the noun in the construct state is replaced by the noun in the determinate state, followed by the relative particle yDI.

Other examples:

hK'l.m;-ydI at'L.mi “the word of the king” (lit. “the word, that of the king”) ay"l.yle-ydI aw"z>x, “the vision of the night”

ar"Wn yDI ab'ybiv.“the flame of the fire”

Type III

Yet a third possibility for genitive chains in BA is to add a possessive suffix to the first noun, followed by the relative particle:

ah'l'a/-yDI Hmev.

!WNai aY"k;l.m; yDI !AhymeAyB.

a['r>a;w> aY"m;v. Hl'a/-ydI yhiAdb.[; “the name of God” (lit. “his name, that of God”)

“in the days of these kings” (lit. “in their days, those of these kings”)

“servants of the God of heaven and earth” (lit. “his servants, the ones of the God of heaven and earth”)

Looking at the history of the Aramaic language, we see that this third option (especially in Syriac) becomes the standard syntagma.

exercise 17: genitive Chains

Translate the following genitive chains and indicate the type (I, II, III) to which they belong.

!yviyDIq; !yhil'a/ x:Wr lb,b' yDI aK'l.m;

at'L.mi rv;P. ah'l'a/ tybe ydI aY"n:am' yviarE ywEz>x, Agn> dbe[]w: %v;yme %r:d>v;-yDI !Ahh]l'a/

ad"y>-ydI aS'P; an"l'yai yDI yhiAvr>v'

The Particle of Existence יתˍא̣ / יתˍיא̣

As in Bh, in BA a special nominal particle, yt;yai, indicates the existence of someone or something. This particle can carry pronominal suffixes (the same as are used for m. pl. nouns), in which case the following forms occur:

י t;yai

%t;yai yhiAtyai an"y>t;yai !Akyteyai “I am (there/available)”

“you [sg.] are (there/available)” “he/it is (there)”

“we are (there)”

“you [pl.] are (there)”

aY"m;v.Bi Hl'a/ yt;yai ~r:B.

“but there is a God in heaven” (dan 2:28)

yhiAtyai al' ar"f.Bi-~[i !Ahr>d"m. yDI !yhil'a/ !hel'

“except the gods, whose dwelling is not with humankind” (lit. “except the gods, which their dwelling with the humans it is not”; dan 2:11)

!yxil.p' an"y>t;yai-al' %yIh'l'ale

“we are not available to serve your gods” (lit. “as serving your gods”; dan 3:18)

%l' yt;yai al' ar"h]n: rb:[]B; ql'x]

“you will have no possession in Abar Nahara”79 (lit. “a possession in Abar Nahara will not be with you”; Ezra 4:16)

79. ar"h]n: rb;[] could be translated lit. “across the river” (cf. NrSv “the province Beyond the River”). However, since this was at the same time the official name of the province to which Judah/Jerusalem belonged, it is better to keep it as a proper noun: Abar Nahara.

The Accusative Particle תי"

Aramaic has an accusative particle, ty" (cf. hebrew tae). however, this particle is more common in Old Aramaic inscriptions than in BA, where it occurs only once (with the suf. !Ah-).

lb,B' tn:ydIm. td:ybi[]-l[; !Aht.y" t'yNIm;-yDI !yIad"Why> !yrIb.GU yt;yai

“There are these Jewish men whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon” (lit. “There are Jewish men that you have appointed them over the affairs^80 of the province of Babylon”; dan 3:12)

ל as Accusative Particle

By far the most commmon way of introducing an accusative (direct) object is through the preposition l, which functions in BA as an accusative particle. This may be confusing, since in Bh l typically introduces dative (indirect) objects, but only very rarely accusative objects.81

lb,b' ymeyKix; lkol. hd"b'Ahl. rm;a]

“he commanded to kill all the wise men of Babylon” (dan 2:12)

aY"m;v. Hl'a/l, an"t;h\b'a] WzGIr>h; yDI-!mi !hel'

“because our fathers angered the God of heaven” (Ezra 5:12)

The Interrogative Particle ה

The interrogative particle h precedes a word or phrase that introduces a question. It is vocalized either h; ha or h]]hă. unlike English word order, the word order of an interrogative sentence in BA is the same as in that of an affirmative sentence. As such, hserves as a question mark put before an affirmative/ declarative clause.

at'w"y"r>a;-!mi %t'Wbz"yvel. lkiy>h; ar"ydIt.Bi Hle-xl;P' hT.n>a: yDI %h'l'a/;

“has your God whom you serve continually been able to save you from the lions?” (closer to the original word order: “your God, whom you serve continually, has he been able . . . ?”; dan 6:21) !yxil.P' !Akyteyai al' yh;l'ale aD"c.h;

80. Grammatically singular.

81. Instances of l as accusative marker typically occur in Late Biblical hebrew and may be attributed to Aramaic influence.

“Is it true that you are unwilling to worship my gods?” (lit. “Is it true—my gods you are not ready to worship?”; note the particle of existence !Akyteyai; dan 3:14)

The Particles המַ and ןמַ The particle hm;; “what?” introduces questions referring to objects; !m; “who?” refers to persons.

yd"y>-!mi !Akn>biz>yvey> yDI Hl'a/ aWh-!m;

“Who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?” (dan 3:15)

T.d>b;[] hm' Hle rm;ayEw> HdEybi axem;y>-yDI yt;yai al'w>

“And there is no one who can restrain his hand or say to him ‘What have you done?’” (dan 4:32)

TenSeS AnD ASPeCTS

The syntactical function of the tenses has been one of the most controversial issues in contemporary Semitic studies. Some have argued that the Semitic languages do not actually have “tenses”; their primary function is not to express temporal meaning but rather to distinguish between different aspects of action. Put in the most general terms, aspect theory does not categorize action according to past, present, and future but according to binary distinctions such as completed versus incomplete action, narrative versus descriptive, factual versus potential, or one-time event versus continuous activity. The main advantage of aspect theory is that it is more comprehensive than tense theory. For example, one of the main aspects of the perfect is “completed action.” By definition, this pertains mostly to actions of the past; however, it is conceivable that something completed can also occur in the present or is envisioned to occur in the future.

While this discussion is ongoing, there is consensus that the relationship between tenses and aspects also depends on the genre of a given text (prose, narrative, poetry, prophecy, instruction, etc.). In the following, we will give a general description of the function of the perfect, participle, and imperfect, using both aspect and tense theory, then outline some of the specifics of the verbal syntax (impersonal speech and word order) of BA, and eventually turn to a syntactical analysis of narratives, which represent the main genre of BA texts.

The Perfect

The perfect is by far the most frequent tense in BA. This is due to the narrative character of the texts and to the fact that there is no “imperfect consecutive” or “waw imperfect” (way-yiqtol) in BA.

Probably the most basic characteristic of the perfect is that it expresses completed action. Apart from narrative contexts this pertains to three other areas:

1. Performative speech, in which the act of speaking coincides with the action that the speech announces:

aK'l.m;l. an"[.d:Ahw> an"x.l;v. hn"D>-l[;

“Therefore, we hereby send and inform the king” (Ezra 4:14)

2. The declarative perfect, which is used in order to state or underline something that the speaker considers to be fundamentally true:

yli T.b.h;y> at'r>Wbg>W at'm.k.x'

“Wisdom and strength you have (truly) given me” (dan 2:23)

3. The future perfect, in which the aspect of completion and certainty extends to events that are expected to occur in the future:

aY"m;v.-lK' tAxT. tw"k.l.m; yDI at'Wbr>W an"j'l.v'w> ht'Wkl.m;W

!ynIAyl.[, yveyDIq; ~[;l. tb;yhiy>

“And the kingdom, the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the sky will (indeed) be given to the people of the saints of the Most high” (dan 7:27)

The Participle

Although the participle is morphologically a noun, it plays an important role in the Aramaic tense system. It can be used for descriptive or illustrative purposes:

~yqE h'm.W !ykil.m; hDE[.h;m. aY"n:m.zIw> aY"n:D"[i anEv.h;m. aWhw>

hn"ybi y[ed>y"l. a['D>n>m;W !ymiyKix;l. at'm.k.x' bhey" !ykil.m;

“And he is the one who changes times and seasons, deposes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding” (dan 2:21)

aY"m;v. %l,m,l. rD:h;m.W ~meArm.W xB;v;m. rC;n<d>k;Wbn> hn"a] ![;K.

“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, worship, extol, and glorify the King of heaven” (dan 4:34)

yhiAmd"q\-!mi !ylix]d"w> !y[ia]z" Awh] aY"n:V'liw> aY"m;au aY"m;m.[; lKo Hle-bh;y> yDI at'Wbr>-!miW

“And because of the greatness that was given to him, all nations, peoples, and tongues were standing in awe and fear of him” (dan 5:19) The participle is also chosen to emphasize habits, capabilities, or personal characteristics:

aK'l.m;l. hy"w"x]h;l. !ylik.y" !yrIz>G" !yMijur>x; !ypiv.a' !ymiyKix; al'

“No wise man, magician, enchanter, or diviner is able to reveal [the mystery] to the king” (dan 2:27)

The following examples show the difference between the participle and the perfect:

aY"m;Ay tyrIx]a;B. awEh/l, yDI hm' rC;n<d>k;Wbn> aK'l.m;l. [d:Ahw> !yzIr" aleG" aY"m;v.Bi Hl'a/ yt;yai

“There is a God in heaven, who is able to reveal [ptc.] mysteries, and he has disclosed [pf.] to king Nebuchadnezzar what it is that will happen at the end of days” (dan 2:28)

htev' ar"m.x; aP'l.a; lbeq\l'w> @l;a] yhiAnb'r>b.r:l. br: ~x,l. db;[] aK'l.m; rC;av;l.Be

“King Belshazzar made [pf.] a great festival for his thousand lords, and before the thousand he was drinking wine [ptc.]” (dan 5:1)

Participle and Perfect as a Combined Tense In order to indicate an extended period of time in the past, BA combines the participle with the perfect (typically from hwh “to be”):

t'y>w:h] hzEx' “As you were looking . . .” (implied: “you were looking for a longer period of time,” referring to Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in dan 2)

tywEh] hzEx' “As I was looking . . .” (in this case, “looking” refers to daniel’s entire vision in dan 7)

The emphasis on an extended period of time also applies to the central vision of daniel 7:

hw"h] htea' vn"a/ rb;K. aY"m;v. ynEn"[]-~[i

“With the clouds of heaven someone like a human being was coming”82 (7:13)

The Phrase רמאו הנע

direct speech in BA is frequently introduced by a phrase combining the roots hn[ “answer” and rma “speak.” Sometimes both are participles: rm;a'w> hnE[' “he answered and said”; in other cases, however, hn[ appears in the perfect. The following examples occur in the same narrative context of daniel 2:5–10:

rm:a'w> aK'l.m; hnE['

“The king answered [ptc.] and said [ptc.]” (2:5)

!yrIm.a'w> tWny"n>ti An[]

“They answered [pf.] for the second time and said [ptc.]” (2:7) !yrIm.a'w> aK'l.m;-~d"q\ yaeD"f.k; An[]

“The chaldeans spoke [pf.] before the king and said [ptc.]” (2:10)

Participle and Imperative as a Combined Tense

combining the imperative with the participle seems to suggest that something should be done (or avoided) permanently: Awh/ !yrIyhiz>W “Be warned!” (Ezra 4:22); Awh] !yqIyxir: “Stay away!” (Ezra 6:6)

The Imperfect

Whereas the perfect expresses completed action, the characteristic of the imperfect is that it is used for incomplete action. As such, one finds it regularly as a present and future tense.

%yIl;[] !Wpl.x.y: !ynID"[i h['b.viw> !Wm[]j;y> %l' !yrIAtk. aB'f.[i

“Grass you will be made to eat just like oxen, and seven ages will pass over you” (dan 4:29)

82. vn"a/ rB; lit. translates as “a son of man.” In contrast to New Testament usage, the phrase does not carry the connotation of a messianic title; in dan 7:13 it is used in a descriptive manner: after a series of beasts that have somehuman characteristics (“reason,” “eyes,” etc.), it is finally a fully human being that takes dominion over the world of nations. rB; in the sense of “one of” also occurs in dan 3:25: !yhil'a/-rB; “one of the gods/a divine being.”

however, the imperfect can also express the past when following a perfect. In this case, the imperfect explains, unfolds, or amplifies the main line of action: ynIN:luh]b;y> yviarE ywEz>x,w> ybiK.v.mi-l[; !yrIhor>h;w> ynIN:lix]d:ywI tyzEx] ~l,xe

“I saw [pf.] a dream and it scared me [impf.], and thoughts on my bed and the visions of my head confused me [impf.]” (dan 4:2)

Besides action, the imperfect is also used to express intentions, inclinations, and wishes:

!Ahh]l'ale !hel' Hl'a/-lk'l. !WdG>s.yI-al'w> !Wxl.p.yI-al' yDI !Ahymev.g< Wbh;ywI

“And they gave [pf.] their bodies because they did not want to worship and bow to any god except their own God” (dan 3:28)

ImPerSonAL SPeeCh

Impersonal speech, in which the subject of a sentence remains unspecific (“one should be more aware of the needs of others”; “they don’t make cookies like these anymore,” etc.), occurs quite frequently in BA texts. There are essentially two ways of expressing impersonal speech: the plural participle and third masculine forms (sg. and pl., pf. and impf.).

