A Concise Lexicon of Late Biblical Hebrew: Linguistic Innovations in the Writings of the Second Temple Period

by Avi Hurvitz

Publisher:

Brill

, 2014

Overview

The Hebrew language may be divided into the Biblical, Mishnaic, Medieval, and Modern periods. Biblical Hebrew has its own distinct linguistic profile, exhibiting a diversity of styles and linguistic traditions that extends over 1,000 years. It includes tangible diachronic developments, which may serve as chronological milestones in tracing the linguistic history of biblical Hebrew.

Unlike standard dictionaries, whose scope and extent are dictated by the contents of the biblical concordance, this lexicon includes only 80 lexical entries. Each entry was chosen specifically for a diachronic investigation of late biblical Hebrew, illustrating the fifth-century watershed that separated Classical Hebrew from post-Classical biblical Hebrew. The emphasis is placed on linguistic contrasts, illuminating a rich collection of examples that contrasts Classical biblical Hebrew with late biblical Hebrew, biblical Hebrew with rabbinic Hebrew, and Hebrew with Aramaic.

Key Features

• Presents diachronic investigations of late biblical Hebrew
• Emphasizes linguistic contrasts between biblical Hebrew, rabbinic Hebrew, and Aramaic
• Illustrates the differences between Classical Hebrew and post-Classical biblical Hebrew

Praise for the Print Edition

Provided that there are those readers out there who sympathize with diachronic approaches to Hebrew (indeed there are many) and those who are concerned with semantic change rather than the kind of information that lexica typically have on offer (there are some), Hurvitz’s lexicon will undoubtedly be a milestone for the research of Late Biblical Hebrew in the years to come.

—Kurtis Peters, PhD candidate, Edinburgh University

Product Details

• Title: A Concise Lexicon of Late Biblical Hebrew: Linguistic Innovations in the Writings of the Second Temple Period
• Author: Avi Hurvitz
• Collaborators: Aaron Hornkohl, Leeor Gottlieb, and Emmanuel Mastéy
• Publisher: Brill
• Publication Date: 2001
• Pages: 280
• Resource Type: Reference
• Topic: Linguistics

About Avi Hurvitz

Avi Hurvitz is professor emeritus of Bible and Hebrew language at Hebrew University. He has published extensively on the linguistic nature and historical setting of Post-Classical Biblical Hebrew and its contribution for dating purposes, including Biblical Hebrew in its Northwest Semitic Setting. He has been on the Editorial Board of Vetus Testamentum and a member of the Israel Academy of the Hebrew Language.