A Grammar of Biblical Aramaic

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PORTA LINGUARUM ORIENTALIUM HERAUSGEGEBEN VON BERTOLD SPULER UND HANS WEHR

NEUE SERIE

V

FRANZ ROSENTHAL

A GRAMMAR

OF BIBLICAL ARAMAIC

1961

OTTO HARRASSOWITZ . WIESBADEN

A GRAMMAR OF BIBLICAL ARAMAIC

BY

FRANZ ROSENTHAL

1961 OTTO HARRASSO\vlTZ. \vlESBADEN

-:::

Alic Rcchll: vorbcb1ltcn 0 Otto H1rra11owitz, Wlcsb1dcn 1961 Photogr1phl1chc und photomcchanl1che Wlcdcrgi.bcn jcdcr Att nur mlt 1u1drilckllchcr Gcnchmlgung dc1 Vcrlagc1 Ge,m,thcntcllung: 1-lubort & Co,1 Gtittlngon

Prlntod In Garmany

Table of Contents page

Profoco. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I

1. Tho Toxts nnd tho Lnngnngo ........................... • • •

5

(I) Tho Aramaic pnssngos of tho Old Testament . . . . . . . . . .

5

(2) Tho nat.ivo namo of tho language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5

(3) Tho history of Arnmnic -

Official Aramaic . . . . . . . . . . . .

5

11. Tho Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

6

(4) (5) ( G) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11)

Tho alphabet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ns \'owe! letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The final forms of :.:1mi:i . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The dot used with certain letters..................... The \.roco.lization systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vowel quantity and quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Tiberion vowel signs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Babylonian vowel signs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( 12) K'tiQ-q'r~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

6 8 S 8 8 9 10 12

III. Remarks on Phonology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

12

,,;n,

(13) (14) (15) ( 16)

N ns a silent letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . K resulting from -dy- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Spiruntizotion of no:iii:i............................ Spirontization of initial nti:i1l:J within the sentence . . . . . (17) Semitic correspondeneC's of n, nti1, and 17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . (18) Seeming exceptions to the rules of par. 17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . (19)

ill-0 .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . . .. .. . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .. .. . . . . . .

(20) (21) (22) (23) (24)

Consonant doubling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Subst.itution of nosalizotion for gcmination . . . . . . . . . . . . Long vowels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Short vowels....................................... ifr before -,3;n;, dosing a syllaulo..................... Pausal lengthening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Word stress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The infhwnce of enclitic words upon word stress . . . . . . . Secondary st.rcss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(25)

(2G) (27)

(28)

IV. Tho Pronoun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (29) Inn," etc.).

---;- i, i. Long i is as a rule followed by the vowel lett.er "· There are

exceptions such as Ji,~ "provinces" E 4: 15, in~? "they were fettered" D 3:21, J~',tti "mighty" (pl. ma,sc.) D 4:23, '11 "my splendor, splendid looks'' D 4:33. The more remn.rkn.lile use of" where short i is required appears in i,,!?o/1.? "bringing down" D 5: 19, ~w,~?tt "they dressed" D 5:29, i::i"7R "they drew near" D 6: 13, ::i,!"~ "he saved" D 6:28. 9, 9 (closed), as a long vowel usually combined with the vowel letter , (i), but occasionn.lly occurring without it, in particular after -w (-w9). It may appear in stressed syllabics which when

7

12

\

owcl Signs -

The Glottnl Stop

they arc not stressed would exhibit short o or u: ti:1~ "truth," ~:,, "all," :il (:,ii D 6:13) "den." In these cases, a short but closed 9, rather than n. long vowel, may be intended. Short 9 in 1rr,I,) "his neck" D 6:7 (as in Hebrew spelling) is not oloar.

-'.