Examples of the participle in impersonal speech:

av'n"a]-!mi !ydIr>j' %l'w>

“And they will drive you away from humans” (lit. “And you, driving away from humans”; dan 4:22)

!yrIm.a' %l' “To you someone said . . .” or “To you it is spoken . . . ” (the participle here serves as an impersonal predicate; lit. “To you saying . . .”; dan 4:28)

Examples of the 3 m. sg./pl. in impersonal speech: vw<y"r>D" ~d"q\ rp;v.“It pleased darius” (lit. “It was pleasant before darius”; dan 6:2)

!ANv;y> av'Ana/-!mi Hbeb.li “his heart shall be changed from that of a human” (lit. “his heart they will change from that of a human”; dan 4:13)83

83. In some translations also interpreted as jussive (“let them change,” etc.); however, the grammatical form is a regular imperfect, instead of the “short” form (ANv;y>) that one would expect for the jussive.

exercise 18: Impersonal Speech Translate the following sentences.

1. HNEmi WyDI[.h, hr"q'ywI

2. aY"n:V'liw> aY"M;au aY"m;m.[; !yrIm.a' !Akl. lyIx'b. arEq' az"Ark'w>

3. hy"w"x]h;l. ym;d"q' rp;v. ay"L'[i ah'l'a/ yMi[i db;[] yDI aY"h;m.tiw> aY"t;a'

4. hw"h] htea' vn"a/ rb;K. aY"m;v. ynEn"[]-~[i Wra]w:

yhiWbr>q.h; yhiAmd"q.W hj'm. aY"m;Ay qyTi[;-d[;w>

WorD orDer

Word order in Aramaic is relatively flexible. In particular, predicate and subject do not always necessarily follow one another, but sometimes form a bracket around a sentence. hence it is not advisable to translate sentences from beginning to end, but rather to identify the predicate and subject first.

HBe tx;k;T.v.hi !yrIj.qi arEv'm.W !d"yxia] ty:w"x]a;(w:) !ymil.x, rV;p;m. Wnt'l.k.f'w> [D:n>m;W hr"yTiy: x;Wr

The subject of this sentence is x;Wr(in first position), the predicate tx;k;T.v.hi (in penultimate position). The middle part of the sentence seems to add, parenthetically, what the excellent spirit enables daniel to do: “An excellent spirit—knowledge, insight, (the ability to) interpret dreams, explain mysteries, and solve riddles—was found in him” (dan 5:12).

There is, however, a marked tendency in BA to place the element that is considered the main subject (or topic) of a sentence in first position, although this may not be the grammatical subject or predicate.

av'n"a]-!mi !ydIr>j' %l'w>

“And they will drive you away from humans” (lit. “And you, driving away from humans”; dan 4:22)

T'r>D:h; al' Hle %t'x'r>ao-lk'w> HdEyBi %t'm.v.nI-yDI ah'l'ale

“The God in whose hand is your breath and all your ways are his [in his command] you have not honored” (dan 5:23)

bj' bh;d>-yDI HvearE am'l.c; aWh

“This image, its head was of fine gold” (Dan 2:32)

aK'l.m;l. hy"w"x]h;l. !ylik.y" !yrIz>G" !yMijur>x; !ypiv.a' !ymiyKix; al' laev' aK'l.m;-yDI hz"r"

“The riddle that the king asks—no wise man, magician, enchanter, or diviner is capable of disclosing [it] to the king” (dan 2:27)

!ypiyQit; hm'K. yhiAhm.tiw> !ybir>b.r: hm'K. yhiAta'

“how great are his signs and how mighty are his wonders!” (lit. “his signs—how great they are! his wonders—how mighty they are!”; dan 3:33)

%l' snEa'-al' zr"-lk'w>

“And no riddle can baffle you” (lit. “and any riddle—it does not baffle you”; dan 4:6)

A certain element can be placed at the beginning of a sentence in order to emphasize it.

yli yliG / hn"d> az"r" aY"Y:x;-lK'-!mi yBi yt;yai-yDI hm'k.x'b. al' hn"a]w:

“But as for me, it is not because I have more wisdom than any other living being that this mystery has been revealed to me” (dan 2:30)

(Note that hn"a], although in initial position, is not the subject of this sentence, which is az"r" “secret,” and the predicate is yliG / “has been revealed.”)

yl;[] !ANT;v.yI yw:yzIw> ynIN:luh]b;y> yn:Ay[.r: ayGIf; laYEnId" hn"a]

“As for me, Daniel, my thoughts terrified me, and my face turned pale” (dan 7:28)

!Ahn>j'l.v' wyDI[.h, at'w"yxe ra'v.W

“Concerning the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away”84 (dan 7:12)

84. Note that this is also a case of impersonal speech (the “beasts” are not the grammatical subject); lit. “concerning the rest of the beasts, they took away their dominion.”

exercise 19: Word order

Translate the following sentences and comment on the position of the verb, subject, and object.

1. tl;l][; ay"T.v.mi tybel. yhiAnb'r>b.r:w> aK'l.m; yLemi lbeq\l' at'K.l.m;

2. lb,b'l. ylig>h; hM'[;w> HrEt.s; hn"d> ht'y>b;W

3. ~[ej. aK'l.m; %yIl;[] Wmf'-al' %Leai aY"r:b.GU

!yxil.p' al' %yIh;l'ale

!ydIg>s' al' T'm.yqeh] yDI ab'h]D: ~l,c,l.W

4. %b'K.v.mi-l[; %n"Ay[.r: aK'l.m; hT'n>a;

awEh/l, ydI-hm' %['d>Ah aY"z:r" aleg"w> hn"d> yrEx]a; awEh/l, yDI hm' Wqlis. yli yliG / hn"d> az"r" aY"Y:x;-lK'-!mi yBi yt;yai-yDI hm'k.x'b. al' hn"a]w:

nArrATIve SynTAx

unlike Bh, BA does not have any consecutive tenses. There is, in particular, no imperfect consecutive (waw imperfect).85 consequently, the perfect and, to a lesser extent, the participle assume the role of the narrative past tense. In addition, the temporal particle !yId:a/“then” is often used to emphasize the progress of action.86

coming from Bh, one expects the predicate of narrative sentences to occur in the first or second position of the sentence. While this can be so in BA, the predicate quite frequently moves toward the end of a sentence.

ylig} hz"r" ay"l.yle-ydI aw"z>x,B. laYEnId"l. !yId:a/

“Then to daniel in a vision of the night the mystery was revealed” (dan 2:19a)

aY"m;v. Hl'a/l, %rIB' laYEnID" !yId:a/

“Then daniel blessed the God of heaven” (2:19b)

85. however, much of the recent scholarly debate revolves around the question of whether Aramaic, at some point in its history, had a “waw imperfect,” which then disappeared in Imperial Aramaic. One of the pertinent texts in this regard is the inscription of King Zakkur from hamat (see appendix 1).

86. In BH the progress of action is expressed through the -ו of the waw imperfect.

Perfect and Participle as narrative Tenses

As mentioned above, the perfect and the participle have specific functions in the tense system of BA. With regard to the narrative structure of a text, both forms can be used without significant difference in meaning. The story of Belshazzar’s feast illustrates this feature well (dan 5:1–10):

br: ~x,l. db;[] aK'l.m; rC:av;l.Be^1 Belshazzar the king made a great banquet.

ar"m.x; ~[ej.Bi rm;a] rC;av;l.Be^2

Belshazzar said, under the influence of the wine. . . .

ab'h]d: ynEam' wytiy>h; !yId:aBe 3

Then they brought the golden vessels. . . .

aP's.k;w> ab'h]D: yhel'ale WxB;v;w> ar"m.x; wyTiv.ai^4

They drank wine and toasted (to) the gods of gold and silver. . . . !b't.k'w> vn"a/-dy: yDI !['B.c.a, wq'p;n> ht'[]v;-HB;5

In that moment the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote. . . . yhiAnv. yhiwOyzI aK'l.m; !yId:a/ 6

Then the king turned pale. . . .

aY"p;v.a'l. hl'['h,l. lyIx;B. aK'l.m; arEq'7

The king cried out loudly to assemble the magicians.

aK'l.m; ymeyKix; lKo !yyLi[' !yId:a/8

Then all the sages of the king came. . . .

lh;B't.mi ayGIf; rC;av;l.be aK'l.m; !yId:a/ 9

Then King Belshazzar became greatly terrified.

tl;l;[; ay"T.v.mi tybel. yhiAnb'r>b.r:w> aK'l.m; yLemi lbeq\l' at'K.l.m;10

The queen, because of the words of the king and his officers, went into the banquet hall.

In vv. 1–6 and 10 the perfect assumes the role of the narrative tense (with the exception of !b't.K' in v. 5), whereas in vv. 7–9 it is a participle in that role. There does not seem to be any significant difference with regard to the syntactical function of the two. Note that for the verb ll[ both perfect and participle forms are attested (vv. 8 and 10) without discernible difference in meaning.

Circumstantial Clauses

In BA a narrative typically consists of two basic components: the description of the action itself and the circumstances that illustrate, explain, or counteract the main plot. In both BA and Bh different types of sentences (verbal and nominal) and the use of tenses indicate the difference between these two components of a narrative. A circumstantial clause can be, for example, a nominative clause (dan 7:1):

hz"x] ~l,xe laYEnID" lb,B' %l,m, rC;v;l.abel. hd"x] tn:v.Bi

Action: “In the first year of Belshazzar, the king of Babylon, Daniel saw/had a dream”

HbeK.v.mi-l[; HvearE ywEz>x,w>

circumstance: “and the visions of his head [happened when he was lying] on his bed.”87

rm;a] !yLimi varE bt;k. am'l.x, !yId:aBe

Action: “Then he wrote down the dream, (and) he told the sum of the matter.”

Changing Word order between Predicate and Subject

If circumstances themselves involve some kind of action, the difference from the main plot may be indicated through inverted word order of the predicate and subject (dan 6:19):

tw"j. tb'W Hlek.yhel. aK'l.m; lz:a] !yId:ae

“Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting” (predicate—subject; action)

yhiAmd"q\ l[en>h;-al' !w"x]d:w>

“and no diversion (?) was brought to him”

(subject—predicate; circumstance)

87. In other words: “The visions happened when he was asleep.” Translations tend to connect “dream” and “the visions of the head”; compare, e.g., NrSv: “daniel had a dream and visions of his head as he lay in bed.” This, however, does not match the imagery. As dan 4:10 and 7:2, 7 suggest, daniel does not see a vision, but he sees something in a vision. The idea seems to be that the prophet, while he is asleep, enters the realm of visions in which he then becomes privy to seeing specific images or events.

yhiAl[] tD:n: HTen>viw>"

“and his sleep fled from him”

(subject—predicate; circumstance)

!yId:ae clearly indicates the progress of action: the king turns in for the night. The following sentences (with inverted word order) describe how he spent the night: fasting and sleepless, since he had given permission to throw daniel in the lions’ den.

AnALyTIC AnD SynTheTIC SynTAx

contemporary linguistics distinguishes between analytic and synthetic types of syntactic relationships of elements of a sentence. The following example may illustrate the difference:

The child

in the garden saw a bird

These words can be used to create two different sentences:

The child in the garden saw a bird. The child saw a bird in the garden.

In this case, it is the word order alone that determines the concrete meaning; the grammatical forms of the words in each sentence are exactly the same. Thus the difference in meaning occurs at the synthetic level of the sentence (“syn-thetic” meaning the way in which things are “put together”).

The same difference in meaning can be achieved by introducing additional analytic elements, such as relative particles:

The child who was in the garden saw a bird. The child saw a bird that was in the garden.

Instead of “analytic” one might also say “explicit” (vis-à-vis “implicit”/synthetic). conjunctions, relative particles, prepositions, and so on fall under this rubric.

The use and the combination of synthetic and analytic tools are significant characteristics of any language. however, in contrast to the analytic elements, which most of the time are easy to recognize, the synthetic level of a language poses more of a challenge to the interpreter. This is particularly true for languages that we know only from a rather limited number of texts, such as BA.

AnALyTIC eLemenTS

The Particle ידִּ yDI has essentially three functions. It introduces:

1. relative clauses (“the woman who . . .”; “the flower that . . .”)

2. object clauses (“you mentioned that . . .” ; “it is a law that . . .”)

3. purpose clauses (“it was done so that . . .”)

The use of yDI as a relative pronoun (cf. Bh rv,a]) is very common in BA, especially since it can be used to replace construct chains (see above). Sometimes a whole series of attributes can be added to a noun by using yDI.

~l,v.Wrybi-ydI al'k.yhe-!mi qPen>h; rC;n<d>k;Wbn> yDI aP's.k;w> hb'h]d: yDI ah'l'a/-tybe ynEam'

“The vessels of the temple that are of gold and silver that Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple, which is in Jerusalem” (Ezra 6:5)

aK'l.m; yDI at'd"w> %h'l'a/-yDII at'D" dbe[' awEh/l, al' yDI lk'w>

“Everyone who will not obey the law of your God” (lit. “the law, that of your God”) and the law of the king” (lit. “the law, that of your king”; Ezra 7:26)

In some cases, yDI expresses both the relative particle and the implied noun to which it refers (“the one who”/“that which”):

hw"h]-ydIw> axem; hw"h] abec' hw"h]-ydIw> ljeq' aw"h] abec' hw"h]-yDI lyPiv.m; hw"h] abec' hw"h]-ydIw> ~yrIm' hw"h] abec'

“Whomever he wanted to kill he killed, and whomever he wanted to let live he let live; he raised up whomever he wanted, and he lowered whomever he wanted” (lit. “The one whom he wanted he killed; the one whom he wanted he let live; the one whom he wanted he raised up; the one whom he wanted he lowered”; dan 5:19b)88

Exercise 20: The use of ידִּ

Translate the following sentences and determine the function of yDI.

