Syriac Grammar 9781617191824, 1617191825

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ac Grammar

Syriac Studies Library

91

Sériés Editors Monica Blanchard Cari Griffin Kristian Heal George Anton Kiraz David G.K. Taylor

The Syriac Studies Library brings back to active circulation major reference works in the field of Syriac studies, including dictionaries, grammars, text editions, manuscript catalogues, and monographs. The books were reproduced from originals at The Catholic University of America, one of the largest collections of Eastern Christianity in North America. The project is a collaboration between CUA, Beth Mardutho: The Syriac Institute, and Brigham Young University.

Syriac Grammar

With Bibliography, Chrestomathy, and Glossary

By

Eberhard Nestle

Translated by

R. S. Kennedy

-äk

1

2010

gorgias press

Gorgias Press LLC, 954 River Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA www.gorgiaspress.com Copyright © 2010 by Gorgias Press LLC Originally published in 1889 All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise without the prior written permission of Gorgias Press LLC.

2010

1 ISBN 978-1-61719-182-4

Reprinted from the 1889 Berlin edition.

Digitized by Brigham Young University. Printed in the United States of America.

Series Foreword

This series provides reference works in Syriac studies from original books digitized at the ICOR library of The Catholic University of America under the supervision of Monica Blanchard, ICOR's librarian. The project was carried out by Beth Mardutho: The Syriac Institute and Brigham Young University. About 675 books were digitized, most of which will appear in this series. Our aim is to present the volumes as they have been digitized, preserving images of the covers, front matter, and back matter (if any). Marks by patrons, which may shed some light on the history of the library and its users, have been retained. In some cases, even inserts have been digitized and appear here in the location where they were found. The books digitized by Brigham Young University are in color, even when the original text is not. These have been produced here in grayscale for economic reasons. The grayscale images retain original colors in the form of gray shades. The books digitized by Beth Mardutho and black on white. We are grateful to the head librarian at CUA, Adele R. Chwalek, who was kind enough to permit this project. "We are custodians, not owners of this collection," she generously said at a small gathering that celebrated the completion of the project. We are also grateful to Sidney Griffith who supported the project.

Williams and Norgate's School Books and Maps. Fleury's Histoire de France, racontée â la Jeunesse, edited for the use of English. Pupils, with Grammatical Notes, by Beljame. 3rd Edition. 12mo. cloth boards 3s Qd Mandrou (A.) French Poetry for English Schools. 2nd Edition. 12mo. cloth 2s German. Weisse's Complete Practical Grammar of the German Language, with Exercises in Conversations, Letters, &c. 4th Edition. Entirely re-written. 12mo. cloth 6s New Conversational Exercises in German Composition, 2nd Edition. 12mo. cloth (Key, 5s) 3s 6d Schlutters German Class Book. A Course of Instruction based on Becker's System, and so arranged as to exhibit the Self-development of the Language, and its Affinities with the English. By Fr. Schlutter, Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. 4th Edition. 12mo. cloth (Key 5s) 5s Möller (A.) A German Reading Book. A Companion to Schlutters German Class Book. With a complete Vocabulary. 150 pp. 12mo. cloth 2s Ravensberg (A. v.) Practical Grammar of the German Language. Conversational Exercises, Dialogues and Idiomatic Expressions. Third Edition. 12mo. cloth (Key, 2s) 5s Rose's English into German. A Selection of Anecdotes, Stories, &c., with copious Notes. 2nd Edition. Cloth (Key, 5s) 4s 6d German Reader, Prose and Poetry, with copious Notes for Beginners. 2nd Edition. Crown 8vo. cloth 3s Hein. German Examination Papers. Comprising a Complete set of German Papers set at the Local Examinations in the four Universities of Scotland. By G. H E I N , Aberdeen Grammar School. Crown 8vo. cldth 2s 6d A tin's German Method by Rose. A New Edition of the genuine Book, with a Supplement consisting of Models of Conjugations, a Table of all Regular Dissonant and Irregular "Verbs, Rules on the Prepositions, &c. &c. By A. V. Rose. 2 Courses in 1 vol. Cloth 3s Qd German Method by Rose, &c. First Course. Cloth 2s Apel's Short and Practical German Grammar for Beginners, with copious Examples and Exercises. 2nd Edition. 12mo. cloth 2s 6d [4]

For Continuation see the end of the Volume.