Spirontizntlon of bodkpt

13

(2) in p,wtioular grammatical forms whoro it became silent: 'il,?N~ ( < yi'),na.r) "ho says," i~N~:' ( < mi'>mar) uto say," but phonotio spollings are also found ('il,?I,?, NJ]~? "to come," N!~:' "to bent"); T~?N? (< le'-) "to your gods," J'.'!ll?. (< be'-) "then." (3) in finnl vowellcss position, or after a zero or murmured vowel: N";~ (,foggi), but ,~.. ~~ (Saggi,an) "much, many," N~V{"N~ (bistii) 11

''evil" E 4: 12, but IDN::1 w11s b11cl" D 6: 15, "N10 (miiri} "my lord," but. :J"Nlt, (SUnPYilf) enemies" D 4: 16. ·

...

"Y~ur

T

(4) in the distorted pronunciation of foreign proper names:

,~11~97~ (
!T~9 (cf. the participles il~~. ri~- par, 150). However. a number of won.ls cn.'t of !,he book of llfose/• E G'.1s'. 'Further, "approximately": ";~ ;,?~? "about an hour (while)" D 4: 16. 7 may n.lso be used in a temporn.l sense: rD71:11 l,J:l~ r~~ ,~7 ·'as (a man) sixty-two years old" D 6: 1, N~~? H~7R~~ "on apprnaching the den" D 6: 21. Cf. '"!? (par. 86). ·

7

c,7,

79. "to, for." With suffixes: '?, 1?, ;,'?, ;,',, N)?, (P';') (Ji;,':>) ti;,':>. 7'expr~sscs every aspect of direction. (a) local: for tho adclresseo of a. letter, NJ:iizrainn,N';, 11 to Artaxerxes " ?TN ;:rn".:i", "he went to h.is house" D 2: 17. (b) temporal: .,~~ "livo for

lropositions -

37

Conjt1nctions

il~?~

your ways" D O: 23. Cf. also ilT~ ":F n7.?~~;> "according to t.ho wisdom of your God that is in your hand" E 7: 25, irJry :li];

,~n~,::i~ ,~~

"Ho gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar" E 5: 12, N~~;;~ ,~ 1~ ··· :,,"!"~ "he saved ... from tho lions" D 6: 28. n; indicating the independent objective pronoun occurs only once: 'rii1?1" I' ,. ]) 3: 12. n)', "with, at (French chez)," related to n;. With suffix: 1~)7 1'? E 4: I~.

ct~i,:

--- .

~-~ "toward" occurs only in ~;j "toward Jermmlem" D G: 11 : possibly a Hebrew gloss. ,; "side" in combination with and 11?: i,7~; tt"?~ r?~ ··he speak.-, words toward the i\Iost High" D 7: 25, N~i::i71? ,~?? ''(to find cause of complaint against Daniel) from the• side of the kingdom(= from the political angle)" D G:5. I;,~~~ •·facing, opposite," al:;o in modal use, "corresponding to." \Yith suffix In the modal sense, it may be a.ugmentc-tl by

7

i;7

71?7~7-

i" "=?~ "?·

c,p ''before" (local), also with JI>, "from before." With suffixes ." (par. 10): ,~'Ji?, (,~~~), T721B (qi1r]limd/i), ,~;b1~ (,ry;b1~; ,:y;~!~, D 7: 13), :1'1?;~, Ji:1')?"!~,- C;~ is used frequently as n, less direct, respectful indicntion of location (N:i'?~ C!R:' N:1?~ ;,~~ C'JR, V?)- A possible temporal use occurs in D 7: 7.=

n'?;i? ]~,

-

n'?;~"

-

'·before" (tcmporul).

n~r~ "at the C'ntl of.'' ,;,;Jlnn. *nri~, nin~ "underneath." ,vith suffixes: ,:,;Jinn, . :- . ' \'III. Conjunctions 85. Coordinating conjunctions: ~ "and," connecting words nnd sentences, is written together with thC word that follows it. If the following word begins with n laLial (t>b:i) or has a murmured vowel in the first syllalile, ~ becomes 1 (fi). Followed by ~. -wJ!l- becomes _,~. Followed Ly a syl1~Lle containing an ultra-short vowel, the corresponding full vowel appe[\rs after i: "o..ntl (n. kind of) tnxes," in~; "and go!," etc. However, !tis Nry?Nl E 6: 12 (par. 75), i;~, "and ho locked" D Li:2a, "ryib"?R,

7?n!

