Sixty-six colleagues, friends, and former students of Edward L. Greenstein present essays honorin... more Sixty-six colleagues, friends, and former students of Edward L. Greenstein present essays honoring him upon his retirement. Volume 1 includes essays on ancient Near Eastern studies, Biblical Hebrew and Northwest Semitic languages, and biblical law and narrative. Volume 2 includes essays on biblical wisdom and poetry, biblical reception and exegesis, and postmodern readings of the Bible.
The goal of this book is to present a revised edition of the Sumerian Lamentation over the Destru... more The goal of this book is to present a revised edition of the Sumerian Lamentation over the Destruction of Ur, a lament bewailing the fall of the glorious Ur III kingdom in 2004 B.C.E.
Lamentation is a well-known genre in world literature. Laments of various types are part of the cultural legacy and literary corpus of many societies, from ancient to modern times, and Sumerian literature is no exception. However, Mesopotamian lamentation literature includes a significant body of laments belonging to a unique and almost unparalleled genre—the genre of lamentations over the destruction of cities and temples. This genre has no known ancient parallel outside the ancient Near East; more specifically, it is almost exclusively attested in Sumerian and biblical literature. The Lamentation over the Destruction of Ur is the most famous and important exemplar of the city-laments.
In this updated and revised publication of the Lamentation over the Destruction of Ur, Samet provides an introductory discussion of Sumerian city-laments in general; a full presentation of the text of the Ur Lament, including transliteration, translation, and an extensive philological commentary; and an accounting of the extant textual witness in score format. Plates with color photos of many texts are included.
We discuss the evolution of the distributive double noun (quivis) in biblical Hebrew. This constr... more We discuss the evolution of the distributive double noun (quivis) in biblical Hebrew. This construction developed from an asyndeton in Classical Biblical Hebrew into a syndeton in Late Biblical Hebrew, a process that makes it an important diachronic marker in classifying and analyzing these two varieties of the language.
Human Interaction with the Natural World in Wisdom Literature and Beyond: Essays in Honour of Tova L. Forti, 2023
For legal purposes the Acknowledgments on p. xxvii constitute an extension of this copyright page... more For legal purposes the Acknowledgments on p. xxvii constitute an extension of this copyright page. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc does not have any control over, or responsibility for, any third-party websites referred to or in this book. All internet addresses given in this book were correct at the time of going to press. The author and publisher regret any inconvenience caused if addresses have changed or sites have ceased to exist, but can accept no responsibility for any such changes.
This MOOC is an introduction to reading the Bible against the background of the archaeological fi... more This MOOC is an introduction to reading the Bible against the background of the archaeological findings from the Ancient Near East. It introduces students to the world of Israel’s neighboring civilizations in biblical times, and presents the field of comparative study, that examines the relationship between the Bible and these civilizations.
The course combines interactive video lectures, rich images of many relevant findings, a variety of online activities, and short videos filmed at the British Museum. Suggested for free on edX.com., this is an introductory course which may fit students in different stages of their biblical studies.
Instructors may selectively use materials from this free course as a reference source, or integrate parts of the course that they deem relevant into their teaching. The lessons will be available on edX.com gradually: each week a new lesson will be published. I am happy however to privately share with colleagues in advance some of the materials before they are published. After the course end date, all the materials will be available online for free use.
Revue d'assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale, 2022
Tous droits réservés pour tous pays. La reproduction ou représentation de cet article, notamment ... more Tous droits réservés pour tous pays. La reproduction ou représentation de cet article, notamment par photocopie, n'est autorisée que dans les limites des conditions générales d'utilisation du site ou, le cas échéant, des conditions générales de la licence souscrite par votre établissement. Toute autre reproduction ou représentation, en tout ou partie, sous quelque forme et de quelque manière que ce soit, est interdite sauf accord préalable et écrit de l'éditeur, en dehors des cas prévus par la législation en vigueur en France. Il est précisé que son stockage dans une base de données est également interdit.
This paper examines the image of family life as reflected in the didactic wisdom literature from ... more This paper examines the image of family life as reflected in the didactic wisdom literature from Mesopotamia. This body of texts, documented from the mid third-millennium to the Hellenistic Period, includes proverbs and instructions written in Sumerian and Akkadian. The paper reviews a variety of exemplary proverbs and instructions dealing with family relations, investigating the ways in which they reflect the image and reality of contemporary family institution. The examination reveals a fundamental difference between proverbs and instructions. The instructions present a didactic approach, describing an ideal patriarchal family who lives according to traditional values of discipline and hierarchy. Proverbs, on the other hand, allow a glimpse into the reality of Mesopotamian everyday life, depicting their family relations from a popular perspective, often accompanied by amusing undertones. Issues such as obedience to family authorities, power balance in the family, honor and friendship among family members, sexual fidelity, and even the very importance of the family institution as part of the social order, are all treated differently by each sub-genre. Additional differences between proverbs and instructions are revealed on the dialectological and registerial levels: proverbs sometimes use the Emesal sociolect, which is associated with women, while instructions consistently use the main dialect. Additionally, proverbs tend to use a popular register, whereas instructions employ a higher, standard one. In light of these findings we may portray Mesopotamian proverbs as popular literature, which gives voice to Sumerian-speaking men and women, belonging to various social classes and groups. The last part of this paper is dedicated to a brief discussion of the implications of the above conclusions on the scholarly discussion of the dating, origin and function of Mesopotamian didactic wisdom.
