Wilhelm Bacher’s Place in the History of Hebrew Linguistics

Summary The comparative study of languages goes back at least as far as to the work of Hebrew grammarians of the 10th century; consequently, medieval Hebrew linguistics should receive more attention within the general history of linguistics than it has generally been given. Wilhelm Bacher’s (1850–1913) role in the study of the history of Hebrew linguistics was decisive; the two recently reprinted volumes, Die Anfänge der hebräischen Grammatik (1895) and Die hebräische Sprachwissenschaft vom 10. bis zum 16. Jahrhundert (1892), constitute important contributions to the field. The extensive bibliography of Bacher added to the reprintings under review supplies an idea of the scope of Bacher’s scholarship in general, and of his contribution to the study of medieval linguistics in particular. The present article surveys this latter aspect of Bacher’s work, covering his text editions and monographic studies. This is concluded up by a chronological overview of all medieval linguists treated by Bacher and a list of his books translated into Hebrew. In the remainder of the article the two reprinted works are evaluated individually, the chronological span and the nature of their approach to the subject matter are compared, and an attempt is made to analyze Bacher’s methods in collecting his material and in preparing it for scholarly presentation. There follows an evaluation of Bacher’s studies in the light of present-day scholarship in the historical treatment of Hebrew linguistics. Finally, critical measure is taken of the introductory article prefaced to the reprint of Bacher’s works.