D 7: 1:1. /

Conjunctions

3S

]n Babylonian vocalization, 1i•- remains apparently unchanged before lnbin.ls and becomes u~i- before a word with a murmured Yowel in the first syllable. Strings of coordinated nouns or verbs may be ,vithout a coordinating particle, or ] may be used before one, or several, or alJ components. C'!';', le'; "but." le:' may also be used in the related sense of "exc,•pt": Ji~~';~'? J~'; e';~ ',~~ ... J1";'~'. ''T "that .. they might not worship anv Goel but their own God" D 3: ~8 .... ~lNi rl7N ?:, llJ 7!~ v:i? "from ;ny God or man ... except you" D D:;~-.-13~c-:

~?

T

•

r~~, r°lx~ "then. n S6. Subordinating conjunctions: ~~ ';that" introduces subordinate clauses aft.er n·rbs meaning to know. inform, command. find. see. hear, etc. Cf. also ~} ~~~~ "it is (a fact) that" E ;): 17, ~-:r oi:i2 V? ''it is of a truth that" D :!:4'i, ~, Nl'l~~ ~3~ N:,tN "the matter fs known (as decided), as far a,'S I am concerned, that" D 2: Sf. (cf. D 2: 5, where the Dead Sea [Qumran] text inserts ,, after x,tN:). ~, is further used to introduce final clauses (''so that.'' E 5: 10. 6:10. D2:18, 3:28, G:18). It is causal in D2:4,, 4:15, 6:24. It may also introduce direct speech (D 2:25, 5:7, 6:6. S, 14). Note ,, NJ'1~:l "at the time when" D 3: 5, 15. ~·p '·when" (temporal, but tending occasionally toward a causal meaning). ~11? '·after, as soon as," occasionally causal as in D 3: 22. ,~ "?~pr.?? "because," but in D 5:22 ''although." ~--r7 N::'.I "as" D 22: 43, spelled as if it were *ha-lfJcji, but to be pronounced as derived from h?lf-if,i. ~7 ,¥ "until," also simple ,31 E 4:21, 5:5, tending toward a final connotation in D 4: 22. "! n,~'T ',!7 (D 2: 30), ''! n,~'! ii,, (D 4: 14) ( = 'addi/!ra! < 'aldi/!rai) ,;so that." · m;:,', (E 4:22), ~~', ''T (E 7:23) "Jest." 1:i "if." In D 3: 15 (N'; E) •·· E) "if ... if not"), the apodosis for the positive alternative is left unstated (supply "it is well nnd good"). lr_T ... F! may mean "either ... or": IZi;~~ F! ~'1~11:} ni~~ r"!1C~;') r~?! "(will be sentenced) either to death or to corpornl punishment or to a property fine and imprisonment" E 7: 2li. •

•

T

:

TT •

T I

•

• •

Tl -

:

T

:

•

m

Nogntione -

Advorbs

30

IX. Negations 87. K? is used in oonnootion wm, negative statements. It may als~ bo used for the negation of individual parts of a sen-

t.cnco. It, is used as a noun in r;i,~q il?? N~7~ (dfiy 3 rf) ,"J~1 ?~ "all inhabitants of the earth are considered like nought" D 4: 32. ?~ is used with the jussive to express a negative wish or command. The imperative cannot be employed with negation. ?ti was discarded in later Amm,iic and replaced by N?- A possible but doubtful example of this process in E 4: 21: N)~~I: N? N~',;R "let that city not be rebuilt." For il~{ ';lest," cf. par. 86, and for N? ,~ "without" (also simple 117 before an infinitive, D G: lG), cf. par. 84.