This paper examines redactional theories regarding the development of the Book of Proverbs from a... more This paper examines redactional theories regarding the development of the Book of Proverbs from a comparative perspective. Building on the methodology known as Empirical Models for Biblical Criticism, the paper explores patterns of development and redaction in the Mesopotamian proverb collection The Instructions of Shuruppak, including growth of collections, editorial use of opening and concluding formulas, and religiously-oriented redaction. These, in turn, serve as an illustration for very similar processes hypothesized by Biblicists regarding the development of biblical wisdom collections.
Ve-'Ed Ya'aleh (Gen 2:6): Essays in Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies Presented to Edward L. Greenstein, 2021
The purpose of this paper is to identify and re-interpret the hitherto misinterpreted term bēn ba... more The purpose of this paper is to identify and re-interpret the hitherto misinterpreted term bēn bayît in ancient Hebrew. The term occurs twice in the Bible (Gen 15:3; Qoh 2:7), and several dozens times in Rabbinical sources. In both corpora, the unique administrative meaning of bēn bayît has been overlooked by scholars, who erroneously identified it with other terms: in Biblical Hebrew, bēn bayît has been identified with yĕlîd bayı̂t, and subsequently understood as a type of slave. In Rabbinical Hebrew, administrative bēn bayît has been assimilated into the frequent meaning 'one of the household'. These misinterpretations gave rise to several exegetic problems that are discussed throughout the paper. The paper presents various Ancient Near Eastern sources which indicate that bēn bayît is a specific administrative term, which designates a head manager serving a king or a wealthy master. The term was introduced into Ancient Near Eastern languages by Achaemenid bureaucracy, becoming known in Akkadian, Aramaic and Hebrew. In light of this data, the question of the dating and textual history of the two relevant biblical sources is discussed. While in Qohelet the late term bēn bayît joins dozens of other late linguistic traits, in Genesis 15 it remains isolated within its Classical Biblical Hebrew context. It is therefore suggested that the occurrence of bēn bayît in Gensis 15 does not indicate the late date of the chapter to which it belongs, but rather the late date of an interpretive gloss (15:3) inserted into an earlier text for the purpose of clarifying the enigmatic verse which precedes it (15:2).
The language of Qoheleth is characterized by an awkward style and an unusual vocabulary. Past stu... more The language of Qoheleth is characterized by an awkward style and an unusual vocabulary. Past studies have assigned these peculiarities to linguistic factors, assuming that the book reflects an underrepresented dialect or register. The current study aims to expand the boundaries of this discourse by introducing extra-linguistic considerations into the discussion. Qoheleth is the only biblical book that is purely philosophical, focusing on abstract issues such as the purpose of life and the problem of free will. Such philosophical discussions require the use of an abstract terminology. The basic toolkit of any philosopher consists of conceptual phrases such as "time," "space," "cosmos," "humanity," "meaning," etc. Yet abstract vocabulary was meager in the Hebrew at the author's disposal. Paving a pioneering way in the realm of thought, Qoheleth's author had to create a terminological system capable of expressing his new ideas. This article traces the ways in which the need for a personally-customized philosophical idiom shaped Qoheleth's language. Exploring the origins of eleven key-terms in the book, this article reveals the dynamics that gave rise to Qoheleth's personal lexicon. These include generalization and conceptualization of the extant semantic fields of certain terms in order to re-invent them as personal expressions reflecting the author's philosophy. The author takes advantage of the "linguistic availability" of certain terms, resulting from their foreignness or rareness, makes them better-suited in the author’s view to bear newly created meanings. Taken together, Qohelet’s neologisms constitute a personal idiolect carefully designed to convey the author’s unique thought.
This paper discusses the stem variance of the root ḥbq in the Bible, suggesting that its inconsis... more This paper discusses the stem variance of the root ḥbq in the Bible, suggesting that its inconsistent conjugation does not reflect the original Biblical Hebrew, but rather results from an anachronistic pronunciation created by the Masoretes. The paper reviews the research of Masoretic anachronisms and the methodologies developed to identify them, applying these to the case of the root ḥbq. It concludes that ḥbq belongs to a specific type of Masoretic anachronism, in which original Qal forms were misvocalized by the Masoretes as Piel under the influence of Mishnaic Hebrew. After presenting biblical and extra-biblical evidence to support this conclusion, the paper discusses some of its main implications for the diachronic study of ancient Hebrew: the "late spelling paradox," the scope of the phenomenon of substituting Piel for Qal, and the relation between Masoretic anachronisms and the scholarly debate about the linguistic reliability of the Masoretic text.