PREFACE TO THE GERMAN EDITION. Had I alone been concerned, I should not have undertaken a new edition of the Syriac Porta. For what we need for Syriac, as for most other Semitic languages, is the investigation of special questions, linguistic, historic and other, similar to those which de L a g a r d e has given us on the figtree and Astarte or W e l l h a u s e n on the remains of Arabic heathendom, and not fresh presentations of what everybody knows. Moreover, since the appearance of the first edition (1881), I have ceased to Have occasion to lecture on Syriac. On the other hand, the speedy sale of my hook showed me that it really supplied a want, and accordingly I have done what I could for the new edition. Like other parts of the Porta, the Syriac grammar no longer appears in Latin but in German and English—which explains the arrangement of the second half of the book. The part comprising the Grammar, notwithstanding the addition of a few observations on the Syntax, occupies less space than in the first edition. As regards the Bibliographi/, I thought

TRKFACE.

VJ iirst

of o m i t t i n g

almost

entirely sections

I and

II

(pp. 3 — 3 0 ) , r e t a i n i n g only such books as a r e still of importance;

finally, however, I resolved to m a k e t h e

b i b l i o g r a p h y in t h e s e a n d the o t h e r divisions a s complete a s possible.

S o m e w h e r e , it seems to m e , one

o u g h t to find such a record of the l a b o u r s of our p r e d e c e s s o r s . Up to p. 30, books whicli I have not seen myself a r e i n d i c a t e d as before by an asterisk. T h e difficulties w i t h which I h a d to contend, in having to work at a d i s t a n c e f r o m a library, can only be u n d e r s t o o d by t h o s e who a r e similarly s i t u a t e d ; even Klatt's Bibliography w a s n o t accessible.

On the o t h e r h a n d I

have hero to t h a n k a n u m b e r of f r i e n d s , p a r t i c u l a r l y a b r o a d , m o s t of t h e m personally unknown to me, who have h e l p e d me by sending me t h e i r p u b l i c a t i o n s ,

a

n u m b e r of which will be found in the " a p p e n d i c u l a " ; I would specially t h a n k Prof. I. II. Hall of New York for the aid h e h a s r e n d e r e d me in the Bibliography. This section of t h e book, large enough

as it i s , I

could easily h a v e increased in one direction a t least, for I have m a d e a p r a c t i c e of noting down all t h e reviews

with which

I

have

become a c q u a i n t e d ;

of

these, however, I have only occasionally cited one or two,

it

b e i n g still w o r t h while to see, for example,

w h a t a s c h o l a r like tie Sacy had to say to t h e elder H o f f m a n n in

11 p a g e s of the J o u r n a l

des

Savants.

F r o m A. Midler's new Oriental Bibliography (I, 1—3) I m i g h t h a v e a d d e d a few more titles; I m e n t i o n t h e

Y1L

1'REFACE,

following as having been overlooked: 11 a e t h g e n , F., Siebenzelm makkabaische Psalmen nach Thcodor von Mopsuestia ZfdatW. 87, 1 — 6 0 ; A I n x - i j v v i i v .

j_/n_.tiuuiiciini

Cardahi,

: ~ i »yi/ifUJUlJ-ctlctue.

tient les onze premieres lettrea.] catholique Syriacae

1887. fr. 30.

Gabriel,

V Ul.

Beyrouth,

— W r i g h t , W.,

[Cambridge] Christmas

1887.

copies printed for private circulation." In the Chrestomathy

I

r n _ „ [UUJi-

impr.

Notulae

"Only

150

15 pages.

have retained the first

four chapters of Genesis, notwithstanding jections raised by Socin;

1 1

the ob-

such translations are ex-

ceptionally well adapted for a comparative study both of the vocabulary and of the grammar (with the exception of the Syntax), in the same way as the four versions of the Psalter so conveniently arranged by de Lagarde for Arabic.

A systematic comparison of

the versions of the bible would give us more and fuller information

concerning the relation of the

Semitic

idioms, as regards their respective vocabularies, than the stray observations and notes on which we have hitherto had to rely. — The extract from the N. T. occupies more space with the Leipzig types, than I could calculate from the American impression from which it is taken; still an extract pointed in this way was needed to familiarise the student with the Nestorian

punctuation,

particularly

the distinction

between % and e, In this edition 1 have given the Vita'

Ifopltetarum

Vili

PREFACE.

in full, notwithstanding their somewhat unattractive contents. With regard to these fragments it has quite recently been suggested that the Syriac texts are the original, the Greek texts only a translation. The latter, in different recensions as in Syriac, will be found—not reckoning the editions of Epiphanius (e. g. Migne vol. 43, not in Dindorf's edition)—in Teschendorf's Anecdota 110, in the Journ. oftheExeget. Society 1887, 1 ft', by Hall; best, however, in the cod. vat. 2125 (Marchalianus!).