1. aK'l.m;l. hy"w"x]h;l. ar"v.piW Hle-!Ten>yI !m'z> yDI aK'l.m;-!mi h['b.W l[; laYEnId"w>

2. !ysir>p;W lqeT. anEm. anEm. ~yvir> yDI ab't'k. hn"d>W

3. ~l,v.Wryli Ata] an"yl,[] %t'w"l.-!mi Wqlis. yDI ayEd"Why> yDI aK'l.m;l. awEh/l, [:ydIy>

4. aDE[.t, al'-yDI sr:p'W yd:m'-td"K. hy"n"v.h;l. al' yDI ab't'K. ~vur>tiw> ar"s'a/ ~yqIT. aK'l.m; ![;K.

5. ~hoyvear"b. yDI aY"r:b.GU-~vu bTuk.nI yDI %t'W[d"Ahl. ~hoL. an"l.aev. ~hot.h'm'v. @a;w>

ידִּ in Compound Conjunctions

Most of the BA conjunctions include yDI. It is important to realize that each of these conjunctions has a wide range of possible meanings. The following are examples of the most typical uses of conjunctions with yDI.

Temporal Clauses: י דִ כְּ

yhiAl[] vaeB. ayGIf; [m;v. at'L.mi ydIK. aK'l.m; !yId:a/

“Then the king, when he had heard about the matter, great grief came upon him” (dan 6:15)

Temporal/Final Clauses: (ידִּ) דעַ

av'n"a] tWkl.m;B. ay"L'[i jyLiv;-yDI [D:n>ti-yDI d[;

“until you have learned that the Most high is sovereign over the kingdom of humankind [= over a human kingdom]” (dan 4:22)

Temporal/Causal Clauses: ידִּ ןמִ

aY"m;v. !jiLiv; yDI [D:n>ti yDI-!mi hm'Y"q; %l' %t'Wkl.m; an"l'yai yDI yhiAvr>v' rQ:[i qB;v.mil. Wrm;a] ydIw>

“And when they said to leave the stem of the tree and its roots [this means that] your kingdom will be yours [again], when you have come to acknowledge that heaven is powerful” (dan 4:23)

ar"yTiy: hzEae an"WTa;w> hp'c.x.m; aK'l.m; tL;mi yDI-!mi hn"D> lbeq\-lK'

88. More common is yDI in combination with hm; “what” or !m; “who”: HyEl;[] ~yqEh'y> hBec.yI yDI !m;l. “Whomever he chooses he appoints over it [the kingdom of humans]” (dan 5:21).

“Because of this, because the word of the king was [so] urgent and the oven was so overheated . . .” (dan 3:22)

Causal Clauses: ידִּ לבֵקֳ־לכָּ

HBe ar"yTiy: x:Wr yDI lbeªq\-lK' aY"n:P.r>D:v.x;a]w: aY"k;r>s'-l[; xC;n:t.mi aw"h] hn"D> laYEnID" !yId:a/

“Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the officials and satraps because an excellent spirit was in him” (dan 6:4)

~l,v.Wryliw> dWhy>-l[; ar"Q'b;l. x:yliv. yhijo[]y" t[;b.viw> aK'l.m; ~d"q\-!mi yDI lbeq\-lK' “For [you] are sent by the king and his seven counselors to inquire about Judah and Jerusalem” (Ezra 7:14)

Adversative Clauses: ידִּ לבֵקֳ־לכָּ / ידִכְּ

T'[.d:y> hn"D>-lk' yDI lbeq\-lK' %b'b.li T.l.Pev.h; al'

“you have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this” (dan 5:22)

Htey>b;l. l[; ab't'K. ~yvir>-yDI [d:y> ydIK.. laYEnId"w>

“And daniel—although he knew that the decree had been signed— went into his house” (dan 6:11)

Purpose Clauses: ידִּ תרַבְדִּ־לעַ

!W[d>Ahy> aK'l.m;l. ar"v.pi yDI tr:b.DI-l[;

“in order that the interpretation may be known to the king” (dan 2:30)

other Conjunctions

!he (“if”)

As in Bh, !he introduces conditional clauses:

!WlB.q;T. ayGIf; rq"ywI hB'z>bin>W !n"T.m; !wOx]h;T. HrEv.piW am'l.x, !hew>

“But if you [can] tell me the dream and its meaning, then you shall collect/receive gifts, rewards, and great honor” (dan 2:6) Not every “if”-clause needs a main clause, if the consequence following from the “if”-clause appears to be obvious or self-evident:

tdEb.[;-ydI am'l.c;l. !WdG>s.tiw> !WlP.Ti . . . an"r>q; lq' !W[m.v.ti-yDI an"D"[ib. yDI !ydIyti[] !Akyteyai !he aT'd>qiy" ar"Wn !WTa;-aAgl. !Amr>t.ti ht'[]v;-HB; !WdG>s.ti al' !hew>

“If you are there [and] ready that, at the time that you hear the sound of the horn, . . . you fall down and worship the statue that I have made, [well and good]. But if you do not worship, in the same hour you will be thrown into the middle of the fiery and burning oven.” (Dan 3:15, lit.)

lbeq\-lK' (“thus, therefore”)

For causal relationships between main clauses and subordinate clauses lbeq\-lK' is used. Note that lbeq\-lK', often in combination with hn"D>, can also be used as a causal particle within a main clause. It may then be translated as “therefore,” “accordingly,” or “because of this”:

ar"s'a/w< ab't'K. ~v;r> vw<y"r>D" aK'l.m; hn"D> lbeq\-lK'

“Therefore King darius signed the document and decree” (dan 6:10)

sn:B. aK'l.m; hn"D> lbeq\-lK'

“Because of this the king was furious” (dan 2:12)

exercise 21: Conjunctions Translate the following sentences.

1. Htey>b;l. l[; ab't'K. ~yvir>-yDI [d:y> ydIK. laYEnId"w>

2. btiy> !ymiAy qyTi[;w> wymir> !w"s'r>k' yDI d[; tywEh] hzEx'

3. at'L.mi yNImi aD"z>a; yDI !AtyzEx] yDI lbeq\-lK' !ynIb.z" !WTn>a; an"D"[i yDI hn"a] [d:y"

4. lb,B'-%l,m, rC;n<d>k;Wbn> dy:B. AMhi bh;y> aY"m;v. Hl'a/l, an"t;h\b'a] WzGIr>h; yDI-!mi !hel'

5. !WnT.n>yI al' hD"n>mi !Wll.k.T;v.yI hY"r:Wvw> anEB.t.Ti %d" at'y>r>qi !he yDI aK'l.m;l. awEh/l, [:ydIy> ![;K.

6. !Ahh]l'a/ l[; Wlv' rm;ayE-yDI !V'liw> hM'au ~[;-lk'

yliw"n> Htey>b;W dbe[]t.yI !ymiD"h; aAgn> dbe[]w: %v;yme %r:d>v;-yDI

hn"d>Ki hl'C'h;l. lKuyI-yDI !r"x\a' hl'a/ yt;yai al' yDI lbeq\-lK' hWET;v.yI

SynTheTIC SynTAx

Implicit Subjugation

Sometimes BA does not employ a conjunction to qualify the relationship between two sentences, but simply uses ו “and” as a connector, even though the sentence that the w introduces functions as an adverbial clause. This is especially the case when consecutive meaning is intended (“and so”). however, there are also examples of object clauses and temporal clauses with w:

!yrIf.[,w> ha'm. aY"n:P.r>D:v.x;a]l; at'Wkl.m;-l[; ~yqih]w: vw<y"r>D" ~d"q\ rp;v.

“It pleased darius to set 120 satraps over the kingdom” (lit. “It was pleasant before darius, and he set over the kingdom . . .”; dan 6:2)

qzIn" awEïh/l,-al' aK'l.m;W am'[.j; !Ahl. !ybih]y"

“They [the satraps] reported to them so that the king would not suffer loss.”

(lit. “They reported to them, and the king will not suffer loss”; dan 6:3)

ynIN:wUx]h;T. HrEv.pi yDI [D:n>aiw> yli Wrm;a/ am'l.x, !hel'

“Therefore, tell me the dream so that I know that you can [also] reveal its meaning to me” (lit. “Tell me the dream, and I will know . . .”; dan 2:29)

A particularly intriguing case of implicit subjugation is Ezra 4:12b. Officials of the province of Samaria report to the Persian king that some of the Jews who had returned from Babylon had started to rebuild Jerusalem:

1. !yIn:B' aT'v.yabiW aT'd>r"m' at'y>r>qi

2. Wll.k.v;a] aY"r:Wvw>

3. Wjyxiy: aY"V;auw>

The first clause, using the participle ( !yIn:B'), indicates that the reconstruction of Jerusalem is underway. The second clause focuses on the completion of the city wall (Wll.k.v;a], pf.), whereas the third clause mentions repair work on the foundations, most likely those of the city walls (Wjyxiy:, impf.). Most Bible translations interpret clauses 2 and 3, connected by w, as two independent events. However, the order of events (the wall being finished before the foundations are repaired) seems awkward. Therefore, the perfect is best interpreted as anticipating a completed action in the future, whereas the imperfect indicates incomplete action in the present. As such, w in clause 3 introduces an (implicit) temporal clause.

They are (re)building the city

and they will surely complete the walls, once they have repaired the foundations.89

Implicit Attributive Clauses In some cases w is used instead of a relative pronoun to express attributive meaning:

ybiK.v.mi-l[; !yrIhor>h;w> ynIN:lix]d:ywI tyzEx] ~l,xe

“I saw a dream that scared me” (lit. “and it scared me”) “and thoughts on my bed” (dan 4:2)

~l,v.Wry> dg<n< HteyLi[iB. Hle !x'ytiP. !yWIk;w> Htey>b;l. l[; laYEnId"w>

“But daniel went into his house, which had open windows in its upper chamber toward Jerusalem” (lit. “And daniel went into his house; and open windows [were] to it in its upper chamber, facing Jerusalem”; dan 6:11)

89. Ezra 4:13 lends further support to the interpretation that the completion of the wall is the main topic in this context: “Now let it be known to the king that, if this city is rebuilt and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll.”

Word List

Listed here are the most common verbs and nouns in BA that are worth memorizing. Among the particles, prepositions, and pronouns, only those are included that were not discussed in the grammar section of this textbook. Some of these words have equivalents in Bh but are less common there or have slightly different meanings.

ba; father

dba 1. to perish (pe.)

2. to destroy, kill (ha.)

3. to be destroyed (ho.) hr"G>ai letter

!yId:a/ then, after that

yrIx\a' another, a different one (f.) lza to go, leave (pe.) !r"x\a' another, a different one (m.) !l"yai tree

lka to eat (pe.)

Hl'a/ god, God

hM'au people, nation

rma 1. to say (pe.)

2. to command (pe.) vn"a] human (being)

84

[r;a] land

@v;a' magician, diviner

hta / ata to come

rt;a] 1. track

2. place

vab to be evil

lhb 1. to frighten (pe.)

2. to do something in a hurry (hitpe.) 3. to be frightened/alarmed (hitpa.)

ljb 1. to stop, cease (pe.)

2. to make to stop, hamper (pa.)

tyIB; / yB;90 house

a[b 1. to ask, request (pe.)

2. to seek (someone) (pa.)

rB; 1. son

2. member of (expressing belonging)

$rb to praise (pe. and pa.)

rb;G> 1. man

2. a certain one

wG: midst, middle

alg to reveal

~v;G> body

bh;D> gold

rwd to dwell

lxd 1. to fear (pe.)

2. to frighten (pa.)

!yDi 1. justice

2. judgment

3. court

qqd to break into pieces (pe. and ha.) tD" 1. decree

2. law

hwh / awh 1. to come to pass, happen (pe.)

2. to become (pe.)

lk;yhe 1. palace (of the king)

2. temple

$lh 1. to come, go (pe.)

2. to walk about (pa. and ha.) wyzI 1. complexion

2. splendor (of the face) !m;z> time

lbx 1. to destroy (pa.)

2. to be destroyed (hitpa.) dx; 1. one (cardinal and ordinal number) 2. (x) times

awx 1. to announce (pe.)

2. to show, interpret (pa. and ha.) hzx to see

Wzx/ 1. vision

2. appearance

yx; 1. alive, living

2. life

ayx 1. to live (pe.)

2. to let live (ha.)

aw"yxe animal, beast

lyIx; 1. strength

2. army

~yKix; sage, wise man

hm'k.x' knowledge, wisdom

~l,xe dream

@s;x] clay, potsherd

~jor>x; magician, astrologer

~[j to feed (pa.)

~[ej. 1. taste

2. decree

3. report

4. will, order

dy: hand

[dy 1. to know (pe.)

2. to let know (ha.)

bhy 1. to bring, give (pe.)

2. to be given (hitpe.)

yd"Why> Jew

byCiy: certain, true (adj.) bty 1. to sit, dwell (pe.)

2. to cause to dwell (ha.) lky / lhk to be able to

lKo the whole, all

vnk to gather

tn"K. companion, associate @s;K. silver

![;K. (and) now

yD'f.K; 1. chaldean

2. chaldean as astrologer bt'K. 1. writing, inscription

2. decree, order

!V'li tongue, language !am' vessel

hn"ydIm. district, province hjm 1. to reach (pe.)

2. to come upon (pe.) hL'mi 1. word

2. matter

%l,m, king

Wkl.m; 1. kingly power

2. kingdom

3. reign

hnm 1. to number, reckon (pe.)