This paper proposes a new linguistic method for dating the Book of Qohelet. While linguistic meth... more This paper proposes a new linguistic method for dating the Book of Qohelet. While linguistic methods employed in previous studies of Qohelet led to the conclusion that it is a post-exilic book, they could not yield a more accurate dating. The methodology proposed here identifies calques in Qohelet that reflect Aramaic phrases of uneven distribution-i.e., phrases that occur only in the Aramaic dialects of a specific period. Two Aramaic calques serve as test cases: בשל אשר and בצל אשר. Tracing the inner-Aramaic development and distribution of their Aramaic equivalents, I conclude that these phrases evolved in Aramaic in the Hellenistic period, thus excluding a Persian-period dating of the relevant calques. The paper then briefly refers to the implications of these findings for the contextualization and interpretation of the Book of Qohelet.
This paper identifies a hitherto unknown particle in Biblical Hebrew: The copulative-appositional... more This paper identifies a hitherto unknown particle in Biblical Hebrew: The copulative-appositional lamed. This lamed denotes equality or equivalence between (1) a noun phrase and its appositional and attributive modifiers; and (2) a noun phrase and its nominal predicate. Secondarily, the particle also came to mark the last item in a list. The paper collects 45 occurrences of the copulative-appositional lamed, which interestingly appear in texts from the sixth century BCE and in the Pentateuchal source P. The paper then discusses the implications of these distribution patterns, and suggests several possible scenarios for the origin of the copulative-appositional lamed.
This paper examines the widespread classification of ʾt before the nominative as a trademark of L... more This paper examines the widespread classification of ʾt before the nominative as a trademark of Late Biblical Hebrew. The paper begins by defining the nature and scope of this syntactic usage and reviewing its possible explanations. Next, a full list of the relevant examples is presented and alleged post-biblical cognates are examined. This data leads to the conclusion that contrary to the common scholarly sentiment, ʾt nominativi cannot be considered a late feature within Biblical Hebrew. The evidence from Mishnaic Hebrew that was erroneously associated with ʾt nominativi enables, however, the identification of a hitherto unknown late biblical structure, namely, the demonstrative ʾt ʾšr. Biblical occurrences of this usage are recognizable in Jeremiah, Zechariah, and Qohelet. The paper concludes that while ʾt nominativi is by no means a late usage, the demonstrative ʾt ʾšr may be classified as late with more certainty. This conclusion calls for a re-examination of the syntactic profile of LBH as drawn in the influential works of the field, chiefly those by Kropat and Polzin.
The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Wisdom Literature, 2020
This essay attempts to give the reader an up to date review of the corpus referred to by scholars... more This essay attempts to give the reader an up to date review of the corpus referred to by scholars as Mesopotamian wisdom. The following types of wisdom are presented and discussed: proverbs and instructions; vanity literature; pious-sufferer compositions; perceptive hymns; riddles; fables; disputation poems; and folktales. For each type, a full list of currently known texts is presented, along with a review of its main characteristics and its relation to the concept of wisdom.
This paper examines the message of Qohelet’s Catalogue of Times and its interpretive appendix. Sc... more This paper examines the message of Qohelet’s Catalogue of Times and its interpretive appendix. Scholars disagree on the extent to which this unit deviates from the traditional free-will theology of the Bible. The paper presents a fresh reading of the passage, which sheds new light on the problem of determinism in Qohelet. Beginning by a novel delineation for the unit, it then suggests fresh solutions for the main exegetical cruxes of the passage (3:14, 15, 17), and finally presents an innovative, somewhat radical, understanding of Qohelet’s approach towards the problem of free will.
The last decade has witnessed a lively scholarly debate regarding the diachrony of biblical Hebre... more The last decade has witnessed a lively scholarly debate regarding the diachrony of biblical Hebrew and the validity of the differentiation between CBH and LBH. Lately, two of the prominent challengers of the traditional views have criticised the diachronic school from a new perspective, arguing against the use of the Masoretic Text as a basis for the linguistic discussion. This paper seeks to establish the validity of the Masoretic Text as a basis for diachronic linguistic analysis from the angle of Tiberian vocalisation. Three case studies from the Book of Qoheleth are examined, each involving an LBH component whose existence in the text is revealed to us only through Masoretic vocalisation. The case studies include the assimilation of third aleph with third he participles; the use of the abstract nominal pattern qitlôn; and the feminine demonstrative ֹז .ה The case studies show that the Masoretes had preserved the difference between CBH and LBH pronunciations, although they were probably unaware of the historical nature of these different pronunciations and of their diachronic dimension. These findings testify to a strong and stable oral Masoretic tradition which accompanied the written one. Both were transmitted for many centuries, and they were, in many cases, precise to the extant they could reflect dialectological differences within Biblical Hebrew. The paper concludes with a comment regarding Masoretic anachronisms and their place in the overall picture of Masoretic traditions.
Sixty-six colleagues, friends, and former students of Edward L. Greenstein present essays honorin... more Sixty-six colleagues, friends, and former students of Edward L. Greenstein present essays honoring him upon his retirement. Volume 1 includes essays on ancient Near Eastern studies, Biblical Hebrew and Northwest Semitic languages, and biblical law and narrative. Volume 2 includes essays on biblical wisdom and poetry, biblical reception and exegesis, and postmodern readings of the Bible.