Of the legends of the finding of the Cross I give two new recensions with appendix, for which I am indebted to the kindness of W r i g h t , M a r t i n and B i c k e l l . I still hope to fulfil the promise I made in the preface to the first edition, to publish a collection of the various fragments. I have left the text precisely as it is given in the manuscripts; e. g. in 113, 12. 116, 57. 117, 78. 124, 222. 131, 76. The extracts in the first edition from J a c o b of Edessa (Severus) and D a n i e l of Salach, I have here omitted as being too difficult; all the words of the first edition, however, have been retained in the glossary, which has in consequence become more comprehensive, and has unfortunately, I cannot doubt, brought with it many of the mistakes of the earlier edition. There will also, no doubt, be things in the grammar which need change or correction [v. below]. In § 3 I regret not to have done Jacob of Edessa the

IX

TREFACE.

honour to adduce his mnemonic sentence ^¿.MJ c^LIn afflict (BH Gr. 1, 194/5); for t h e Nestorian cf. do L a g a r d e , Mittheilungen 2, 27.

183 . . .

. Nestorian

' A b d i s o ' (p. 25, n. 1) appears to stand under Arabic influence.

§ 2 5 , 3 b cf. de Lagarde, Agathangelus 133, n. 2,

where, however, the influence of r seems to be overlooked . . .

I hope also, t h a t the printing, which,

towards the close, had to be done very hastily, will be found pretty correct. U l m a. D., 18. April 1888.

The English edition of the Syriac G r a m m a r has h a d the benefit of a revision of t h e proofs by Prof. G. H o f f m a n n of Kiel.

Some of his r e m a r k s have

already been inserted in the text, others I am allowed to put together h e r e : § 2.

The name E s t r a n g e l a H. explains on the

ground of Fihrist 1, 12, 11 t , - ^ v, ^...I

oTpoyyuXT]

(^Eip) ?'. e. the oldest bookwriting as opposed to still older forms of writing e. g. the ysntt a r 3 of the stoneinscriptions.

The passages of B a r Ali and B a r Bahlul

(Payne Smith) go all back to I s o ' b a r N u n of the 9tii cent., who already combined Estrang(c)lnya with "Evangeliuin'', but wrongly, because he did not under-

X

RNR:I A C E .

s t a n d t h e word,

j-^r m e a n i n g " L i n e a r - odcr K r i t z e l -

s c h r i t V ' lias n o t h i n g A n q a of E d e s s a

to do with

it.

P a u l e (sic) b a r

t h e A r a b i c n a m e of t h e b i r d

Phoenix), p e r h a p s a b r o t h e r of t h e P e t r o s b a r who is k n o w n a s a copyist of MSS. in the 6

th

c

Anqa,

and 7th

c e n t u r i e s ( W r i g h t , C a t a l . 474) seems t o have w r i t t e n in t h e U r ^ ? I j . ^ 3 - ^ p r o p a b l y a c l o i s t e r of t h e C a p p a d o c i a n s (of A r m e n i a , v. de L a g a r d e , A h h a n d l t t n g e n 254), f r o m w h i c h t h i s m o d e of w r i t i n g h a s also t h e n a m e (de

Lagarde,

P r a e t e r m i s s a 90).

Regarding

the d i s s e m i n a t i o n of S y r i a c in A r m e n i a v. H o f f m a n n , K i r c h c n v e r s a m m l n n g in E p h e s u s 12, 40 (the A r m e n i a n s had

a school in E d e s s a )

[and Agathangelns

ed. de

L a g a r d e 77, 5], For ^ ^ ¡ 5

(Araliic

5

%

f)

we

find in

W r i g h t C a t a l . 3, 1302 ^ J O A ^ ; , elsewhere (Land, Anecd. 1, 11) t/crisoui;

cf. also Assemani in P . S m i t h

790.

T h e S y r i a n s called themselves as exiles in a, s t r a n g e l a n d (.¡ersonides a f t e r Moses a m o n g the Midianites. $3 3.