2. to appoint (pa.) arem' lord (a king, god) rWn fire

qzn 1. to bother (pa.)

2. to cause trouble (ha.) lpn 1. to fall, come down (pe.)

2. to fall down, bow to (pe.) qpn 1. to come out (pe.)

2. to bring forth (ha.) !tn to give (pe.)

dgs to worship, pay homage qls 1. to ascend, come up (pe.)

2. to take up (ha.)

rp;s' scribe

db[ to make, do, create, perform (pe.) to be made (hitpe.)

!D"[i 1. time

2. year

bz[ byzIyve to rescue, deliver (shap`el) ll[ 1. to go in (pe.)

2. to bring in (ha.)

3. to be brought in (ho.)

~l;[' eternity

~[; nation, people

hn[ 1. to answer (pe.)

2. to begin speaking (pe.)

xlp 1. to revere (pe.)

2. to serve (pe.)

~Pu mouth

lz<r>P; iron

!g<v,r>P; copy

rvp to interpret (pe. and pa.)

rv;P. interpretation

~G"t.Pi 1. word, report

2. decree

abc to be inclined to do something, to be willing to (pe.)

alc to pray (pa.)

~lec. 1. image

2. idol

vyDIq; holy (adj.)

~wq 1. to stand up, rise (pe.)

2. to stand (before) (pe.)

3. to announce, ratify (pa.)

4. to raise (ha.)

tc'q. end, part

arq 1. to call (pe.)

2. to read (pe.)

brq 1. to approach (pe.)

2. to offer (pa.)

3. to present, bring (before) (ha.) varE 1. head

2. sum, essential

x;Wr 1. wind

2. spirit (of God or a human) zr" secret, mystery

amr 1. to throw, cast (pe.)

2. to be cast (hitpe.)

!Ay[.r: thought

~vr to sign, inscribe

ayGIf; 1. great

2. many, much

~yf 1. to put (pe.)

2. to be put (hitpe.)

lav 1. to ask (pe.)

2. to request (pe.)

ra'v. rest, remainder

bzyv see bz[

xkv 1. to be found (hitpe.)

2. to find (ha.)

3. to receive (ha.)

Wlv' neglect, carelessness

xlv to send (pe.)

jlv to rule, have power (pe.)

!j'l.v' 1. dominion

2. realm

~l'v. 1. peace

2. well-being

~vu name

!yIm;v. heaven

[mv 1. to hear (pe.)

2. to obey (hitpa.)

anv 1. to change, become different (pe.)

2. to alter, cause to become different (pa.)

3. to change, to be changed (hitpa.) arv 1. to loosen (knots)

2. to abide(pe.)

3. to begin (pa.)

4. to become loose (hitpa.)

bwt 1. to return (pe.)

2. to restore (ha.)

@qt 1. to grow strong, (negative) to harden (pe.) 2. to confirm (pa.)

90. Although usually listed as tyIB;, the absolute form of “house” in Aramaic is yB;.

Persian and greek Loanwords

It is helpful to note a number of Persian and Greek loanwords in BA since, unlike Semitic words, these do not have a triconsonantal core with prefixes and suffixes.

PerSIAn

(Mostly administrative terminology; cf. dan 3:2–3; 6:3–5)

aY"r:z>G"r>d:a] aY"n:P.r>D:v.x;a] ayEk's.r>p;a] aY"r:b.d"G>

at'D"

aY"r:b.D"h;91 !ymiD"h;

aY"k;r>s'

am'g"t.Pi

ayET'p.Ti

the advisers

the satraps

the prefects

the treasurers

the law

the state secretaries pieces

the royal officials the decree

the police officers

91. Note that h followed by a doubled consonant has nothing to do with the hebrew article.

greeK

(Musical instruments; cf. dan 3:5–7)

ak'B.s; harp

hy"n>Pom.Ws flute

!yrITen>s;P. lyre

sArt'yqi zither (guitar)

Comparative Word List (Aramaic/Hebrew)

Listed here are some of the most common Aramaic terms, which occur beyond BA in several Aramaic dialects, along with their hebrew equivalents:

BA Bh lz:a] “go,” “leave” lz:a' !WNai “they” (m.) hM'he !yNIai “they” (f.) hNEhi vn"a/ “human being” ~d"a' xr:ao “way, path” %r<D, vyaBi “bad, evil” (adj.) [r: h['B. “search, look for, request” vQeBi rB; “son” !Be rb;G> “man/a certain one” vyai wG: “middle, midst” %w<T" aAG

@G: “wing” @n"K' ~v;G> “flesh, body” rf'B' rWD “sit (down), settle” rWD bt;y> bv'y" lx;D> “fear, be afraid of” arey" yDI “that, which” (relative particle) rv,a] %DE (m.) “that one” (dem. pron.) aWhh; %D" (f.) ayhih; !KeDI “those” (c. pl.) ~heh; hn"D> (m.) “this one” (dem. pron.) hz< aD" (f.) tazO ah' “behold!” hNEhi !he “if” ~ai !m'z> “time” t[e rb;x] “friend, companion’” [;rE hw"d>x, “pleasure, joy” hx'm.fi hw"x] “tell, announce” dg:n" hz"x] “see” ha'r" rWj “mountain, rock” rh; rq'y> “glory, honor” dAbK' lh;K. “be able to” lkoy" lkey>

vn:K. “gather” #b;q' ![;K. “(until) now” hT'[; tn<[,K.

aser>K' “throne” aSeKi !hel' “therefore, on this account” !Ke-l[; !am' “vessel” yliK. !Azm' “food, feed” lk,ao hL'mi “word, matter” rb'D' qp;n> “leave, go outside” ac'y" !t;n> “give” !t;n" bh;y>

db;[] “do, make” hf'[' hd"[] “go, vanish” rWs ll;[] “enter, go inside” aAB ayGIf; “much, many” daom.

Idiomatic expressions

Listed here are some of the idiomatic expressions in daniel and Ezra whose meaning may be difficult to deduce from their literary contexts:

~[ej. %yIl;[] Wmf'-al'i

Lit. “They do not set on you thought”

Meaning: “They do not pay heed to you”92 (dan 3:12; 6:14)

!Ahycer>q; Wlk;a]w:

Lit. “And they ate their pieces” or “they ate them in pieces”

Meaning: “They [the chaldeans] slandered them [the Jews]” (dan 3:8)

l[; rm;ayE

Lit. “he speaks against”

Meaning: “he says bad things about” (dan 3:29)

hl'K.

Lit. “As not”

Meaning: “As nothing” (dan 4:32)

HteWbz"yvel. lB' ~f' laYEnID" l[;

Lit. “On daniel he set [his] mind in order to save him”

Meaning: “he was determined to save daniel” (dan 6:15)

92. Note another idiom in which ~[ej. occurs: ~[ej. ~yfi “to set/issue a decree.”

yhiAl[] baej. ayGIf; aK'l.m;

Lit. “The king, much good was on him”

Meaning: “The king was very glad” (dan 6:24)

ym;d"q\ rp;v.

Lit. “It is pleasant before me”

Meaning: “It pleases me” (dan 3:32)

yl;[] !ANT;v.yI yw:yzIw>

Lit. “And my splendor changed on me”

Meaning: “I [my complexion] turned pale” (dan 4:33)

Note that BA frequently uses prepositions like l[; “on/upon” or ~d"q\ “before” for idiomatic expressions, which may have to do with the fact that BA, in general, emphasizes spatial relations between agents or objects (e.g., yhiAmd"q\-!mi qpen"w> dgEn" rWn-yDI rh;n> “A river of fire issued and flowed out from before him,” dan 7:10).

an"x.l;m. al'k.yhe xl;m.

Lit. “The salt of the palace we eat”

Meaning: “We are committed to the palace [= the king]” (Ezra 4:14)

!yrIj.qi arEv'm.

Lit. “Someone who loosens knots”

Meaning: “Someone who solves problems” (dan 5:12, 16)

!yIr:T'v.mi Hcer>x; yrEj.qi

Lit. “The joints of his loins loosened” (dan 5:6)

Meaning: The rSv and NrSv translate “his limbs gave way”; since these limbs are, however, located in the loin area, it seems likely that the actual meaning is along the lines of “he peed his pants.”

Idiomatic Expressions 97

~[ej. aK'l.m; %yIl;[] Wmf'-al'

Lit. “They do not set [their ear?] on you, O king, [regarding the] decree.”

Meaning: “They pay no heed to your decree, O king” (dan 3:12; 6:14)

Appendix 1: The Zakkur Inscription

One of the best-preserved Aramaic texts is the inscription of King Zakkur of Hamat (today’s Afis in Syria) from the 8th century BCE. It represents the linguistic stage that preceded Imperial Aramaic. This inscription provides us with some important data about the development of the Aramaic language, especially with regard to Aramaic phonology and grammar. The following transcription includes most of stele I.93

[ harm] rwlal X[lw tmx $lm rkz ~X yz abc[n] (1) [lcx]w hna hn[ Xa X[lw tmx $lm rkz hn[a] (2) [l[ !y]mXl[b ynklmhw ym[ ~qw !ymXl[b y[n] (3) X ~ra $lm lazx rb ddhrb yl[ dxwhw $rzh (4) . . . . !klm rX[ [tX] (5) [$]rzh l[ rcm la ayklm lk wmXw . . . (9) [hc]rx !m #rx wqm[hw $rzh rX !m rX wmrhw (10) [lmyw !]ymXl[b ynn[yw ![ym]Xl[b la ydy aXaw (11) [rmayw] !dd[ dy[b]w !yzx dyb yla !ymXl[b [l] (12) [a hnaw $tk]lmh hna yk lxzt la !ymXl[b [yla] (13) [la ayklm] lk !m $lcxaw $m[ ~[q] (14)

93. For the text of the entire inscription see h. donner and W. röllig, Kanaanäische und aramäische Inschriften, 3rd ed., 3 vols. (Wiesbaden: harrassowitz, 1971), 1:37; 2:204–9; J. c. L. Gibson, Textbook of Syrian Semitic Inscriptions, vol. 2 (Oxford: clarendon, 1975), 8–9.

98

Appendix 1: The Zakkur Inscription 99

general Comments

The inscription predates the shift from interdentals to dentals. In line 1 the relative pronoun is written yz (dî), not yd, as in Imperial Aramaic; the same is the case in line 13: lxzt la “do not fear!” would be written lxdt la in later Aramaic.

The inscription also shows that at this earlier stage in the development of the Aramaic script matres lectionis were used at the end of a word but not in the middle: “man” is written Xa rather than Xya, and the plural ending of masculine nouns (abs.) shows only the final ! without the additional y (!y-) (line 12: !dd[ “prophets” instead of !ydd[).94

Finally, the Zakkur inscription seems to use the waw imperfect (impf. consecutive) in line 11 (“and I lifted up,” “and he answered me”).95

notes

(1) abcn “the stele”; tmx “hamat” and X[l “Luash” (place names); rwla “Iluwer” (divine name)

(2) hn[ “humble” (adj.)

(4) $rzh “hadrak” (place name); ynlcx pa. of lcx + 1 c. sg. suf. “he made me prosper”; dxwh ha. from dxy “to unify/make one, assemble”; ddhrb “Barhadad” and lazx “hazael”: names of two Aramean kings who resided in damascus

(9) la dem. pron. “these” (cf. Bhhla)

(10) rX “wall”; #rx “trench”

Translation

(1) (This is) the [s]tele that Zakkur, the king of [h]amat and Luash, erected for Iluwer [his lord]

(2) [I] am Zakkur, the king of hamat and Luash. A humble man am I. Baalshamayin [made]

(3) me [prosper] and rose with me. And Baalshamayin made me king over

(4) hadrak. Now Barhadad, the son of hazael, the king of Aram, assembled against me

(5) sixteen kings. . . .

94. The name of the deity in this text has a dual-like ending ( !ymXl[b “Baalshamayin”), where the y is a full consonant; the same applies to the term !yzx“seers,” where the י belongs to the threeconsonantal root and is thus fully pronounced (ḥāziyīn).

95. There has been extensive debate over whether these forms (and their equivalents in the Tel dan inscription) should be regarded as waw imperfects (or consecutives). To get an impression of the different positions, see v. Sasson, “Some Observations on the use and Original Purpose of the Waw consecutive in Old Aramaic and Biblical hebrew,” Vetus Testamentum 47 (1997): 111–27; T. Muraoka and M. rogland, “The Waw consecutive in Old Aramaic? A rejoinder to victor Sasson,” Vetus Testamentum 48 (1998): 99–104. In my translation I assume that pre–Imperial Aramaic did have the waw imperfect.

(9) . . . And all these kings laid siege to hadr[ak].

(10) And they built a wall against the wall of hadrak. And they dug a trench against its tr[ench].

(11) But I raised my hands to Baalsham[ay]in, and Baalshama[yin] answered me. And Baalshamayin [spoke]

(12) to me [thro]ugh seers and through prophets. And Baalshamayin [said

(13) to me]: “do not fear, for I made you k[ing and I

(14) will ri]se with you. And I will make you prosper more than all [these kings].”