T:

X. Adverbs and Particles SS. AdYerbs may be expressed by prepositional expressions or by special words. In addition, they may be formed by (1) an ancient fem. fo1n1ation showing retention of final -t:

11;9

"(he spent the night) fasting" D G: ID.

(2) the ending ~'llt:

rm:~r:i "a. second time, again" D 2: 7.

(3) the abs. st. masc., n.s in the frequent N~~ "much, greatly,

Yery": N,;i.;' rp~~ "he became Yery angry" D 2: 12, ?~~t:'1? N,;i.;' "greatly dbturbed" D 5: I) (par. 20), etc. A further examp1C' may be ,,~~ "cornp1ete1y" ( = und so on, with all the proper formulas of grec ting to be supplied) E 7: 12. 0

(4) the ending -ii, mostly unstressed, the remnant of an ancient

accusative ending: NT~: N!.~ "heated excessively" D 3: 22, N~,V.1.:1

NTJ:i~ "exceedingly strong" (fem.) D 7:7, ilT~~ :it~"! "very frightening" (fern.) D 7: U). Further, Nl1'~~ ('czr,a, read 'arae)

(yattlrri!)

"below" and N'?~ "above" (par. 80), and, possibly, N~,~~ in D 3: 24, N?~I? (ya~r;~i:Qdl) N?,~~ "certainly, 0 king" (cf. il~~ 1r:r; :i,~~ 1~ "I know for certain" D 2: 8). For 11';,·~, see par. 00. Tho final -,, of some Persian 1oa.n words was appar;ntly considered tho same ending (par. 180).

Advorbs

40

89. Tcmpoml demonstmtive adverbs:

1:1~. r:iN~ "then," used by (pnr. '85), but

itself ns a coordinn.ting conjunction

rt~.) "and then" E

5:5.

1~?,n~-~? (E4:10, 11,7:12), n~? (E4:1i) "now,nowthen." 1"']~~ ,~ "eyentually" D 4: 5. NlbT r1::i, NTl:YIV r1:i ''at once,'' lit. '' at this very hour (time, moment).'' it h~~-~ the demonstrative element hci and was assim~ ilatcd to the pronominal suffixes (par. 32), used in the proleptic manner found, for instance, in N;t?? i1~ "in this very night" D 5:30 and ?N•li::J :,::i "in Daniel" D 5: 1:?. The demonstrative construction is ;tiJ1' reflected in ;,~i:i{)? r1;~ "from (this) kingdom"

;ept~;~;nt;

D 7:24.

90. Temporal assertive adn:•rb:

,;~ ,;still, yet": l:;,; "to he able" (par. 171). Another imperfect formation is attested only through :i~•: "it is good, pleases" E 7: 18, from an ancient secondary root :iti• (of.

. ".

:iti, :lKtl).

''-..:.'--, ,· '.

-~--

Hoot,11 with Modinl w or 1J

4!J

12!1, V,,rlis forming tho imporfcot with gomin"tion/1111salizr,tion of Urn St'CotHl oonsonn.nt drop , in tho impcrn.tivo: 171 11 kn_ow!" l) 1,: Ill, ~;:, "giYol" DI>: 17 (from tho root~:,• which, for tho imp,,rfrct. nnd infinitiYo, is rnpl11ced by Jnl [p111·, 118]). Cf. also the no\m~ ;,~;, ''n,dvico," ii~~~ "his sleep," representing old infinitive formations of t)17"', 'fU'\

130. Tho lmp'e] !ms h{!- ( c,r_~·~. r,~~1;i "it (fem.) wi11 bring to an end."~~!? "raising up," FT~~ "stirring up" (pl. fem.). 142. The infiniti,~c of the hapt~l is :i;!~? ''to net impiously" D 5: 20, rll]~~~~? "to set hirn up" D 6: 4, 1~1:ll;Q? ''to render (a reply) to you" D 3: 16.