T h e chief point, a s to t h e N e s t o r i a n voca-

lization is this, t h a t t h e X e s t o r i a n s , "besides s h o r t e s, h a d also l o n g t;-.-•/), — or — ; i>H u n d e r s t a n d s by —

t h e e which a c c o r d i n g to l a t e r a n d

p r o n u n c i a t i o n h a d b e c o m e i.

West-Syrian

Many examples of long

r, in Mss. a n d in t h e w r i t i n g s of I5H, but not: a s yet n o t i c e d with sufficient, a c c u r a c y .

IT.lil'AI'K 11. the

XI

With the modern Nestorians when reading

Pesitta, tlie

stress-acceut

keeps its proper p l a c e ; sentence

of an isolated

word

but the accentuation of the

displaces it as in Neo-Syriac.

In

cases very often the u l t i m a t e is accentuated, h

in nouns and verbs tin, an, hi, en. U (adv.): h

qitlit ,

heidtn

§ 15. the

e. cj.J3

.si

fl"

...

—

. 1

1

W a

i

r iLlf '

e o

& 5 CU» ^^ '

P 0

P VV j Ls-SÙs „

i-P

u.

F- ,

U-Û?

K

w

0 0

—

"--if

J -

(•-r-

cl = r

U-ÎI

,

do M te ^ M According to the above, the Jacobites distinguish only the live vowels a , o \ e~, f , u% contained in the mnemonic word a l ^ B ^ s i

or u ^ l ^ J ^¿.o.»

; the

Nestorians seven, in some cases six or even eight, by giving a double sound to . *** with t h e point of t h e tongue and upper teeth So Élius of Hoba; others only slightly different.

2) According as they accord with each other in the root, or not, into f r i e n d l y lLLu.1 and h o s t i l e e. g.

us, 3)

uo 1, wà,

t

According

cal ì L l l a ^ '0y 7 I^aJL^^o/MO,

r

to their

or i k l i i i i ^ , p P y tVtV.

signification into and s e r v i l e

radi-

izLIi^^z^, ^

T h e v o w e l s were, in the earliest period, only p a r tially indicated by - o j; afterwards words written with the same consonants but having a different pronunciation were distinguished by a d i a c r i t i c a l p o i n t lp:Qj), which is already employed in Palmyr e n e to distinguish } (?•) and

?

(d). The point over the

word served to indicate the s t r o n g e r and more obscure pronunciation, under

the word, the lighter and clearer,

^c' man,

ks

^

i^ii^c meikt't; ajci henon; 'avvetiti;

men; =ci

btth,

hem, osi hu; ^ din ft,

m.z> beh; (-.Vv*' mailed, hrn, ^

hi;

htbion,

datjij tinti ; {Jci. 'emit/,

bistt, ¡..^^..r. ben/hi.

jii^.

This or a similar

system is usually adopted in the oldest existing MSS.

6.

9

VOWELS.

f r o m the beginning of the fifth century, and also employed in p r i n t e d books, partly alongside of t h e system t h a t was a f t e r w a r d s elaborated. A b o u t t h e end of the seventh or beginning of t h e

,J

eighth century, when t r a n s l a t i o n s from t h e G r e e k were being m a d e in g r e a t numbers, it would seem t h a t J a c o b of E d e s s a ( f 708) hit upon t h e idea of using t h e G r e e k vowel-letters A E I I 0 O T to indicate the p r o nunciation of t h e Syriac. 1

Hence arose the Jacobite

vowel-signs given above. Their p r e s e n t r e c u m b e n t position is owing to the fact that in t h o s e days one still w r o t e f r o m t o p to b o t t o m . The introduction of these signs has also been ascribed to T h e o p h i l u s of Antioch (f 785/6), Avho is said to have translated the two books of the poet Homer on the capture of Ilion into Syriac; thus still D § 73. Latest authority for Jacob, Wright Syr. Lit. 840, n. 20—24. (Encyclop. Brit. vol. 22.)

K e g a r d i n g the pronunciation of the vowels, t h e following may be n o t e d : j 1 PctMha j j

is with all Syrians a clear, short a,

(also '¡) Zequfu is pronounced by t h e western

Syrians as an obscure o, like Qames by the Polish J e w s ; by the e a s t e r n Syrians as a long a, c. g. 1

jL^ls

Before this, or perhaps at the same time, Jacob made an

unsuccessful at tempt, in the same direction, in which the Mandaean system, according lo W r i g h t , the Greek, according to D. served as his model.

c

f>. VOWF.