Appendix 2: Aramaic Samples from Qumran^96

ABrAm’S PrAyer For goD’S heLP^97

la htna $yrb !txn y[mdw abc[tab trmaw tnnxtaw ty[bw tylc !d aylylb (12) lk arm !wyl[ db[ml jylX htna a[ra yklm lwkbw alwk l[ jylXw hrm htna yd ~yml[ (13) ![kw !yd !whlwkb !yd yl db[ @qwtb ynm yttna trbd yd !yrcm $lm ![c w[rp l[ yrm $tlbq (14) atbr $dy yzxaw hnm htna yd yrm $w[dnyw ynm yttna aymjl !d aylylb jlXy law htyb lwkbw hb (15) yklm lwkl hrm tyxXw tykbw h[ra (16)

notes

(12) bc[ hitp. “to be in distress”; tylc pa. of hlc; ty[bw waw + pe. of h[b; abc[tab inf. hitpe. of bc[ + prep. b; h['m.DE “tear”

(13) ~yml[, apparently a hebraic writing of !yml[

(14) lbq pe. “to lodge a complaint” (+ suf. “with somebody”); ![c w[rp “pharaoh of Zoan” (= Tanis, located in the Nile delta); yd seems to serve as a causal conjunction “because”; trbd 3 f. sg. pf. pe. of rbd “to lead away”; yttna “my wife” (hT'na;: “wife”); @qeAT “force”; BA would probably write hzxa

96. The Aramaic texts are quoted from the edition of K. Beyer, Die aramäischen Texte vom Toten Meer, vol. 1 (Göttingen: vandenhoeck & ruprecht, 1984); the translations are mine. Square brackets indicate a lacuna in the text.

97. Ibid., 175 (1QapGen xx,12–16).

101

(15) aymjl inf. pa. of amj.

(16) hkb “to cry”; avx “to go silent”

Translation

(12) That night I prayed, pleaded, searched for mercy, and spoke in distress, while my tears kept running: “Blessed be you, eternal God, my Lord, forever

(13) and ever. you are Lord and have power over everything. And over all the kings of the world you are powerful to pronounce judgment on them. And now,

(14) I hereby lodge a complaint with you about the pharaoh of Zoan, king of Egypt, because my wife has been led away from me by force. Give me justice over him so that I will see your mighty hand

(15) upon him and his entire house. And let him not have power to dishonor my wife away from me.98 So that they will know you, my Lord, that you are lord over all the kings of

(16) the world.” And I cried and went silent.

LevI’S FAreWeLL SPeeCh: A PrAISe oF WISDom^99

h [nmtw ham tn]Xbw (3) hb tym yd [ta]X ayh yyxl hrX[ (4) !whynbl[w yn]bl ytyrq yxa @swy (5) hwwh [y]d lk !wnh hdqpl ytyrXw (6) [w[mX] ynbl trmaw tyn[ ybbl ~[ (7) ydwqpl wtychw !wkwba ywl rmaml (8) hnaw ynb dqpm !wkl hna la dydy (9) Xar ybybx ywxhm !wkl ajXwq (10) d[w ajXwq ywhy !wkydbw[ (11) hqdc !wkm[ ~yaq ywhy aml[ (12) . . . . [rz yd . . . (15) h[rz byat yhwl[ Xyb [rz ydw l[nhm baj baj (16)

98. The phrase does not translate well into English. The idea is, however, that once the pharaoh had had intercourse with Sarah, she could no longer be Abraham’s wife.

99. Beyer, Aramäische Texte, 205–7 (cairo Geniza Testament of Levi, cambridge col. e, 3–16).

Appendix 2: Aramaic Samples from Qumran96 103

notes (4) tym = twm

(6) ytyrq and ytyrX are 1 c. sg. pf. (arq/arX) instead of BA tyrq and tyrX; hdqpl inf. pa. of dqp; hwwh; cf. BA Awh] with additional mater lectionish-

(8) twc ha. “to listen/pay attention to”; dWQPi “commandment” (dqp “to order, command”)

(9) dydIy: “beloved”

(10) aj'v.Aq “truth”; yhxhm, in BA hwxhm, ptc. ha. of hwx; byBix; “loved one”

(11) db'A[ “work”

(12) ~yaq, in BA ~aq, ptc. pe. of ~wq (in combination with the jussive ywhy)

(15) [rz ptc. pe. (parallel to l[nhm as ptc. ha. of ll[)

(16) baj, in BA bj; Xyb, in BA Xyab; byat, in BA bat, ptc. of bwt

Translation

(3) In the hundred and eigh

(4) -teenth year of my life, the year when

(5) Joseph my brother died, I summoned my sons and their sons (6) and began to tell them all the things that were

(7) on my heart. I spoke and said to my sons: “Listen

(8) to the speech of Levi, your father, and pay attention to the

commandments

(9) of the beloved of God. I give you commandments, my sons, I (10) introduce you to the truth, my beloved ones. The main subject (11) of your deeds be truth, and

(12) always shall justice rise with you.

. . . .

(15) The one who sows

(16) good things harvests good things. But the one who sows bad things

upon him returns his seed.

KIng nABonIDuS’S PrAyer^100

[ abr] aklm lbb $lm ynbn ylc yd a[t]lc ylm (1) !mytb a[hl]a ~gtpb aXyab anxXb (2) [yrg]a ywX [yd] !mw [bX !ynX tywh Xytk (3) [!yda]b ydwhy awhw rzg hl qbX yajxw (4) [ydk ahl]a ~Xl w[b]rw rqy db[ml btkw yn[y]wx (5)

100. Ibid., 223–24 (4QprNab).

!mytb [aXya]b anxXb tywh Xytk (6) abhdw apsk yhla [~dq t]ywh alcm [bX !ynX (7) [!wm]h !yhla yd r[bsa] yd !m apsx anba a[a (8)

notes

(1) ylc, in BA usually spelled hlc; yn:bun> Nebunay (Nabonidus) (2) !xev. “ulcer”; !m'yTe “Teman” (in southern Babylonia)

(3) Xtk “strike”; yDI !m; “the one who”; hwX pa. “determine”; rg:a] “reward” (8) @s;x] “clay”; yDi !m; “because” (conjunction); rbs pe. “think”

Translation

(1) The words of prayer that Nabonidus, the king of Babylon, the great king, prayed:

(2) “With an evil ulcer by the order of the God of Teman

(3) I was struck for seven years. But the one who determines my reward

(4) and my punishment saved himself a diviner, who was a Jew. And then this one

(5) informed me and wrote to give honor and veneration to the name of God. When

(6) I was struck with an evil ulcer in Teman

(7) for seven years, I (still) prayed before the gods of silver, gold,

(8) wood, stone, and clay because I thought they were gods.”

Appendix 3: Two Sayings from the Wisdom of Ahiqar^101

A caution against quick judgment:102 ~wy j[wl]t la [yr]b (1) hl[yl] hzxt d[ (2)

note (1) jwl pe. “to curse”

Translation (1) My son, do not curse the day

(2) until you have seen the night.

101. Among the literary remnants of the Jewish military colony at Elephantine were fragments of texts featuring the sage Ahiqar. The texts include a narrative about Ahiqar at the court of the Assyrian kings Sennacherib and Esarhaddon and a collection of proverbs. Linguists nowadays agree that the narrative should be classified as Imperial Aramaic, whereas the proverbs show characteristics of a later stage (the so-called Western Aramaic family). Editions and translations of the texts are provided in A. cowley, Aramaic Papyri of the Fifth Century B.C. (Oxford: clarendon, 1923); J. M. Lindenberger, The Aramaic Proverbs of Ahiqar (Baltimore: Johns hopkins university Press, 1983); and I. Kottsieper, Die Sprache der Achiqarsprüche (Berlin: de Gruyter, 1990).

102. Lindenberger, Aramaic Proverbs, 71.

A warning against loose speech:103 lk rmat la yrb (1)

$bl l[ htat [yz] (2) ~hyndaw ~h[yny[] rta lkb yzk (3) $l rmtXa $mp [!h]l (4) [$]yprj hwhy la (5)

notes (3) yzk introduces a causal clause (“because”)

(4) !hl “therefore”; $mp (noun ~p) is direct object of rmtXa; rmtXa ´Itpe`el or ´Itpe`al of rmX “watch over”; $l (dativus ethicus)104 “for your own good”

(5) !yprj (abstract pl. of @rj) “grief”

Translation

(1) <My son, do not utter everything>

(2) [that] comes into your mind (heart),

(3) because in every place there are [eyes] and ears^105 (4) There[fore], watch your mouth for your own good, (5) do not let it become [your] grief.

103. Ibid., 73.

104. The “ethical dative” (usually the preposition lplus suffix) indicates that a person, for their own good, ought to show an interest in or concern for a particular matter.

105. Lit. “their eyes and their ears.”

Answers to exercises

exercise 1: Syllabic Structure of BA Words

!yKil.m; “kings” !yKi - l.m; (1. closed syllable, with silent shewa; 2. closed syllable)

an"h]K' “priest” an"h] - K' (1. open syllable; 2. open syllable, with ḥātēp pataḥ)

aY"m;v. “heaven” ay" - ym;v. (1. open syllable, with vocal shewa; 2. open syllable)

h['B.r>a; “four” (h['B. - r>a; (1. closed syllable, with silent shewa; 2. open syllable, with vocal shewa)

yhiALGIl.G: “its wheels” yhi - Al - lGI - l.G: (1. closed syllable, with silent shewa; 2. closed syllable; 3. open syllable; 4. open syllable) yBin:t.hi “he prophesied’ ybi - bn: - t.hi (1. closed syllable with silent shewa; 2. closed syllable; 3. open syllable)

amer>t.yI “he shall be cast” amer> - t.yI (1. closed syllable, with silent shewa; 2. open syllable, with vocal shewa)

an"w"G>r>a; “purple” an" - w"G> - r>a; (1. closed syllable, with silent shewa; 2. open syllable, with vocal shewa; 3. open syllable)

hx'K'v.h;l. “in order to find” hx' - K' - v.h;l. (1. vocal and closed syllable, with vocal and silent shewa; 2. open syllable; 3. open syllable)

exercise 2: Aramaic and hebrew Word Comparisons BA Bh BA Bh ~l'v. ~Alv' “peace, well-being” vm;v. vm,v, “sun”

[r:z> [r:z< “seed” rbt rbv “to break”

td:x] vd"x' “new” rAT rAv “ox”

j[y #[y “to advise” gl;T. gl,v, “snow”

~lec. ~l,c, “statue, image” bdk bzk “to lie”

exercise 3: Basic noun Parsings av'm.vi m. sg. det. “the sun”

aY"m;Ay m. pl. det. “the days”

aT'n>ydIm. f. sg. det. “the province”

hB'z>bin> f. sg. abs. “gift, present” aT'r>Wbg>W at'm.k.x' f. sg. det. (2x) “wisdom and strength” (phrase)

hw"yxe f. sg. abs. “beast”

aY"n:h]K' m. pl. det. “the priests” at'l.aev. f. sg. det. “the request”

an"j'l.v' m. sg. det. “the empire”

aY"[;r"T' m. pl. det. “the gates” at'w"x]p; f. pl. det. of the m. (!) noun hx'p, “governor”

ht'[]v; f. sg. det. “the hour” (h for a)

aY"n:V'li m. pl. det. “the tongues, languages”

aK'l.m; tw:r>[; f. sg. const. + m. sg. det. “the dishonor of the king”

aY"m;v. lyxe m. sg. const. + m. pl. det. “the host of heaven”

at'n"ydIm. ynEjol.vi m. pl. const. + f. pl. det. “the officers of the provinces”

Exercise 4: Nouns with Suffixes

HrEB. m. sg. noun + 3 m. sg. suf. “his son”

~hoyvear" m. pl. noun + 3 m. pl. suf. “their heads”

Htel'g>ve f. pl. noun + 3 m. sg. suf. “his wives”

%b"b.li m. sg. noun + 2 m. sg. suf. “your heart”

yhiAdb'[]m; m. pl. noun + 3 m. sg. suf. “his works”

yn:y>[; m. pl. noun + 1 c. sg. suf. “my eyes”

%t'y"B.z>bin> f. pl. noun + 2 m. sg. suf. “your gifts”

HteWKl.m; f. sg. noun + 3 m. sg. suf. “his kingdom”

ytih'b'a] m. pl. noun + 1 c. sg. suf. “my ancestors/fathers”

!Ahycer>q; m. pl. noun + 3 m. pl. suf. “their pieces”

Hm;v.GI m. sg. noun + 3 f. sg. suf. “its [the beast’s] body”

!AkyTeb' m. pl. noun + 2 m. pl. suf. “your houses”

%d"y> m. sg. noun + 2 m. sg. suf. “your hand”

HrEt.a; m. sg. noun + 3 m. sg. suf. “his [its] place”

~hot.h'm'v. m. pl. noun + 3 m. pl. suf. “their names”

HteyLi[i f. sg. noun + 3 m. sg. suf. “its [the house’s] upper chamber”

exercise 5: Perfect Forms (base conjugation) an"x.l;v. 1 c. pl. “we sent” Wbt;K. 3 m. pl. “they wrote”

rm;a] 3 m. sg. “he said” laev. 3 m. sg. “he requested”

@c:q. 3 m. sg. “he was angry” !WTx.l;v. 2 m. pl. “you sent”

t[em.vi 1 c. sg. “I heard” T.b.h;y> 2 m. sg. “you gave”

tq;p.n< 3 f. sg. “she came out” T'l.key> 2 m. sg. “you were able to”

an"x.l;m. 1 c. pl. “we ate (the salt)” tq;l.si 3 f. sg. “she/it came up”

wl'p;n> 3 f. pl. “they fell” Wqlis. 3 m. pl. “they went up”

exercise 6: Imperfect Forms (base conjugation) !n"K.v.yI 3 f. pl. “they will dwell” jl;v.yI 3 m. sg. “he will rule”

dGUs.yI 3 m. sg. “he will bow to” !WDb.[;T; 2 m. pl. “you will serve”

~vur>Ti 2 m. sg. “you will sign”106 rm;ayE 3 m. sg. “he will say”

aDE[.T, 2 m. sg. “you will arEq.a, come”107

1 c. sg. “I will call”

!Wpl.x.y: 3 m. pl. “they will pass” rm;anE 1 c. pl. “we will say”

106. It could also be 3 f. sg. “she will sign.” 107. It could also be 3 f. sg. “she will come.”

exercise 7: Imperative Forms (base conjugation) Wqbuv. m. pl. “leave . . . in!”108 qrUP. m. sg. “break!”

rm;a/109 m. sg. “speak! ylikua] f. sg. “eat!”

