A New Defense for the Masoretic Text and מאס I in Job 36:5: Functional Repetition and an Unrecognized Allusion

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Cooper Smith
Keyword(s):  
Transitive Verb ◽  
Masoretic Text

Abstract The Masoretic text of Job 36:5 is difficult due to the unexpected repetition of כביר in both cola and the lack of an object for the presumably transitive verb ימאס. These problems have given rise to numerous proposed emendations. However, relevant poetic parallels and a previously unrecognized allusion to Job 8:20 indicate that the Masoretic Text of Job 36:5 is meaningfully coherent and ought to be regarded as original. The seemingly gratuitous repetition and grammatical anomaly contribute to the rhetoric of the passage and so ought to be retained.

THE BALANCE OF PROBABILITY: STATISTICS AND THE DIACHRONIC STUDY OF ANCIENT HEBREW

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 927-960
Author(s):  
Jarod Jacobs
Keyword(s):  
Dead Sea Scrolls ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Biblical Hebrew ◽  
Large Datasets ◽  
Dual Function ◽  
Statistical Tools ◽  
Masoretic Text ◽  
Linguistic Research ◽  
Recent Debate ◽  
Diachronic Study

In this article, I discuss three statistical tools that have proven pivotal in linguistic research, particularly those studies that seek to evaluate large datasets. These tools are the Gaussian Curve, significance tests, and hierarchical clustering. I present a brief description of these tools and their general uses. Then, I apply them to an analysis of the variations between the “biblical” DSS and our other witnesses, focusing upon variations involving particles. Finally, I engage the recent debate surrounding the diachronic study of Biblical Hebrew. This article serves a dual function. First, it presents statistical tools that are useful for many linguistic studies. Second, it develops an analysis of the he-locale, as it is used in the “biblical” Dead Sea Scrolls, Masoretic Text, and Samaritan Pentateuch. Through that analysis, this article highlights the value of inferential statistical tools as we attempt to better understand the Hebrew of our ancient witnesses.

Writings in the Dead Sea Scrolls

2018 ◽  
pp. 324-341
Author(s):  
Lawrence H. Schiffman
Keyword(s):  
Dead Sea Scrolls ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Second Century ◽  
First Century ◽  
Textual Evidence ◽  
Masoretic Text ◽  
Hebrew Word ◽  
The Dead

This chapter argues that the Writings was an evolving collection of scripture used in a wide variety of ways by the Dead Sea Scrolls community at Qumran (second century bce to first century ce). Though the Hebrew word Ketuvim (Writings) does not occur in the Scroll material, all but one (Esther) of the books contained therein are found. The plentiful and varied textual evidence at Qumran, and occasionally other Judean desert sites, is presented with special attention to the number of biblical and other manuscripts and place found; textual comparisons with the biblical Masoretic text and others (e.g., Septuagint); citations; and other interpretive uses in sectarian documents. The importance of the books in the Writings for the life of the late postexilic community of Qumran and the nature of the Dead Sea Scrolls biblical collection are, together, a constant focus of the study.

THE APPLE OF THE EYE IN THE MASORETIC TEXT

1937 ◽  
Vol os-XXXVIII (149) ◽  
pp. 56-59
Author(s):  
EDWARD ROBERTSON
Keyword(s):  
Masoretic Text

scholarly journals The Tyrian King in MT and LXX Ezekiel 28:12b–15

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 91
Author(s):  
Lydia Lee
Keyword(s):  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Historical Development ◽  
Hebrew Text ◽  
Second Temple ◽  
Critical Approach ◽  
Second Temple Period ◽  
Biblical Literature ◽  
Israelite Religion ◽  
Masoretic Text ◽  
Fluid Boundary