VeshHin (iv -/'/; the latter pronunciation lias been proved on historical and philological grounds to be the older (y.apavctOa, toiXiOa).

The representation of the

long vowel by the short Greek o (ar/pov) on the part of the western S\ rians is explained, like

t

in Hebrew, by

the fact that, in the choice of signs the quality and not the quantity of the sounds was the determining factor. For [ the eastern Syrians have sometimes j (=' (in addition to gale and gcla above) or in the sing. perf.

1 m., t i ^

2 m., k ^ ^ o

3 f. (last

form written by the Nestorians with two points under This system was of course still inadequate inasmuch as

may equally well r e p r e s e n t three

forms of the Pa el.

Similarly

?aL sl

jsut) perf. Afel, •>31 msr p a r t . Pael,

is 1 p. impf. Peal,

?a uaic

part, Afel.

Cf.

1) (¡7. 1) Much more important is the sign for the harder 8 and softer pronunciations of the (i

correspond-

ing to the Hebr. Dagesh lene and Rafe.

I t consists

of a small point, generally coloured red by the Nest o r i a n s , placed over— Q u s s a y (a) ¡ 1 * « h a r d e n i n g — or under— sonants.

Rukkji.kh(a)

s o f t e n i n g — t h e s e con-

u

S.

Q I I S S A Y ( A )

A M I

T : I ' K K A K "

(A).

Jacob of .Hdessa seems to have been the lirst both to introduce the

and to distinguish the luuder pronunciation

(by a point).

2) The rules for the pronunciation of the Begadkephath are not so constant as in Hebrew but the following hold good in the m a i n : Q. stands a) at the beginning of a word after a v o w e l l e s s consonant

^¿.•¡.z.; hence after h mappicalum

of the

P

3 iters, pron. oi and nTb) likewise in the middle of a word mal-ka, keth-beth,

particularly after diphthongs and

c) when a consonant is doubled -¡.¿si sabbur, uppeq, except at the end of a word ^L)

'achcbfb).

3) R., on t h e other hand, is found ~

a) at the beginning of a word after a vowel jcoii Q b) likewise in the middle of a word, even after

the slightest vowel sound, hence, in particular, after a doubled

consonant and when prefonnatives

been added, c.

0

»P

|jua, h o?;

p) qat-il: the usual passive participle of the Qal: v i e , j: 4 . x x ' >3^.0, subst. Iz^ifl^a; x • -j) qatul, the Heb. passive part., rare in Syriac; p

.

**

8. With the middle radical doubled: a) qattal, qettal intensive adjectives and nomina •o

opificum:

,P P

, P PV

J.X-?;

D 9

P P

7

.>»•

23.

NOMINAL

FORMS.

b) quttal, nomina actionis II fi-so?,

j-i^,

colour names ^ ¿ o f . c) qattil, very many adjectives -^IZ, ^oJkL, * 7 J C •7 '7 t ana pari. peri, ^ z j , cuL*. (1) qattul

|j>ocui"i,

4. With formative additions: a) with preformatives: 1) with m: a.) the infinitives, p) the participles of the derived stems, Y) many substantives «.^¿¿n,

l^^oic,

with long vowel in the stem with long vowel in the preformative l i i ^ 1 , cf.

H. "Vip'a.

2) with t, derived from III and V l ^ b / z , j-k-clsZ; , * 72

very many feminines

j^^ia^l,

b) With afformatives: 1) with an for substantives: tf^sj, j i i ^ , jJff.oas, especially from stems p.1

it is also the favourite

Acc. to Lagarde GGA. 1884, 278 because = , a i e | i o for

^aJsai^o, from a stem corresponding to the Arabic ¡¿+>0. 2

W i t h y a few (foreign?) names of animals and plants

(N. 127,2); with 11 U i i a J , a few biblical proper names commencing in Hebrew with y p. 112.

; on Nimrod v. Lag. Arm. St.

2 5 . NOMINAL FORMS*

termination for the formation of nomina agentis from the derived participles and from adjectives, in which a fem. / lias often been preserved or, in cases, inserted

NOTE. Besides an also on: j.Ja.».IAJ,

(Loan-words'1. KOI'N WITH SUFFIXES.

34

The appending' of the suffixes presents little difficulty. The singular forms given in

(with V.?) when

joined to the plural of nouns become ¿¿1; 7

b

.

b.

7

y

y

#

2b,

y

7

With the suffixes the noun generally assumes the form of the st. emph., dropping the terminations a and