The goal of this book is to present a revised edition of the Sumerian Lamentation over the Destru... more The goal of this book is to present a revised edition of the Sumerian Lamentation over the Destruction of Ur, a lament bewailing the fall of the glorious Ur III kingdom in 2004 B.C.E.
Lamentation is a well-known genre in world literature. Laments of various types are part of the cultural legacy and literary corpus of many societies, from ancient to modern times, and Sumerian literature is no exception. However, Mesopotamian lamentation literature includes a significant body of laments belonging to a unique and almost unparalleled genre—the genre of lamentations over the destruction of cities and temples. This genre has no known ancient parallel outside the ancient Near East; more specifically, it is almost exclusively attested in Sumerian and biblical literature. The Lamentation over the Destruction of Ur is the most famous and important exemplar of the city-laments.
In this updated and revised publication of the Lamentation over the Destruction of Ur, Samet provides an introductory discussion of Sumerian city-laments in general; a full presentation of the text of the Ur Lament, including transliteration, translation, and an extensive philological commentary; and an accounting of the extant textual witness in score format. Plates with color photos of many texts are included.
We discuss the evolution of the distributive double noun (quivis) in biblical Hebrew. This constr... more We discuss the evolution of the distributive double noun (quivis) in biblical Hebrew. This construction developed from an asyndeton in Classical Biblical Hebrew into a syndeton in Late Biblical Hebrew, a process that makes it an important diachronic marker in classifying and analyzing these two varieties of the language.
Human Interaction with the Natural World in Wisdom Literature and Beyond: Essays in Honour of Tova L. Forti, 2023
For legal purposes the Acknowledgments on p. xxvii constitute an extension of this copyright page... more For legal purposes the Acknowledgments on p. xxvii constitute an extension of this copyright page. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc does not have any control over, or responsibility for, any third-party websites referred to or in this book. All internet addresses given in this book were correct at the time of going to press. The author and publisher regret any inconvenience caused if addresses have changed or sites have ceased to exist, but can accept no responsibility for any such changes.
This MOOC is an introduction to reading the Bible against the background of the archaeological fi... more This MOOC is an introduction to reading the Bible against the background of the archaeological findings from the Ancient Near East. It introduces students to the world of Israel’s neighboring civilizations in biblical times, and presents the field of comparative study, that examines the relationship between the Bible and these civilizations.
The course combines interactive video lectures, rich images of many relevant findings, a variety of online activities, and short videos filmed at the British Museum. Suggested for free on edX.com., this is an introductory course which may fit students in different stages of their biblical studies.
Instructors may selectively use materials from this free course as a reference source, or integrate parts of the course that they deem relevant into their teaching. The lessons will be available on edX.com gradually: each week a new lesson will be published. I am happy however to privately share with colleagues in advance some of the materials before they are published. After the course end date, all the materials will be available online for free use.
Revue d'assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale, 2022
Tous droits réservés pour tous pays. La reproduction ou représentation de cet article, notamment ... more Tous droits réservés pour tous pays. La reproduction ou représentation de cet article, notamment par photocopie, n'est autorisée que dans les limites des conditions générales d'utilisation du site ou, le cas échéant, des conditions générales de la licence souscrite par votre établissement. Toute autre reproduction ou représentation, en tout ou partie, sous quelque forme et de quelque manière que ce soit, est interdite sauf accord préalable et écrit de l'éditeur, en dehors des cas prévus par la législation en vigueur en France. Il est précisé que son stockage dans une base de données est également interdit.
This paper examines the image of family life as reflected in the didactic wisdom literature from ... more This paper examines the image of family life as reflected in the didactic wisdom literature from Mesopotamia. This body of texts, documented from the mid third-millennium to the Hellenistic Period, includes proverbs and instructions written in Sumerian and Akkadian. The paper reviews a variety of exemplary proverbs and instructions dealing with family relations, investigating the ways in which they reflect the image and reality of contemporary family institution. The examination reveals a fundamental difference between proverbs and instructions. The instructions present a didactic approach, describing an ideal patriarchal family who lives according to traditional values of discipline and hierarchy. Proverbs, on the other hand, allow a glimpse into the reality of Mesopotamian everyday life, depicting their family relations from a popular perspective, often accompanied by amusing undertones. Issues such as obedience to family authorities, power balance in the family, honor and friendship among family members, sexual fidelity, and even the very importance of the family institution as part of the social order, are all treated differently by each sub-genre. Additional differences between proverbs and instructions are revealed on the dialectological and registerial levels: proverbs sometimes use the Emesal sociolect, which is associated with women, while instructions consistently use the main dialect. Additionally, proverbs tend to use a popular register, whereas instructions employ a higher, standard one. In light of these findings we may portray Mesopotamian proverbs as popular literature, which gives voice to Sumerian-speaking men and women, belonging to various social classes and groups. The last part of this paper is dedicated to a brief discussion of the implications of the above conclusions on the scholarly discussion of the dating, origin and function of Mesopotamian didactic wisdom.
