In this volume—the first complete history of Aramaic from its origins to the present day—Holger Gzella provides an accessible overview of the language perhaps most well known for being spoken by Jesus of Nazareth. Gzella, one of the world’s foremost Aramaicists, begins with the earliest evidence of Aramaic in inscriptions from the beginning of the first millennium BCE, then traces its emergence as the first world language when it became the administrative tongue of the great ancient Near Eastern empires. He also pays due diligence to the sacred role of Aramaic within Judaism, its place in the Islamic world, and its contact with other regional languages, before concluding with a glimpse into modern uses of Aramaic. Although Aramaic never had a unified political or cultural context in which to gain traction, it nevertheless flourished in the Middle East for an extensive period, allowing for widespread cultural exchange between diverse groups of people. In tracing the historical thread of the Aramaic language, readers can also gain a stronger understanding of the rise and fall of civilizations, religions, and cultures in that region over the course of three millennia. Aramaic: A History of the First World Language is visually supplemented by maps, charts, and other images for an immersive reading experience, providing scholars and casual readers alike with an engaging overview of one of the most consequential world languages in history.
Aramaic is a constant thread running through the various civilizations of the Near East, ancient and modern, from 1000 BCE to the present, and has been the language of small principalities, world empires, and a fair share of the Jewish-Christian tradition. Holger Gzella describes its cultural and linguistic history as a continuous evolution from its beginnings to the advent of Islam. For the first time the individual phases of the language, their socio-historical underpinnings, and the textual sources are discussed comprehensively in light of the latest linguistic and historical research and with ample attention to scribal traditions, multilingualism, and language as a marker of cultural self-awareness. Many new observations on Aramaic are thereby integrated into a coherent historical framework.
This study offers a fresh appreciation of the various literary elements and genres that constitute Daniel 8 as a whole, namely the narrative frame, the vision report itself as well as its application to Jewish history under Antiochus IV. While situating the message of this chapter within the Book of Daniel, it also shows the importance of the Ancient Near Eastern context for the understanding of biblical imagery. In that perspective the work gives a thorough treatment of the syntax of Hebrew verbs and other philological matters that have a special bearing on biblical interpretation. This book includes the full Hebrew text of Daniel 8, with a translation on facing pages, followed by textual-critical observations and an extensive review of the principal ancient versions of Daniel 8, focusing on their individual linguistic character and style as well as their relationship to the Hebrew version. Thus, while opening up new paths in biblical hermeneutics, this discussion sheds new light on methods of translation and interpretation in antiquity.? This monograph makes one of the most challenging biblical texts more accessible to serious students of the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near Eastern languages in general.
Aramaic is a constant thread running through the various civilizations of the Near East, ancient and modern, from 1000 BCE to the present, and has been the language of small principalities, world empires, and a fair share of the Jewish-Christian tradition. Holger Gzella describes its cultural and linguistic history as a continuous evolution from its beginnings to the advent of Islam. For the first time the individual phases of the language, their socio-historical underpinnings, and the textual sources are discussed comprehensively in light of the latest linguistic and historical research and with ample attention to scribal traditions, multilingualism, and language as a marker of cultural self-awareness. Many new observations on Aramaic are thereby integrated into a coherent historical framework.
In this volume—the first complete history of Aramaic from its origins to the present day—Holger Gzella provides an accessible overview of the language perhaps most well known for being spoken by Jesus of Nazareth. Gzella, one of the world’s foremost Aramaicists, begins with the earliest evidence of Aramaic in inscriptions from the beginning of the first millennium BCE, then traces its emergence as the first world language when it became the administrative tongue of the great ancient Near Eastern empires. He also pays due diligence to the sacred role of Aramaic within Judaism, its place in the Islamic world, and its contact with other regional languages, before concluding with a glimpse into modern uses of Aramaic. Although Aramaic never had a unified political or cultural context in which to gain traction, it nevertheless flourished in the Middle East for an extensive period, allowing for widespread cultural exchange between diverse groups of people. In tracing the historical thread of the Aramaic language, readers can also gain a stronger understanding of the rise and fall of civilizations, religions, and cultures in that region over the course of three millennia. Aramaic: A History of the First World Language is visually supplemented by maps, charts, and other images for an immersive reading experience, providing scholars and casual readers alike with an engaging overview of one of the most consequential world languages in history.
This study offers a fresh appreciation of the various literary elements and genres that constitute Daniel 8 as a whole, namely the narrative frame, the vision report itself as well as its application to Jewish history under Antiochus IV. While situating the message of this chapter within the Book of Daniel, it also shows the importance of the Ancient Near Eastern context for the understanding of biblical imagery. In that perspective the work gives a thorough treatment of the syntax of Hebrew verbs and other philological matters that have a special bearing on biblical interpretation. This book includes the full Hebrew text of Daniel 8, with a translation on facing pages, followed by textual-critical observations and an extensive review of the principal ancient versions of Daniel 8, focusing on their individual linguistic character and style as well as their relationship to the Hebrew version. Thus, while opening up new paths in biblical hermeneutics, this discussion sheds new light on methods of translation and interpretation in antiquity.? This monograph makes one of the most challenging biblical texts more accessible to serious students of the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near Eastern languages in general.
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