Wrm;a/110 m. pl. “speak!” lz<ae m. sg. “go in!”

exercise 8: Perfect Forms in various Conjugations tl;yjiq. 3 f. sg. pf. pe. “she was killed”

tx;n>h' 3 m. sg. pf. ho. “he was deposed”

WlJiB; al' neg. particle + 3 m. pl. pf. pa. “they did not cease”

WbrIq.h; 3 m. pl. pf. ha. “they brought near”

txeB.v; 1 c. sg. pf. pa. “I worshiped”

T'x.B;v; 2 m. sg. pf. pa. “you worshiped”

Wj[;y"t.ai^111 3 m. pl. pf. hitpa. “they counseled together” xk;T.v.hi 3 m. sg. pf. hitpe. “he was found”

hn"x.K;v.h; 1 c. pl. pf. ha. “we found”

WbD>n:t.hi 3 m. pl. pf. hitpa. “they gave freely”

WtpiK. 3 m. pl. pf. Pe`il “they were bound”

!WTn>miD>z>hi^112 2 m. pl. pf. hitpe. “you agreed together”

108. For the context cf. dan 4:12.

109. Note that the 3 m. sg. pf. is rm;a].

110. compare the 3 m. pl. pf.: Wrm;a].

111. Note that, as in Bh, a, h, x, [, r cannot be doubled in BA. In most cases the preceding vowel is lengthened instead.

112. In addition to the t/z metathesis, the t of the hitpe`el changes to d.

exercise 9: Imperfect Forms in various Conjugations dbe[]t.yI 3 m. sg. impf. hitpe. “he will be made”

brEq'T. 3 f. sg./2 m. sg. impf. pa. “she/you will approach”

qzIn>h;T. 3 f. sg./2 m. sg. impf. ha. “she/it will do damage”/“you will do damage”

!Wns.x.y: 3 m. pl. impf. ha. “they will possess”

!WlB.q;T. 2 m. pl. impf. pa. “you will receive”

!Wbh]y:t.yI 3 m. pl. impf. hitpe. “they will give”

rQ;b;y> 3 m. sg. impf. pa. “he will inquire”

!W[M.T;v.yI 3 m. pl. impf. hitpa. “they will obey”

exercise 10: Participle Forms in various Conjugations

qliD" m. sg. abs. ptc. pe. “burning”

hs'p.r" f. sg. abs. ptc. pe. “trampling”

!ydIg>s' m. pl. abs. ptc. pe. “worshiping”

xl;c.m; m. sg. abs. ptc. ha. “prospering”

rymiG> m. sg. abs. ptc. Pe`il

“completed”

xl;P' m. sg. abs. ptc. pe. “serving”

hl'L/m;m. f. sg. abs. ptc. pa.

“speaking”

db,[]t.mi m. sg. abs. ptc. hitpe. “making, doing”

ha'F.n:t.mi f. sg. abs. ptc. hitpa. “carrying”

vr:p'm. m. sg. abs. ptc. Pa``al (!) “being translated”

Exercise 11: Infinitive Forms in Various Conjugations a[eb.mi pe. “to seek” hp'Q'T; pa. “to grow strong”

hl'h'B.t.hi hitpe. “to hasten” hx'K'v.h; ha. “to find”

ab'C'y: “to make certain” dB;[.m, pe. “to do”

exercise 12: mixed verb Forms (I)

!y[im.v' m. pl. abs. ptc. pe. of [mX “listening”

dbe[]t.yI 3 m. sg. impf. hitpe. of db[ “he will be made”

!W[M.T;v.yI 3 m. pl. impf. hitpa. of [mX “they will obey”

!ytiP.k;m. m. pl. abs. ptc. pa. of tpk “bound”

WxK;v.h;w> WvGIr>h; 3 m. pl. pf. ha. of $Xx/ Xgr “they snuck up and found” !yviN>K;t.mi m. pl. abs. ptc. hitpa. of Xnk “gathering together”

hp'c.x.m; f. sg. abs. ptc. ha. of @cx “being urgent”

rm;ame inf. pe. of rma “to say”

rP;v.yI 3 m. sg. impf. or jussive pe. of rpv “it will please/may it please” arEq' m. sg. abs. ptc. pe. of arq “crying”

axem;y> 3 m. sg. impf. pa. of axm “he will hinder”

!x'ytiP. f. pl. abs. ptc. pe. of xtp “being open”

tWbz"yvel. lkiy" m. sg. ptc. pe. of lky + prep. l + inf. const. shap`el of bz[ “he is able to save”

!Wns.x.y: 3 m. pl. impf. ha. of !sx “they will take possession”

Wnsix/h, 3 m. pl. pf. ha. of !sx “they took possession”

bzIyvem. m. sg. abs. ptc. shap`el of bz[ “delivering”

WlB.x; 3. pl .m. pf. pa. of lbx or imp. m. pl. “they destroyed”/“destroy!” tP;q.Ti 3 f. sg. pf. pe. of @qt

“it (the king’s heart) grew strong”

T.l.Pev.h; 2 m. sg. pf. ha. of lpX “you made low”

hl'j'q.t.hil. prep. l + inf. hitpe. of ljq “to be slain”

Exercise 13: Verbs with Suffixes

ynIWlB.x; al' neg. + 3 m. pl. pf. pa. of lbx + 1 c. sg. suf. “they did not hurt me”

Hm;l.v.h; 3 m. sg. pf. ha. of ~lX + 3 f. sg. suf. “he finished it”

Hm;t.x; 3 m. sg. pf. pe. of ~tx + 3 f. sg. suf. “he sealed it”

!Akn>l,a]v.yI 3 m. sg. impf. pe. of laX + 2 m. pl. suf. “he will ask you”/“require of you”

HNEWm[]j;y> 3 m. pl. impf. pa. of ~[j + n.e. + 3 m. sg. suf. “they will feed him”

HNEluh]b;y> 3 m. pl. impf. pa. of lhb + n.e. + 3 m. sg. suf. “they will scare him”

%j'l.v.h; 2 m. sg. pf. ha. of jlX + 2 m. sg. suf. “he made you lord”

äan"T;[.d:Ah 2 m. sg. pf. ha. of [dy + 1 c. pl. suf. “you informed us”

exercise 14: Weak verbs qPen>h; 3 m. sg. pf. ha. of qpn “he brought”

tm,yqeh] 1 c. sg. pf. ha. of ~wq “I raised”

wyrIv' 3 m. pl. pf. pa. of hrX “they began”

t'yNIm; 2 m. sg. pf. pa. of hnm “you appointed”

an"y[eB. 1 c. pl. pf. pe. of h[b “we sought”

tY:rIK.t.a, 3 f. sg. pf. hitpe. of hrk “it [my spirit] was troubled”

tD:n: 3 f. sg. pf. pe. of ddn “it [his sleep] fled”

[d:Ah 3 m. sg. pf. ha. of [dy “he informed”

tm,f' 1 c. sg. pf. pe. of ~yX “I set up” !WrdUy> 3 m. pl. impf. pe. of rwd “they will dwell”

lLim; 3 m. sg. pf. pa. of llm “he spoke”

!WlP.Ti 2 m. pl. impf. pe. of lpn “you will fall down”

Exercise 15: Weak Verbs/Special Verbs with Suffixes

an"Wbytih] 3 m. pl. pf. ha. of bwt + 1 c. pl. suf. “they replied to us” (lit. “returned to us”)

yhin"B. 3 m. sg. pf. pe. of hnb + 3 m. sg. suf. “he built it [the temple]”

HN:nIT.yI 3 m. sg. impf. pe. of !tn + 3 f. sg. suf. “he will give it [the kingship]”

yhiAnv. 3 m. pl. pf. pe. of hnv + 3 m. sg. suf. “they [facial expressions] changed him”

ynIwOx]h; m. pl. imp. of hwx + 1 c. sg. suf. “show me!”

ynIT;[.d:Ah 2 m. sg. pf. ha. of [dy + 1 c. sg. suf. “you let me know”

HN:WIx;y> 3 m. sg. impf. pa. of hwx + n.e. + 3 f. sg. suf. “he will show it” ynIl.[eh; m. sg. imp. ha. of ll[ + 1 c. sg. suf. “bring me in!”

exercise 16: mixed Forms (II)

[D:n>Ti 2 m. sg./3 f. sg. impf. pe. of [dy, “you will know”

tb;yhiy> 3 f. sg. pf. Pe`il of bhy, “she/it was given”

%h'm.li prep. l + inf. pe. of $lh, “in order to go”

HN:viWdT. 2 m. sg. impf. pe. of Xwd + n.e. + 3 f. sg. suf. “it [the beast] will trample it [the land] down”

!q"l.s' f. pl. ptc. pe. of qls, “going up” !AD[.h;y> 3 m. pl. impf. ha. of hd[, “they will take away”

!WmWqy> 3 m. pl. impf. pe. of ~wq, “they will rise”

tm,yqEh] 1 c. sg. pf. ha. of ~wq, “I raised”

h['d"Ahl. prep. l + inf. ha. of [dy, “in order to inform”

tm;yqih\ 3 f. sg. pf. ho. of ~wq, “it [the beast] was raised up”

tywEh] 1 c. sg. pf. pe. of hwh, “I was” Wyt'yhe 3 m. pl. pf. ho.113 of hta, “they

were brought”

an"Wbytih] 3 m. pl. pf. ha. of bwt + 1 c. pl. suf. “they will reply to us” wyNIv; 3 m. pl. pf. pa. of hnX, “they changed”

113. The ha. (active) form would be wytiy>h;.

hy"n"v.h;l. prep. l + inf. ha. of hnX, “to change”

htev' sg. abs. ptc. pe. of htX, “drinking”

!ANT;v.yI 3 m. sg. impf. hitpa. of anX “they will be changed”

HrEt.s; 3 m. sg. pf. pe.114 of rts + 3 m. sg. suf. “he destroyed it”

l[en>h; 3 m. sg. pf. ha. of ll[, “he brought in”

Ht;y>n:B/ 1 c. sg. pf. pe. of hnb + 3 f. sg. suf. “I built it”

exercise 17: genitive Chains

!yviyDIq; !yhil'a/ x;Wr “a spirit of the holy gods”; I, undetermined const. chain lb,b' yDI aK'l.m; “the king of Babylon”; II

at'L.mi rv:P. “the interpretation of the word”; I, det. const.

ah'l'a/ tybe ydI aY"n:am' “the vessels of the house of God”; II and I

yviarE ywEz>x, “the visions of my head”; I, det. const. chain (det. through the 1 c. sg. suf.)

Agn> dbe[]w: %v;yme %r:d>v;-yDI !Ahh]l'a/

“the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego”; III (lit. “their God, that of . . .”)

ad"y>-ydI aS'P; “the palm of the hand”; II an"l'yai yDI yhiAvr>v' “the roots of the tree”; III (lit. “its roots, that of the tree”)

114. Since the second radical does not have a dagesh forte, most dictionaries list the form as Pe`al. however, rts in Bh typically occurs in the Pi``el, which could suggest that HrEt.s; is a Pa``el.

exercise 18: Impersonal Speech

1. HNEmi WyDI[.h, hr"q'ywI

Lit. “And honor they took away from him” (“his honor was taken away”; dan 5:20)

2. aY"n:V'liw> aY"M;au aY"m;m.[; !yrIm.a' !Akl. lyIx'b. arEq' az"Ark'w>

Lit. “And the messenger said with force: ‘To you they are saying, O nations, peoples, and tongues . . .’” (“. . . ‘you are commanded, O nations, peoples, and languages . . .’”; dan 3:4)

3. hy"w"x]h;l. ym;d"q' rp;v. ay"L'[i ah'l'a/ yMi[i db;[] yDI aY"h;m.tiw> aY"t;a'

Lit. “The signs and wonders that he made with me, the highest God, it is pleasant before me to reveal” (“The signs and wonders that the highest God has worked for me I am pleased to reveal”; dan 3:32)

4. hw"h] htea' vn"a/ rb;K. aY"m;v. ynEn"[]-~[i Wra]w:

yhiWbr>q.h; yhiAmd"q.W hj'm. aY"m;Ay qyTi[;-d[;w>

Lit. “And behold, with the clouds of heaven like a human being one was coming, and he approached the Ancient of days, and they brought him before him” (“. . . he approached him and was brought before him”; dan 7:13)

exercise 19: Word order

1. tl;l][; ay"T.v.mi tybel. yhiAnb'r>b.r:w> aK'l.m; yLemi lbeq\l' at'K.l.m;

Lit. “The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, the banquet hall she entered” (dan 5:10). Subject and verb bracket the sentence. 2. lb,b'l. ylig>h; hM'[;w> HrEt.s; hn"d> ht'y>b;W

Lit. “And this house he destroyed it, and the people he deported to Babylon” (Ezra 5:12). “This house” and “the people” are direct objects, highlighted through first position.