143. A rcmn11nt of a derived conjugation, formed with reduplication of the lo.st consonant, nppcnrs in c~ii7? "l•xnlting" D 4: 34, 1;9~;,~~ "you exalted yourself" Du: 23 (of. pnr. 157). 10. Roots ending in '/1 or K

Cf. tho puradigmH, pp. 00-08.

lH. RootH origilrnlly ending in '/1 and K luwo mm·g,,d in BA, with Home iHol11tcd oxm,ptiouH fo1· t,hoAo onding in K (p1u·. l:ltl).

Roul.8 muling In 111/7/ or\

f,J

The "Jl"lling of fhrnl ci ,ind f, in forma of thcso roots v11cillntc-1t bct.wl'rn :, n.nd N. l,li,, 'rho p"nl !Ula two fonnnt;ionB in tho perfect, corresponding to Jl""l nnc\ Jl"e/il. 'l'ho second iB roprcsontcd only by the forms i•ntill "they dmnk" D 6: 3 f. 1111d n•~~ "I wi•hcd" D 7: 1fJ. ·,_ri1l' perfect of tho p'rn,] formati01{ lrns tho cndingR -tl, -riL and 1

-!l for t.hc- :l. mn.sc. sg., 3. fom. sg., and 3. masc. pl., respectively. Thr diphthong ay is retained in the 2. sg., but contracted to ij in the 2. pl. and the 1. sg. nm! pl. Note n~~7 ''you hn.ve grown" D 4: HJ, where the consonants indicate the usual fonu ~;~;. while the reading suggested is

ri~7-

n)~ "it (fem.) was" D 2: 35 is doubtful and, probably, should be f\)~-

1-Hi. The passive pun.l is represented by n.nd ~-:,~ "wns read."

~7!, .,,?_~, ··

"was revealed,·,

·

147. The imperfect forms without suffixed e1ements end in -f ( < -ay). Thr 2. and 3. nuu,c. p1. end in -9n ( < -au·n < -ayfi.n ), while the corresponding fem. forms retain y as n. consonant. However, the~- masc. pL with pronominal suffix is "~~1J,::ir;i(rlw?1all'Unndni [par. 1i5]) "you will let me knmv" D 2: 9, with u instead of (j/9. For forms with the prefix l- in connection with ;n:,, see par. 11)8. 148. The imperative puaI is represented by "~r! "fr•re !," ii~ '·be 1·· (pl.) E4:22 (ii~ EG:G), in~ "come'" (pl.) D3::iG. ..

·r (

14!1. The infinitive p"al ends in < -ay): Nl_J~', "t.o build." A..n ancient form without preformntive is attested ii1 N~=:i? E 5: 3. 13 (originally bJmJ'?). A form expanded into the ckt. st. is E 5: n.

:,:~~i??

Forms with pron01ninal suffixes restore y: i"l~~¥1?~ ''a.she wishes··

D 4: 32, ;,rm', "to heat it" D 3: rn. -, - '

· ·

150. The active participle is (K:) o)~ "answering," fem. o;/~ '•being different," p1. masc. 1~~~ "drinking," /

fem.

1:~9

"being

different." The passive participle is N.1~ "residing,"

i1~:P, ''bui1t'' (:i;~;,.,

r~~'

lT,~~ ). li,J. The perfect of tho derived conjugations l'ncls in -i, retnin('d ihmughout. The :1, fem. sg. iH ropretiontcd only by tho (h)it,pH~l Tl~!~~~ "(my H]'irit) huuo.rno t;iuk" ]J 7: Hi. \.Yhothor this vomilizn.t,iun is tYXl't'P-

Hoot-A onding in w/y or \

t,ionnl, inst.end of tin cxpeot.crl •n:~~~~. or whct,hcr it iH to ln: consider; the imperfect ',~'.- ',~1', ',~,n (t111£al, read ti/.:kul). For yi/.:kul,