The biblical prophecy in Ezekiel 28:11–19 records a dirge against the king from Tyre. While the Hebrew Masoretic Text (MT) identifies the monarch as a cherub, the Greek Septuagint (LXX) distinguishes the royal from the cherub. Scholarly debates arise as to which edition represents the more original version of the prophecy. This article aims to contribute to the debates by adopting a text-critical approach to the two variant literary editions of the dirge, comparing and analyzing their differences, while incorporating insights gleaned from the extra-biblical literature originating from the ancient Near East, Second Temple Period, and Late Antiquity. The study reaches the conclusion that the current MT, with its presentation of a fluid boundary between the mortal and divine, likely builds on a more ancient interpretation of the Tyrian king. On the other hand, while the Hebrew Vorlage of LXX Ezekiel 28:12b–15 resembles the Hebrew text of the MT, the Greek translator modifies the text via literary allusions and syntactical rearrangement, so that the final result represents a later reception that suppresses any hints at the divinity of the Tyrian ruler. The result will contribute to our understanding of the historical development of the ancient Israelite religion.

The Books of Samuel

2021 ◽  
pp. 215-224
Author(s):  
Anneli Aejmelaeus
Keyword(s):  
Hebrew Text ◽  
Greek Text ◽  
Masoretic Text ◽  
Textual History ◽  
History Of ◽  
Books Of Samuel ◽  
Textual Research

The textual history of the books of Samuel, both in Greek and in Hebrew, is laden with problems that the researcher needs to be acquainted with, whatever the focus of textual research. The Septuagint translation shows a close word-for-word correspondence to its Hebrew Vorlage, however, not without occasional freedom of translation, especially in lexical choices and grammatical forms, as well as erroneous translation due to defective knowledge of Hebrew. The Hebrew Vorlage used by the translator differed at times substantially from the later Masoretic Text, used for comparison during the early textual history of the Septuagint text as well as in research today. Not only is the Masoretic Text corrupted but it underwent editorial changes until the turn of the era. Textual differences caused by both the translator and the editors of the Hebrew text must have occasioned the repeated revisions of the Greek text by Jewish and Christian scribes.

scholarly journals The Evolution of Ergativity in Iranian Languages

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yadgar KARIMI
Keyword(s):  
Past Participle ◽  
Grammatical Structure ◽  
Bottom Line ◽  
Transitive Verb ◽  
Old Persian ◽  
Middle Persian

This paper presents an attempt to investigate the origins of ergativity in Iranian languages, drawing upon diachronic and synchronic analyses. In so doing, I will trace the development of the ergative structure back to Old and Middle Persian where, it is argued, the roots of ergativity lie. I will specifically show that the ergative pattern as currently obtained in the grammatical structure of some Iranian languages has evolved from a periphrastic past participle construction, the analogue of which is attested in Old Persian. It will further be argued that the predecessor past participle construction imparted a resultative construal in Old Persian and, subsequently, in the transition to Middle Persian, has assumed a simple past reading. The bottom-line of the analysis will be represented as a proposal regarding the nature of the ergative verb, to the effect that an ergative verb, as opposed to a regular (non-ergative) transitive verb, is semantically transitive, but syntactically intransitive.

scholarly journals Medieval Karaite Exegesis as Evidenced in Selected Examples from Yefet Ben Eli’s Commentary on the Book of Hosea

2021 ◽  
Vol 90 (5) ◽  
pp. 335-351
Author(s):  
Jacek Stefański
Keyword(s):  
Oral Tradition ◽  
Tenth Century ◽  
Literal Sense ◽  
Masoretic Text ◽  
Source Materials

For many years, Karaite exegesis was relatively unknown to numerous Biblical scholars. This situation has been changing with an increasing access to source materials. As a result, more and more Karaite exegetical treasures representing the trends of Karaite Judaism have come to the fore. Among them, there is the Commentary on the Book of Hosea by Yefet ben Eli, one of the most significant representatives of Karaism in the tenth century. Yefet ben Eli exhibits a remarkable knowledge of Hebrew etymology, which enables him to provide unique answers to the interpretative problems in the Masoretic Text. His apologetic concern for prospective Muslim readers of his commentary is also noteworthy. Although, in general, Karaism sought to concentrate on the literal sense of the Scripture, Yefet ben Eli does not shy away from recourses to rabbinic oral tradition. Nevertheless, his exegetical contribution remains unique, as clearly demonstrated by the selected examples from his Commentary.

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