This paper examines redactional theories regarding the development of the Book of Proverbs from a... more This paper examines redactional theories regarding the development of the Book of Proverbs from a comparative perspective. Building on the methodology known as Empirical Models for Biblical Criticism, the paper explores patterns of development and redaction in the Mesopotamian proverb collection The Instructions of Shuruppak, including growth of collections, editorial use of opening and concluding formulas, and religiously-oriented redaction. These, in turn, serve as an illustration for very similar processes hypothesized by Biblicists regarding the development of biblical wisdom collections.
Ve-'Ed Ya'aleh (Gen 2:6): Essays in Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies Presented to Edward L. Greenstein, 2021
The purpose of this paper is to identify and re-interpret the hitherto misinterpreted term bēn ba... more The purpose of this paper is to identify and re-interpret the hitherto misinterpreted term bēn bayît in ancient Hebrew. The term occurs twice in the Bible (Gen 15:3; Qoh 2:7), and several dozens times in Rabbinical sources. In both corpora, the unique administrative meaning of bēn bayît has been overlooked by scholars, who erroneously identified it with other terms: in Biblical Hebrew, bēn bayît has been identified with yĕlîd bayı̂t, and subsequently understood as a type of slave. In Rabbinical Hebrew, administrative bēn bayît has been assimilated into the frequent meaning 'one of the household'. These misinterpretations gave rise to several exegetic problems that are discussed throughout the paper. The paper presents various Ancient Near Eastern sources which indicate that bēn bayît is a specific administrative term, which designates a head manager serving a king or a wealthy master. The term was introduced into Ancient Near Eastern languages by Achaemenid bureaucracy, becoming known in Akkadian, Aramaic and Hebrew. In light of this data, the question of the dating and textual history of the two relevant biblical sources is discussed. While in Qohelet the late term bēn bayît joins dozens of other late linguistic traits, in Genesis 15 it remains isolated within its Classical Biblical Hebrew context. It is therefore suggested that the occurrence of bēn bayît in Gensis 15 does not indicate the late date of the chapter to which it belongs, but rather the late date of an interpretive gloss (15:3) inserted into an earlier text for the purpose of clarifying the enigmatic verse which precedes it (15:2).
The language of Qoheleth is characterized by an awkward style and an unusual vocabulary. Past stu... more The language of Qoheleth is characterized by an awkward style and an unusual vocabulary. Past studies have assigned these peculiarities to linguistic factors, assuming that the book reflects an underrepresented dialect or register. The current study aims to expand the boundaries of this discourse by introducing extra-linguistic considerations into the discussion. Qoheleth is the only biblical book that is purely philosophical, focusing on abstract issues such as the purpose of life and the problem of free will. Such philosophical discussions require the use of an abstract terminology. The basic toolkit of any philosopher consists of conceptual phrases such as "time," "space," "cosmos," "humanity," "meaning," etc. Yet abstract vocabulary was meager in the Hebrew at the author's disposal. Paving a pioneering way in the realm of thought, Qoheleth's author had to create a terminological system capable of expressing his new ideas. This article traces the ways in which the need for a personally-customized philosophical idiom shaped Qoheleth's language. Exploring the origins of eleven key-terms in the book, this article reveals the dynamics that gave rise to Qoheleth's personal lexicon. These include generalization and conceptualization of the extant semantic fields of certain terms in order to re-invent them as personal expressions reflecting the author's philosophy. The author takes advantage of the "linguistic availability" of certain terms, resulting from their foreignness or rareness, makes them better-suited in the author’s view to bear newly created meanings. Taken together, Qohelet’s neologisms constitute a personal idiolect carefully designed to convey the author’s unique thought.
This paper discusses the stem variance of the root ḥbq in the Bible, suggesting that its inconsis... more This paper discusses the stem variance of the root ḥbq in the Bible, suggesting that its inconsistent conjugation does not reflect the original Biblical Hebrew, but rather results from an anachronistic pronunciation created by the Masoretes. The paper reviews the research of Masoretic anachronisms and the methodologies developed to identify them, applying these to the case of the root ḥbq. It concludes that ḥbq belongs to a specific type of Masoretic anachronism, in which original Qal forms were misvocalized by the Masoretes as Piel under the influence of Mishnaic Hebrew. After presenting biblical and extra-biblical evidence to support this conclusion, the paper discusses some of its main implications for the diachronic study of ancient Hebrew: the "late spelling paradox," the scope of the phenomenon of substituting Piel for Qal, and the relation between Masoretic anachronisms and the scholarly debate about the linguistic reliability of the Masoretic text.