',;,~, l'?~?· ',~•

cf. par. 128; y1lkal, probably an ancient hupral formation, is commonly used in Hebrew and preserved here in BA. As in English, ',0~, ',~• are followed by the infiniti,·e introduced

by ',_ li~. *p'?c '·to go up." Informs in which ',care not separated by a vowel,', iS assimilated too. The resulting ss may be nasalized: pual

nj?7c (rather than nv.?C Di: S), 1pS9, lP.?9, but hap'el 1po;,,

0v.9/;,?,

passive p~~173. *,nlVN "to drink" shows prosthetic 'Ii- on]y in the perfect;

cf. the participle 011~,

r~~.

imperfect Jil1~'.,

13. The verb with pronominal suffixes For a listing of all attested forms, cf. the parndigms, p. ii. I 7-1. The forms of tho verbal suffixes nm tho same ns thoso of tlw noun (par. 31 ), except for the suffix of tho 1. sg. which is '/· (1111•tressed). This 'l· is used also with tho infinitive: •m111ii0'? "to lot • •,I me know." Thero is no pronominal suffix for tho 3. pl., but tho seemingly independent porson11l pronoun i1.1ry, JitDry is Uslltl (pm·. 211).

17». In tho imperfoot, tho suffix is prouoclud by -(iJ1111-: •~~1i11: }rn wHI Jot mo know," ~~~r~: ho will BU.VO you," MP,~~ "hu gl\'t\8 it,

1 '

11

__ _

""· ' '

'

Synt..,x or tho Vorb

'

(fom.)." lh,dnot.ion of !In> II 000111'8 when it iH vowollOHH: r::i1~~ "lw will nsk yon (pl.)" E 7: 21, J1:>1~1'~: '·ho will oavo you" D :J: JG. ln tlw :l. and :!. mtuic. pl., -·lln-n Wl\.8 pcrJmpe pronounced -unn-, with Rhortonecl 11 (par. 10, 147). In t.lw jussivo nrnl t.!10 imporntivo, tho suffix is attached directly to till' verb: (71':>-) ':>~ "let it (them) not frighten you!," ~1',~i1 ··Jet, me C'ntcr !" • I • •

1?~?;

176. Slight.ly different forms result when the suffixes arc attached to roots ending in ll'/y/', such ns c)1D; "he will tell it (fem.)" D 2: 11.

14. Notes on the syntax of the verb 177. The participle rnay indicate the immediate present, for instance: N~7t??, ii;~]~. r~;t,9 "we (hereby) inform the king'' E 4: 16. This led to t.lw widespread use of the participle to indicate an action that is simultaneous with the main a,ction. Therefore, the participle must often be transla.ted by the past t,ense, for instance:

1?1;?] •.. lf~~~

:,~~~ ri;i "at this Yery moment, fingers ... came out and wrote" D 5: 5. This led further to t.lw free use of the particip1c as a narrat.iYe

ilRP~

tense, for instance: N~~ N~ii?] ··. ri?:~1 ... x:~~T~t;iri~ r';~?I;~ r1x;i "thereupon, the satraps ... assembled ... and stood ... and the herald called" D 3: 3 f. The participle nia.y also be used to indicatl~ continuous and habitual action, for instance: r:;i(?? 7;, x9~;7 n~;, 17? 1"! NJ:~;p ,~ ri;i-,_?P,1:"i? i,~,:i~~1 i~~, :,~~~~1? ,;Urnt this city has been rising up against kings since the du.ys of eternity n.nd rebellion and insUITL'C· tiun haYe (always) occurred in it'' E -1: 1!1. HoweYer, this mode is more commonly expressed by :,,:, ''to be" with the participle: K~9~ nJ~~ "(work on the temple)T~~·n.s idle (all the time)'' E -!:~-~. lf~~ r~'o/ n~';ic~ :,~~ :,~~ ''(the tPmple) luul beC'n standing built formerly for many yt1arH" E ;i: 11, nl'?:2 11'? ,~;7 N!~. ,"! 1;,~ "as he UHcd to do formerly" D (i; 11.

:in

/

:,n

"~r:..

178. Use of tho imperfect to indicate HimuHnneous action antt.i