3. ~[ej. aK'l.m; %yIl;[] Wmf'-al' %Leai aY"r:b.GU

!yxil.p' al' %yIh;l'ale

!ydIg>s' al' T'm.yqeh] yDI ab'h]D: ~l,c,l.W

“These men do not pay heed to you, O king.

Your gods they do not honor,

the golden statue that you erected they do not worship.” (dan 3:12)

The first sentence has subject-verb structure; each of the following two sentences emphasizes the direct object by placing it first.

4. %b'K.v.mi-l[; %n"Ay[.r: aK'l.m; hT'n>a;

awEh/l, ydI-hm' %['d>Ah aY"z:r" aleg"w> hn"d> yrEx]a; awEh/l, yDI hm' Wqlis.

yli yliG? hn"d> az"r" aY"Y:x;-lK'-!mi yBi yt;yai-yDI hm'k.x'b. al' hn"a]w:

“ As for you, O king, your thoughts on your bed came up (about) what would be after this; and the one who reveals mysteries let you know what is to be. As for me, not through wisdom that is in me more than in any living being was this mystery revealed to me” (dan 2:29–30). The two words with particular emphasis are the personal pronouns “you” and “me” (lit. “I”), which, however, are not the grammatical subjects.

Exercise 20: The Use of ידִּ

1. aK'l.m;l. hy"w"x]h;l. ar"v.piW Hle-!Ten>yI !m"z> yDI aK'l.m;-!mi h['b.W l[; laYEnId"w>

“And daniel went in and requested that the king give him time to tell the king the interpretation”115 (dan 2:16). yDI introduces an object clause. 2. !ysir>p;W lqET. anEm. anEm. ~yvir> yDI ab't'k. hn"d>W

“And this is the writing that was inscribed: ‘Mene, Mene, Teqel, uparsin’” (dan 5:25). yDI introduces a relative clause.

3. ~l,v.Wryli Ata] an"yl,[] %t'w"l.-!mi Wqlis. yDI ayEd"Why> yDI aK'l.m;l. awEh/l, [:ydIy>

“May it be known to the king that the Jews who came up from you to us have gone to Jerusalem” (Ezra 4:12). The first yDI introduces an object clause; the second introduces a relative clause.

4. aDE[.t, al'-yDI sr:p'W yd:m'-td"K. hy"n"v.h;l. al' yDI ab't'K. ~vur>tiw> ar"s'a/ ~yqIT. aK'l.m; ![:K.

“Now, O king, establish the decree and sign the document so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked” (Dan 6:9). The first yDI introduces a purpose clause; the second introduces a relative clause.

115. The infinitive introduces a final clause (“in order to”).

5. ~hoyvear"b. yDI aY"r:b.GU-~vu bTuk.nI yDI %t'W[d"Ahl. ~hoL. an"l.aev. ~hot.h'm'v. @a;w>

“Also, we asked them their names in order to inform you so that we could write down the names” (lit. “name”) of the men who were their leaders (lit. “at their heads”; Ezra 5:10). The first yDI introduces a purpose clause; the second introduces a relative clause.

exercise 21: Conjunctions

1. Htey>b;l. l[; ab't'K. ~yvir>-yDI [d:y> ydIK. laYEnId"w>

“And daniel, when he knew that the decree had been written, went into his house.” (dan 6:10)

2. btiy> !ymiAy qyTi[;w> wymir> !w"s'r>k' yDI d[; tywEh] hzEx'

“And I watched until thrones were set up and the Ancient of days sat.” (dan 7:9)

3. at'L.mi yNImi aD"z>a; yDI !AtyzEx] yDI lbeq\-lK' !ynIb.z" !WTn>a; an"D"[i yDI hn"a] [d:y"

“I know that you are buying yourselves time because you have seen that the decree from me is firm [is a fact].” (Dan 2:8)

4. lb,B'-%l,m, rC;n<d>k;Wbn> dy:B. AMhi bh;y> aY"m;v. Hl'a/l, an"t;h\b'a] WzGIr>h; yDI-!mi !hel' “Therefore, when our fathers had angered the God of heaven, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon.” (Ezra 5:12) 5. !WnT.n>yI al' hD"n>mi !Wll.k.T;v.yI hY"r:Wvw> anEB.t.Ti %d" at'y>r>qi !he yDI aK'l.m;l. awEh/l, [:ydIy> ![;K. “So let it be known to the king that, if this city is rebuilt and its walls are finished, they will not pay tribute.” (Ezra 4:13)

6. !Ahh]l'a/ l[; Wlv' rm;ayE-yDI !V'liw> hM'au ~[;-lk'

yliw"n> Htey>b;W dbe[]t.yI !ymiD"h; aAgn> dbe[]w: %v;yme %r:d>v;-yDI

hn"d>Ki hl'C'h;l. lKuyI-yDI !r"x\a' hl'a/ yt;yai al' yDI lbeq\-lK' hWET;v.yI

“Any people, nation, and language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn into pieces, and their houses shall be turned into a dunghill, because there is no other God who can save in this way.” (dan 3:29)

Paradigms

The PerFeCT

Pe`al

sg. 3 m. reg.: laev., sn:B., @c;q., dgIs., db;[], xl;v., Hw:T., brEq., jlev., @qIt., rp;v., ~v;r>, [m;v., vaeB., q[iz>, rg:s], baej., bt;K., HrEt.s; (+ 3 m. sg. suf.), Hm;t.x; (+ 3 f. sg. suf.)

I ´ : rm;a], lz:a]

I n: qp;n>, af'n>, lp;n>

I w: bh;y>, [d:y>, btiy>

II ī/ū: ~q" , ~rI, tB', Hmef' (+ 3 m. sg. suf.)

II=III: l[;

III y: h['b., hb'r>, hz"x], aj'm. (hj'm.), hw"h], hn"m., ht'a] (at'a]), yhin"B. (+ 3 m. sg. suf.)

120

3 f. reg.: tp;q.Ti, tq"l.si, tl;jeB.116

I ´ : tr<m,a]

I n: tq;p.n<

II ū: tp;s'

II=III: tl;l][;, tD:n:

III y: tx'm., tw"h], tl'm., td"[], tb'r>, tj'm., tn"[]

2 m. reg.: T.p.qEt., T.d>b;[], T'm.v;r>

I w: T.b.h;y>, T'l.key>, T'[.d:y>

II ī: T'm.f'

III y: t'y>w:h], ht'y>z:x], tyb;r>

2 f.

1 c. reg.: t[em.vi, tdEb.[;, tber>qi

I ´: trEm.a;

I n: tlej.nI, trEj.nI

I w: t[ed>yI

II ī: tm,f'

III y: tyzEx], tywEh], tybic., Ht;y>n:B, (+ 3 f. sg. suf.)

116. unusual vowel pattern of a 3 f. sg. (Ezra 4:24).

pl. 3 m. reg.: WbrIq. (WbyrIq.), Wjliv., Wbt;K., Wxl;v., Wdb;[], Wqlis.

I ´: Wlk;a], Wrm;a], Wlz:a]

I n: Wlp;n>, Wqp;n>

I w: Wbh;y>

II ī/ū: Wmf', Wmq'

II=III: WqD"

III y: An[], A[B., Awh], wyTiv.ai,117Amr>, Ajm., Ata], Anb., Anv., yhiAnv. (+ 3 m. sg. suf.)

3 f. I n: wq'p;n>

2 m. reg.: !WTx.l;v.

III y: !AtyzEx]

2 f.

1 c. reg.: an"x.l;m., an"x.l;v., an"l.aev.

I ´: an"r>m:a], an"l.z:a]

III y: an"y[eB., an"ymer>

Pe`il

sg. 3 m. reg.: dyrIj., x:yliv., ~yvir>, lyjiq., bytiK.

I w: [:ydIy>, byhiy> (bhiy>)

II ī: ~yfi III y: ylig], yrIq/, ywIv.

117. With prosthetic a to form a full opening syllable.

3 f. reg.: ts;yrIP., tl;yjin>, tl;yjiq.

I w: tb;yhiy>

II ī: tm;fu

2 m. reg.: hT'l.yqIT.

2 f.

1 c.

pl. 3 m. reg.: WtpiK., WjyrIM., WxytiP.

I w: Wbyhiy>

III y: wymir>

3 f.

2 m.

2 f.

1 c.

hitpe`el/ ´Itpe`el

sg. 3 m. reg.: xk;T.v.hi

III y: ylim.t.hi

3 f. reg.: tr,z<G>t.hi (tr<z<G>t.ai), tx;k;T.v.hi

III y: tY:rIK.t.a,

2 m. reg.: T.x;k;T.v.hi

2 f.

1 c.

pl. 3 m. reg.: Wcxir>t.hi, Wrq;[]t.a,

3 f. reg.: wr"q:[]t.a, 2 m. reg.: !WTn>miD>z>hi 2 f.

1 c.

Pa``el

sg. 3 m. reg.: %rIB', lJiq;, lBeq;, !Kiv;

II=III: lLim;

III y: yNIm;, yBir:

3 f.

2 m. reg.: T'x.B;v;, T'r>D:h;

III y: t'yNIm;

2 f.

1 c. reg.: tker>B', txeB.v;, trED>h;

pl. 3 m. reg.: WxB;v;, WrQ:B;, WlJiB;, ynIWlB.x; (+ 1 c. sg. suf.)

III y: wyNIv;, wyrIv'

3 f.

2 m.

2 f.

1 c.

hitpa``al/ ´Itpa``al

sg. 3 m. reg.: %r:x't.hi

III y: yBin:t.hi

3 f.

2 m.

2 f.

1 c.

pl. 3 m. reg.: WbD:n:t.hi

I w: Wj[;y"t.ai

3 f.

2 m.

2 f.

1 c.

hitpolel

sg. 3 m.

3 f.

2 m. II ū: T'm.m;Art.hi

2 f.

1 c.

hap`el/´Ap`el

sg. 3 m. reg.: xl;c.h;, Hjel.v.h; (+ 3 m. sg. suf.), Hm;l.v.h; (+ 3 f. sg. suf.)

I ´: !mIyhe

I n: qPen>h;

I y/w: lbeyhe, [d:Ah, bteAh, %['d>Ah (+ 2 m. sg. suf.)

II ū: bytih], ~yqEh], Hmeyqia] / Hmeyqih] (+ 3 m. sg. suf.)

II=III: l[en>h;

III y: ylig>h;

doubly weak: ytiy>h; (hta) 3 f. II=III: tq,D<h;

2 m. reg.: T.l.Pev.h;

I w: ynIT;[.d:Ah (+ 1 c. sg. suf.), an"T,[.d:Ah (+ 1 c. pl. suf.)

II ū: T'm.yqEh]

2 f.

1 c. reg.: tx;K;v.h;

II ū: tm,yqEh]

pl. 3 m. reg.: WvyBil.h;, WzrIk.h;, WvGIr>h;, WxK;v.h;, Wnsix/h,, WzGIr>h;, WbrIq.h;, yhiWbr>q.h; (+ 3 m. sg. suf.)

I n: WqPin>h;

II ū: Wmyqih], an"Wbytih] (+ 1 c. sg. suf.)

II=III: WqDIh;

III y: WyDI[.h,

doubly weak: wytiy>h; (hta)

special: WqSih; (qls)

3 f.

2 m.

2 f.

1 c. reg.: hn"x.K;v.h;

I w: an"[.d:Ah

Shap`el

sg. 3 m. I laryngeal: byzIyve (bz[)

II=III: Hlel.k.v; (+ 3 m. sg. suf.)

III y: ayciyve

3 f.

2 m.

2 f.

1 c.

pl. 3 m. II=III: Wllik.v;

3 f.

2 m.

2 f.

1 c.

hop`al

sg. 3 m. I ´: db;Wh

I n: tx;n>h'

II=III: l[;hu

special: qS;hu (qls)

3 f. reg.: tn:q.t.h', tb;r>x'h'

I w: tp;s.Wh

II ū: tm;yqih\

doubly weak: tyIt'yhe (hta)

2 m. 2 f.

1 c.

pl. 3 m. II=III: WL[;hu

doubly weak: Wyt'yhe (hta)

3 f.

2 m.

2 f.

1 c.

The ImPerFeCT

Pe`al

sg. 3 m. reg.: dGUs.yI, [m;v.yI, ajem.yI, vB;l.yI, jl;v.yI, rB;s.yI, !Akn>l,a]v.yI (+ n.e. + 2 pl. suf.), ynIN:lix]d:ywI (+ waw + n.e. + 1 c. sg. suf.)

I ´: rm:ayE, lkuayE

I n: !Ten>yI, lPeyI, HN:nIT.yI (+ n.e.+ 3 f. sg. suf.)

I y/w: lKuyI (and lk;Wy^118), bTiyI, bj;yyI

II ū: bWty>, ~Wqy>

III y: awEh/l,, hrEq.yI, aBec.yI, h[eb.yI, hDE[.y<, anEv.yI

special form: %h'y> ($lh)

3 f. reg.: jl;v.Ti

I ´: lkuaTe

II ū: ~WqT., rWdT., HN:viWdt. (+ n.e. + 3 f. sg. suf.)

II=III: [:roTe

III y: awEh/T,, aDE[.T,, anEv.Ti

2 m. reg.: vB;l.Ti, jl;v.Ti, ~vur>Ti

I n: !Ten>Ti

I w: [D:n>Ti, lk;WT^119

III y: anEq.Tii 2 f.

118. dan 2:10; perhaps a “hebraic” form in the Aramaic text.

119. dan 5:16. The Ketib looks like a hebrew form; the Qere, however, suggests the (Aramaic) form lWKyTi.