This paper proposes a new linguistic method for dating the Book of Qohelet. While linguistic meth... more This paper proposes a new linguistic method for dating the Book of Qohelet. While linguistic methods employed in previous studies of Qohelet led to the conclusion that it is a post-exilic book, they could not yield a more accurate dating. The methodology proposed here identifies calques in Qohelet that reflect Aramaic phrases of uneven distribution-i.e., phrases that occur only in the Aramaic dialects of a specific period. Two Aramaic calques serve as test cases: בשל אשר and בצל אשר. Tracing the inner-Aramaic development and distribution of their Aramaic equivalents, I conclude that these phrases evolved in Aramaic in the Hellenistic period, thus excluding a Persian-period dating of the relevant calques. The paper then briefly refers to the implications of these findings for the contextualization and interpretation of the Book of Qohelet.
This paper identifies a hitherto unknown particle in Biblical Hebrew: The copulative-appositional... more This paper identifies a hitherto unknown particle in Biblical Hebrew: The copulative-appositional lamed. This lamed denotes equality or equivalence between (1) a noun phrase and its appositional and attributive modifiers; and (2) a noun phrase and its nominal predicate. Secondarily, the particle also came to mark the last item in a list. The paper collects 45 occurrences of the copulative-appositional lamed, which interestingly appear in texts from the sixth century BCE and in the Pentateuchal source P. The paper then discusses the implications of these distribution patterns, and suggests several possible scenarios for the origin of the copulative-appositional lamed.
This paper examines the widespread classification of ʾt before the nominative as a trademark of L... more This paper examines the widespread classification of ʾt before the nominative as a trademark of Late Biblical Hebrew. The paper begins by defining the nature and scope of this syntactic usage and reviewing its possible explanations. Next, a full list of the relevant examples is presented and alleged post-biblical cognates are examined. This data leads to the conclusion that contrary to the common scholarly sentiment, ʾt nominativi cannot be considered a late feature within Biblical Hebrew. The evidence from Mishnaic Hebrew that was erroneously associated with ʾt nominativi enables, however, the identification of a hitherto unknown late biblical structure, namely, the demonstrative ʾt ʾšr. Biblical occurrences of this usage are recognizable in Jeremiah, Zechariah, and Qohelet. The paper concludes that while ʾt nominativi is by no means a late usage, the demonstrative ʾt ʾšr may be classified as late with more certainty. This conclusion calls for a re-examination of the syntactic profile of LBH as drawn in the influential works of the field, chiefly those by Kropat and Polzin.
The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Wisdom Literature, 2020
This essay attempts to give the reader an up to date review of the corpus referred to by scholars... more This essay attempts to give the reader an up to date review of the corpus referred to by scholars as Mesopotamian wisdom. The following types of wisdom are presented and discussed: proverbs and instructions; vanity literature; pious-sufferer compositions; perceptive hymns; riddles; fables; disputation poems; and folktales. For each type, a full list of currently known texts is presented, along with a review of its main characteristics and its relation to the concept of wisdom.
This paper examines the message of Qohelet’s Catalogue of Times and its interpretive appendix. Sc... more This paper examines the message of Qohelet’s Catalogue of Times and its interpretive appendix. Scholars disagree on the extent to which this unit deviates from the traditional free-will theology of the Bible. The paper presents a fresh reading of the passage, which sheds new light on the problem of determinism in Qohelet. Beginning by a novel delineation for the unit, it then suggests fresh solutions for the main exegetical cruxes of the passage (3:14, 15, 17), and finally presents an innovative, somewhat radical, understanding of Qohelet’s approach towards the problem of free will.
The last decade has witnessed a lively scholarly debate regarding the diachrony of biblical Hebre... more The last decade has witnessed a lively scholarly debate regarding the diachrony of biblical Hebrew and the validity of the differentiation between CBH and LBH. Lately, two of the prominent challengers of the traditional views have criticised the diachronic school from a new perspective, arguing against the use of the Masoretic Text as a basis for the linguistic discussion. This paper seeks to establish the validity of the Masoretic Text as a basis for diachronic linguistic analysis from the angle of Tiberian vocalisation. Three case studies from the Book of Qoheleth are examined, each involving an LBH component whose existence in the text is revealed to us only through Masoretic vocalisation. The case studies include the assimilation of third aleph with third he participles; the use of the abstract nominal pattern qitlôn; and the feminine demonstrative ֹז .ה The case studies show that the Masoretes had preserved the difference between CBH and LBH pronunciations, although they were probably unaware of the historical nature of these different pronunciations and of their diachronic dimension. These findings testify to a strong and stable oral Masoretic tradition which accompanied the written one. Both were transmitted for many centuries, and they were, in many cases, precise to the extant they could reflect dialectological differences within Biblical Hebrew. The paper concludes with a comment regarding Masoretic anachronisms and their place in the overall picture of Masoretic traditions.
