Table of Contents
About this Book ix
Abbreviations xi
What is "Biblical Aramaic"? 1
From The Phoenician to the Aramaic Writing System 3
Consonants and Syllables 3
The Development of Specific Phonemes in Aramaic and Hebrew 5
Masoretic Vowel Signs 10
Vowels and Vowel Signs 11
Exercise 1 Syllabic Structure of BA Words 14
Differences between Aramaic and Hebrew Vowels 15
Exercise 2 Aramaic and Hebrew Word Comparisons 17
Ketib and Qere 17
The Noun 19
Gender 19
Absolute and Construct States 20
The Determinate (Emphatic) State 21
Exercise 3 Basic noun parsings 22
Particular Groups of Nouns 22
Nouns Ending in &cgpK;- (-û) and &cgpL;- (-î) 22
Nouns Ending in &cgpA;- 24
Important Individual Nouns 24
&cgpB;&cgpIbbar; "father" 24
&cgpD;&cgpBcdotbbarfn; "son" 24
&cgpH;&cgpJbT;&cgpEEcddot; "associate, partner" 24
&cgpA;&cgpNcdotvtwodot;&cgpSbdot; "word, matter" 24
&cgpC;&cgpRbdiahellip; "name" 25
Nouns with Suffixes 25
Exercise 4 Nouns with suffixes 27
Adjectives 27
Numerals 28
Ordinal Numbers 28
Cardinal Numbers 29
Gentilics 30
Prepositions 30
Pronouns 32
Personal Pronouns 32
Demonstrative Pronouns ("This," "These/Those") 33
The Verb 35
The Perfect 35
Exercise 5 Perfect forms (base conjugation) 36
The Imperfect 37
Exercise 6 Imperfect forms (base conjugation) 38
The Imperative 33
Exercise 7 Imperative forms (base conjugation) 39
The Jussive 39
The Conjugations 40
Basic Verbal Patterns 41
Exercise 8 Perfect forms in various conjugations 46
Exercise 9 Imperfect forms in various conjugations 46
The Participle 47
Exercise 10 Participle forms in various conjugations 49
The Infinitive 50
Exercise 11 Infinitive forms in various conjugations 51
Exercise 12 Mixed forms 51
Verbs with Suffixes 52
Imperfect Forms with Suffixes and Energic Nun (-inn/-in) 53
Exercise 13 Verbs with suffixes 54
Weak Verbs 54
Roots Beginning with &cgpJ; (I n) 55
Roots Beginning with &cgpL; (I y/w) 55
Roots Beginning with &cgpI; (I&rhookipa;) 55
Roots with a Long Vowel in Middle Position (Hollow Roots; II î/û) 56
Roots Ending in &cgpA; (III y) 56
&cgpA;&cgpH;&cgpI;/&cgpIbT;&cgpH;&cgpI; 57
Roots with Identical Second and Third Consonants (Geminate Roots; II=III) 57
Verbs with &cgpH;, &cgpM;, or &cgpD; 58
Exercise 14 Weak verbs 58
Special Verbs 59
&cgpT;&cgpN;&cgpA; "go" 59
&cgpF;&cgpN;&cgpA; "go up" 59
&cgpM;&cgpE;&cgpL; "know" 60
&cgpA;&cgpK;&cgpA; "be" 60
&cgpD;&cgpB;&cgpI; "perish" 60
Exercise 15 Weak verbs/special verbs with suffixes 61
Exercise 16 Mixed forms (II) 61
Syntax 63
Morphosyntax 63
Genitive Chains 63
Exercise 17 Genitive chains 64
The Particle of Existence &cgpL;&cgpHbbar;&cgpIbtwodot; / &cgpL;&cgpHbbar; &cgpL;&cgpIbtwodot; 65
The Accusative Particle &cgpH;&cgpL; 66
&cgpN; as Accusative Particle 66
The Interrogative Particle &cgpA; 66
The Particles &cgpA;&cgpSbtwodot; and &cgpY;&cgpSbbar; 67
Tenses and Aspects 67
The Perfect 68
The Participle 68
Participle and Perfect as a Combined Tense 69
The Phrase &cgpD;&cgpS;&cgpI;&cgpK; &cgpA;&cgpJ;&cgpM; 70
Participle and Imperative as a Combined Tense 70
The Imperfect 70
Impersonal Speech 71
Exercise 18 Impersonal speech 72
Word Order 72
Exercise 19 Word order 74
Narrative Syntax 74
Perfect and Participle as Narrative Tenses 75
Circumstantial Clauses 76
Changing Word Order between Predicate and Subject 76
Analytic and Synthetic Syntax 77
Analytic Elements 78
The Particle &cgpL;&cgpEcdotbdot; 78
Exercise 20 The Use of &cgpL;&cgpEcdotbdot; 79
&cgpL;&cgpEcdotbdot; Compound Conjunctions 79
Other Conjunctions 80
Exercise 21 Conjunctions 81
Synthetic Syntax 82
Implicit Subjugation 82
Implicit Attributive Clauses 83
Word List 84
Persian and Greek Loanwords 91
Comparative Word List (Aramaic/Hebrew) 93
Idiomatic Expressions 95
Appendix 1 The Zakkur Inscription 98
Appendix 2 Aramaic Samples from Qumran 101
Abram's Prayer for God's Help 101
Levi's Farewell Speech: A Praise of Wisdom 102
King Nabonidus's Prayer 103
Appendix 3 Two Sayings from the Wisdom of Ahiqar 105
Answers to Exercises 107
Paradigms 120
The Perfect 120
The Imperfect 129
The Imperative 135
The Jussive 137
The Participle 139
The Infinitive 144