1 c. I w: [D:n>ai

III y: arEq.a,, a[eb.a,

pl. 3 m. reg.: reg. !Wpl.x.y:, !Wxl.p.yI, !WdG>s.yI, ynIN:luh]b;y> (+ n.e. + 1 c. sg. suf.)

I n: !WnT.n>yI

I w: !W[D>n>yI

II ū: !WmWqy>, !WrdUy>

III y: !ATv.yI, !Arq.yI, !Anb.yI, !wOh/l,

3 f. reg.: !n"K.v.yI

2 m. reg.: !W[m.v.Ti, !WdG>s.Ti, !Wdb.[;T;

I n: !WlP.Ti

2 f.

1 c. reg.: dGUs.nI, bTuk.nI

I ´: rm;anE

hitpe`el/ ´Itpe`el

sg. 3 m. reg.: dbe[]t.yI

I n: xs;n>t.yI

I w: bhiy>t.yI

II ī/ū: ~f'T.yI, !yzIT.yI

III y: axem.t.yI, amer>t.yI, anEB.t.yI, yrEq.t.yI 3 f. reg.: qbiT.v.Ti

I w: bhiy>t.Ti

III y: anEB.t.Ti

2 m.

2 f.

1 c.

pl. 3 m. I y/w: !Wbh]y:t.yI

II ī: !Wmf'T.yI

3 f.

2 m. reg.: !Wdb.[;t.Ti

III y: !Amr>t.Ti

2 f.

1 c.

Pa``el

sg. 3 m. reg.: rQ;b;y>

II=III: lLim;y>

III y: aLeb;y>, axem;y>, HN:WIx;y> (+ n.e. + 3 f. sg. suf.), ynIN:WIx;y> (+ n.e. + 1 c. sg. suf.)

3 f.

2 m. reg.: brEq'T.

2 f.

1 c. III y: aWEx;a] pl. 3 m. reg.: !WlB.q;y>, !Wm[]j;y>, HNEWm[]j;y> (+ n.e. + 3 m. sg. suf.), HNEluh]b;y> (+ n.e. + 3 m. sg. suf.), ynIN:luh]b;y> (+ n.e. + 1 c. sg. suf.) , HNEWvM.v;y> (+ n.e. + 3 m. sg. suf.)

III y: !ANv;y>, !A[b;y>

3 f.

2 m. reg.: !WlB.q;T.

2 f.

1 c. III y: aWEx;n>

hitpa``al

sg. 3 m. reg.: [B;j;c.yI

III y: aNET;v.yI, hWET;v.yI

3 f. reg.: lB;x;t.Ti

2 m.

2 f.

1 c.

pl. 3 m. reg.: !W[M.T;v.yI

III y: !ANT;v.yI

3 f.

2 m.

2 f.

hap`el

sg. 3 m. reg.: lPiv.h;y>

I w: [d:Ahy>

II ū: ~yqEh'y>, ~yqiy> 120

III y: anEv.h;y>, hwEx]h;y>

3 f. I n: qzIn>h;T.

II ū: @yseT'

II=III: llej.T;, qDIT;, HN:qiD>T; (+ n.e. + 3 f. sg. suf.)

2 m. reg.: xK;v.h;T.

II ū: ~yqIT.121

2 f.

1 c. I y/w: HNE[id>Aha] (+ n.e. + 3 m. sg. suf.)

pl. 3 m. reg.: !Wns.x.y:, !Wpl.x.y:

I ´: !Wdb.Ahy>

I w: !W[d>Ahy., ynIN:[ud>Ahy> (+ n.e. + 1 c. sg. suf.)

II ī/ū: !Wbytih]y:, Wjyxiy:122

III y: !AD[.h;y> 3 f.

120. dan 2:44; 4:14. There is no sign of the hap `el infix ha- in this form.

121. dan 6:9.

122. Final ! is missing in this case (Ezra 4:12).

2 m. I w: !W[d>AhT., ynIN:W[d>AhT. (+ n.e. + 1 c. sg. suf.)

III y: !wOx]h;T., ynIN:wUx]h;T. (+ n.e. + 1 c. sg. suf.)

2 f.

1 c. reg.: xK;v.h;n>

III y: hwEx]h;n>

´Ishtap`al

pl. 3 m. II=III: !Wll.k.T;v.yI

3 f.

2 m.

2 f.

The ImPerATIve

Pe`al

sg. m. reg.: qrUp.

I ´: rm;a/, lz<ae

I n: afe

I w: bh;, [D:

III y: yyIx/

f. I ´: ylikua]

II ū: ymiWq

pl. m. reg.: Wqbuv.

I ´: Wrm;a/

I n: WqPu

II ī: Wmyfi

II=III: WDGO

III y: Ata/

f.

Pa``el

sg. m. III y: yNIm, pl. m. reg.: WrD:B;, yhiWlB.x; (+ 3 m. sg. suf.)

II=III: WcCiq;

f.

hap`el/ ´Ap`el

sg. m. reg.: ~lev.h;

I n: txea]

II=III: ynIl.[eh; (+ 1 c. sg. suf.)

f.

pl. m. I n: WrT;a;

III y: ynIwOx]h; (+ 1 c. sg. suf.)

The juSSIve

Pe`al

sg. m. reg.: aGEf.yI, rP;v.yI, xl;v.yI

I ´: rm;ayE

III y: awEh/l,

Special: %h'y> ($lh)

f. II=III: dnUT.

pl. m.

f. III y: !y"w>h,l,

hitpe`el

sg. m. reg.: dbi[]t.yI

I w: bhiy>t.yI

III y: yrEq.t.yI, anEB.t.yI

f.

pl. m. f.

Pa``el

sg. m. reg.: rG:m;y>, %l'h]b;y>-la; (+ 2 m. sg. suf.), %Wlh]b;y>-la; (+ 2 m. sg. suf.)

f.

pl. m.

hitpa``al

sg. m. reg.: rQ;B;t.yI

f.

pl. m. III y: ANT;v.yI-la; 123

f.

hap`el

sg. m. I ´: dbeAhT.-la;124

f.

pl. m. f.

Shap`el

sg. m. %N"biz>yvey> (+ n.e. + 2 m. sg. suf.)

f.

pl. m. f.

123. dan 5:10, referring to %yw"yzI “your splendor/complexion [pl. noun], let it not be changed.” 124. Jussive form serves as negation of the imperative.

The PArTICIPLe

Pe`al

sg. m. reg.: abec', ljeq', qzIn", %rEB', xl;P', qliD", qpen", dgEn", laev', lheK', lvex', dbe['

I ´ : rm:a', snEa'

I n: txin"

I w: [d:y",, lkiy", bhey"

II ū: ~aeq'

III y: htea', hnE[', a[eB', aleG", hzEx', htev', hmeD", arEq'

f. reg.: hb't.K', hs'p.r", hd"b.[', al'j.B'

I ´ : hl'k.a'

I w: hd'qiy", hl'k.y"

pl. m. reg.: !ylih]K', !y[im.v', !ylix]D", !ydIb.[', !yxib.D", !ynIb.z", !yqIb.D", !y[im.v', !ydIg>s', !yxil.P', !yxiv.x', !ydIr>j'

I ´ : !yrIm.a'

I n: !yqip.n," !ylip.n"

I w: !y[id>y", !ylik.y", !ybih]y", !ybit.y"

II ī/ū: !y[ia]z", !ymia]q', !ynIa]D", !yrIa]D"

II=III: !ylil]['

III y: !yIt;v', !yI[;B', !yIn:B', !yIn:[', !yIz:x', !yIn:v', %yIa;n>f' (+ 2 m. sg. suf.)

f. reg.: !b't.K', !v'q.n", !q"l.s'

Pe`il

sg. m. reg.: hzEae, @yqIz>, %yrIB., ~liv., rymiG>, x:yliv., tyvi[;

I w: [:ydIy>

III y: arEv., hzEae, hnEB., hzEx]

f. reg.: ht'yxiv., hl'yxiD>, hr"ybiT.

pl. m. reg.: !ybiyvix], !yrIyhiz>

f. reg.: !x'ytiP.

hitpe`el

sg. m. reg.: db,[]t.mi

I w: bhey>t.mi

II ī: ~f'T.mi

III y: anEB.t.mi

f. reg.: ad"b.[;t.mi

I w: ab'h]y:t.mi

pl. m. I y/w: !ybih]y:t.mi

f.

Pa``el

sg. m. reg.: xB;v;m., %LEh;m., rD:h;m., rV;p;m.

II=III: ~meArm., [[;r"m., lLim;m.

III y: arEv'm., aLec;m.

f. II=III: hl'L/m;m.

pl. m. reg.: !y[iB.c;m., !ydI[]s'm.

III y: !yIL;c;m.

f.

Pa``al

sg. m. reg.: %r:b'm., br:['m., vr:p'm.

f. III y: ay"N>v;m.

pl. m. reg.: !ytiP.k;m.

f. reg.: at'r"T.s;m. (det.)

hitpa``al

sg. m. reg.: br:['t.mi, lh;B't.mi, rD:T;v.mi, lK;T;f.mi

I n: xC;n:t.mi, bD:n:t.mi

II=III: !N:x;t.mi

f. I n: ha'F.n:t.mi pl. m. reg.: !yliJ.q;t.mi, !ybir>['t.mi, !yviN>K;t.mi, !yviB.T;v.mi

I n: !ybiD>n:t.mi

III y: !yIr:T'v.mi

f.

hap`el

sg. m. reg.: lyPiv.m;, xl;c.m;

I ´ : !m;yhem.

I n: lCim;

I w: adEAhm., adEAm

II ū: ~yqEh'm., ~yrIm'

II=III: qDEh;m.

III y: anEv.h;m., hDE[.h;m., axem; (root ayx)

f. reg.: hp'c.x.h;m. (hp'c.x.m;)

I n: hq'z>n>h;m.

II=III: hq'D/m; (hq'D]m;)

pl. m. reg.: !ykil.h.m;, !ybir>q.h;m., !yxil.c.m;

I w: !y[id>Ahm.

f. II ū: !x'ygIm.

hap`al

sg. m. I ´: !m;yhem.

f.

pl. m. I n: !ytix]h;m.

f.

Shap`el/Sap`el

sg. m. bzIyvem.

f.

pl. m. !ylib.Asm.

f.

The InFInITIve

Infinitive forms are given here with their prepositions.

Pe`al

reg. vn:k.mil., qB;v.mil., rv;p.mil., arEv.mil., dB;[.m,l., Hber>q.miK. (+ 3 m. sg. suf.)

I ´ rm;mel.

I n !T;n>mil.

II=III !x;miB.

III y a[eb.mil., aleg>mil., amer>mil., arEq.mil., azEx/m,l., anEb.mil., 125HyEB.c.miK. (+ 3 m. sg. suf.)

doubly weak atemel. (hta), azEmel. (hza), HyEz>mel. (+ 3 m. sg. suf.)

special form %h'm.li (from $lh)

hitpe`el

reg. hl'h'B.t.hiB., hl'j'q.t.hil.

Pa``el

reg. hl'J'q;l., ht'P'k;l., hp'Q't;l., al'J'b;l., ar"Q'b;l., hl'B'x;l.

I n hk'S'n:l.

I w ab'C'y:l. II ū hm'Y"q;l. 125. Also attested as infinitive forms of hnb are hy"n>b.mil. (Ezra 5:9) and anEB.li (5:3, 13).

hitpa``al

I n tWbD"n:t.hi (const. form)

hap`el

reg. hl'P'v.h;l., hx'K'v.h;l., hd"m'v.h;l.

I ´ hd"b 'Ahl.

I n hl'C'h;l., hq'z"n>h;l., HteWlC'h;l. (+ 3 m. sg. suf.)

I y/w hl'b'yhel., h['d"Ahl., ynIt;[ud"Ahl. (+ 1 c. sg. suf.), %t'W[d"Ahl. (+ 2 m. sg. suf.)

II ū hd"z"h]l;, %t'Wbt'h]l; (+ 2 m. sg. suf.), HteWmq'h]l; (+ 3 m. sg. suf.)

II=III hl'['n>h;l., hl'['h,l. (first form with, second form without, dissimilation)

III y hy"w"x]h;l., hy"n"v.h;l.

doubly weak hy"t'y>h;l. (hta)

special form hq's'n>h;l. (qls)

Shap`el

II=III hl'l'k.v;l.

I laryngeal (bz[)

an"t;Wbz"yvel. (+ 1 c. pl. suf.), HteWbz"yvel., (+ 3 m. sg. suf.), %t'Wbz"yvel. (+ 2 m. sg. suf.)

Table of Contents

WhAT IS “BIBLIcAL ArAMAIc”? 1

FrOM ThE PhOENIcIAN TO ThE ArAMAIc WrITING SySTEM 3

C onsonants and syllables 3

the development of speCifiC phonemes in aramaiC and hebrew 5

MASOrETIc vOWEL SIGNS 10

v owels and vowel signs 11

Exercise 1: Syllabic Structure of BA Words 14

differenCes between aramaiC and hebrew vowels 15

Exercise 2: Aramaic and Hebrew Word Comparisons 17

Ketib and Qere 17

ThE NOuN 19

g ender 19

absolute and ConstruCt states 20

The Determinate (Emphatic) State 21

Exercise 3: Basic noun parsings 22

partiCular groups of nouns 22

i mportant individual nouns 24

ba; “father” 24

rB; “son” 24

hL'mi “word, matter” 24

Exercise 4: Nouns with suffixes 27

prepositions 30