This paper seeks to identify and re-interpret the hitherto misinterpreted term bēn bayît in ancie... more This paper seeks to identify and re-interpret the hitherto misinterpreted term bēn bayît in ancient Hebrew. The term occurs twice in the Bible (Gen 15:3; Qoh 2:7), and several dozens times in Rabbinical sources. In both corpuses, the unique administrative meaning of bēn bayît has been overlooked by scholars, who erroneously identified it with other terms: in Biblical Hebrew, bēn bayît has been identified with yĕlîd bayı̂t, and subsequently understood as a type of slave. In Rabbinical Hebrew, administrative bēn bayît has been assimilated into the frequent meaning 'one of the household'. These misinterpretations gave rise to several exegetic problems that are discussed throughout the paper. The paper presents various Ancient Near Eastern sources which indicate that bēn bayît is a specific administrative term, which designates a head manager serving a king or a wealthy master. The term was introduced into Ancient Near Eastern languages by Achaemenid bureaucracy, becoming known in Akkadian, Aramaic and Hebrew. In light of this data, the question of the dating and textual history of the two relevant biblical sources is discussed. While in Qohelet the late term bēn bayît joins dozens of other late linguistic traits, in Genesis 15 it remains isolated within its Classical Biblical Hebrew context. It is therefore suggested that the occurrence of bēn bayît in Gensis 15 does not indicate the late date of the chapter to which it belongs, but rather the late date of an interpretive gloss (15:3) inserted into an earlier text for the purpose of clarifying the enigmatic verse which precedes it (15:2).
This paper discusses the etymology and meaning of the hapax legomenon מנון in Proverbs 29:21, and... more This paper discusses the etymology and meaning of the hapax legomenon מנון in Proverbs 29:21, and its relevance for the problem of dating the Hezekian collection (Prov 25−29). Past suggestions for understanding מנון failed to identify a reliable cognate in Hebrew or in other Semitic languages. Interpretations which relied on the alleged occurrence of this term in Sirach 47:23 are irrelevant as well, since a careful examination of the relevant manuscript of Sirach does not confirm the reading מנון. In light of the occurrence of the LBH term מפנק in the same verse (Prov 29:21), it is suggested that מנון should be similarly understood in the context of Post-Biblical Hebrew. מנון is probably related to the Mishnaic verbal form מתנונה, "withering", with the point of the proverb being that a spoiled slave, pampered by his master from youth, will eventually become withered, that is, degenerate. The identification of the dialect of Proverbs 29:21 as LBH is followed by a discussion of the dating of the Hezekian collection to which it belongs. A linguistic survey of the Hezekian collection points to 7−9 proverbs which show signs of LBH, comprising approximately 5−7% of the total 137 proverbs included in the Hezekian collection. As to the remaining 95−93%, the general impression is that these proverbs do not reflect a perfectly successful post-exilic imitation, but rather a pre-exilic origin, in keeping with the information given in the collection's superscription (Prov 25:1). The last editor of this collection, however, was most probably a Second-Temple scholar who enriched the collection with newly coined proverbs, or, alternatively, modified some of the older proverbs under the influence of the LBH style.
The Israel Society for Assyriology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
The Samuel Noah Kramer Instit... more The Israel Society for Assyriology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies The Samuel Noah Kramer Institute of Assyriology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Bar-Ilan University The Humanities and Social Sciences Fund Conference Reading Mesopotamian Literature: Ancient and Modern Perspectives Celebrating 25 Years of the Publication of "In Those Distant Days: An Anthology of Mesopotamian Literature" by Jacob Klein and Shin Shifra March 27-29, 2023 | Beck Auditorium (Building 410) | Bar-Ilan University
The phrase "removing a garment on a cold day" in Proverbs 25,20 has long been recognized as the p... more The phrase "removing a garment on a cold day" in Proverbs 25,20 has long been recognized as the product of a scribal accident, with the second part of the previous verse ("relying on a deceiver in a day of trouble") distortedly dittographed. Consequently, the whole verse in its MT form was largely dismissed by scholars as an incomprehensible hybrid. Using tools of intertextuality, I would like to propose a new interpretation for the masoretic version of Proverbs 25,20, suggesting that what began as a mere dittography was reshaped by later scribes to become a proverb in its own right. This process, which probably occurred at a late stage in the redaction history of the book of Proverbs, may shed new light on several aspects of the formation and development of proverbs in the Hebrew Bible.
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Books by Nili Samet
Lamentation is a well-known genre in world literature. Laments of various types are part of the cultural legacy and literary corpus of many societies, from ancient to modern times, and Sumerian literature is no exception. However, Mesopotamian lamentation literature includes a significant body of laments belonging to a unique and almost unparalleled genre—the genre of lamentations over the destruction of cities and temples. This genre has no known ancient parallel outside the ancient Near East; more specifically, it is almost exclusively attested in Sumerian and biblical literature. The Lamentation over the Destruction of Ur is the most famous and important exemplar of the city-laments.
In this updated and revised publication of the Lamentation over the Destruction of Ur, Samet provides an introductory discussion of Sumerian city-laments in general; a full presentation of the text of the Ur Lament, including transliteration, translation, and an extensive philological commentary; and an accounting of the extant textual witness in score format. Plates with color photos of many texts are included.
Papers by Nili Samet
The course combines interactive video lectures, rich images of many relevant findings, a variety of online activities, and short videos filmed at the British Museum. Suggested for free on edX.com., this is an introductory course which may fit students in different stages of their biblical studies.
Instructors may selectively use materials from this free course as a reference source, or integrate parts of the course that they deem relevant into their teaching. The lessons will be available on edX.com gradually: each week a new lesson will be published. I am happy however to privately share with colleagues in advance some of the materials before they are published. After the course end date, all the materials will be available online for free use.
To enroll:
https://www.edx.org/course/the-bible-in-light-of-the-ancient-near-east-2
To preview some of the video lectures on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnzzkktt8Vs
To enroll in the Hebrew version of the course:
https://campus.gov.il/course/course-v1-biu-sandbox/
The paper presents various Ancient Near Eastern sources which indicate that bēn bayît is a specific administrative term, which designates a head manager serving a king or a wealthy master. The term was introduced into Ancient Near Eastern languages by Achaemenid bureaucracy, becoming known in Akkadian, Aramaic and Hebrew. In light of this data, the question of the dating and textual history of the two relevant biblical sources is discussed.
While in Qohelet the late term bēn bayît joins dozens of other late linguistic traits, in Genesis 15 it remains isolated within its Classical Biblical Hebrew context. It is therefore suggested that the occurrence of bēn bayît in Gensis 15 does not indicate the late date of the chapter to which it belongs, but rather the late date of an interpretive gloss (15:3) inserted into an earlier text for the purpose of clarifying the enigmatic verse which precedes it (15:2).
Lamentation is a well-known genre in world literature. Laments of various types are part of the cultural legacy and literary corpus of many societies, from ancient to modern times, and Sumerian literature is no exception. However, Mesopotamian lamentation literature includes a significant body of laments belonging to a unique and almost unparalleled genre—the genre of lamentations over the destruction of cities and temples. This genre has no known ancient parallel outside the ancient Near East; more specifically, it is almost exclusively attested in Sumerian and biblical literature. The Lamentation over the Destruction of Ur is the most famous and important exemplar of the city-laments.
In this updated and revised publication of the Lamentation over the Destruction of Ur, Samet provides an introductory discussion of Sumerian city-laments in general; a full presentation of the text of the Ur Lament, including transliteration, translation, and an extensive philological commentary; and an accounting of the extant textual witness in score format. Plates with color photos of many texts are included.
The course combines interactive video lectures, rich images of many relevant findings, a variety of online activities, and short videos filmed at the British Museum. Suggested for free on edX.com., this is an introductory course which may fit students in different stages of their biblical studies.
Instructors may selectively use materials from this free course as a reference source, or integrate parts of the course that they deem relevant into their teaching. The lessons will be available on edX.com gradually: each week a new lesson will be published. I am happy however to privately share with colleagues in advance some of the materials before they are published. After the course end date, all the materials will be available online for free use.
To enroll:
https://www.edx.org/course/the-bible-in-light-of-the-ancient-near-east-2
To preview some of the video lectures on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnzzkktt8Vs
To enroll in the Hebrew version of the course:
https://campus.gov.il/course/course-v1-biu-sandbox/
The paper presents various Ancient Near Eastern sources which indicate that bēn bayît is a specific administrative term, which designates a head manager serving a king or a wealthy master. The term was introduced into Ancient Near Eastern languages by Achaemenid bureaucracy, becoming known in Akkadian, Aramaic and Hebrew. In light of this data, the question of the dating and textual history of the two relevant biblical sources is discussed.
While in Qohelet the late term bēn bayît joins dozens of other late linguistic traits, in Genesis 15 it remains isolated within its Classical Biblical Hebrew context. It is therefore suggested that the occurrence of bēn bayît in Gensis 15 does not indicate the late date of the chapter to which it belongs, but rather the late date of an interpretive gloss (15:3) inserted into an earlier text for the purpose of clarifying the enigmatic verse which precedes it (15:2).
The paper presents various Ancient Near Eastern sources which indicate that bēn bayît is a specific administrative term, which designates a head manager serving a king or a wealthy master. The term was introduced into Ancient Near Eastern languages by Achaemenid bureaucracy, becoming known in Akkadian, Aramaic and Hebrew. In light of this data, the question of the dating and textual history of the two relevant biblical sources is discussed.
While in Qohelet the late term bēn bayît joins dozens of other late linguistic traits, in Genesis 15 it remains isolated within its Classical Biblical Hebrew context. It is therefore suggested that the occurrence of bēn bayît in Gensis 15 does not indicate the late date of the chapter to which it belongs, but rather the late date of an interpretive gloss (15:3) inserted into an earlier text for the purpose of clarifying the enigmatic verse which precedes it (15:2).
The Samuel Noah Kramer Institute of Assyriology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Bar-Ilan University
The Humanities and Social Sciences Fund Conference
Reading Mesopotamian Literature: Ancient and Modern Perspectives
Celebrating 25 Years of the Publication of "In Those Distant Days:
An Anthology of Mesopotamian Literature" by Jacob Klein and Shin Shifra
March 27-29, 2023 | Beck Auditorium (Building 410) | Bar-Ilan University
For recordings of the workshop's lectures go to:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXF_IJaFk-9CJNwtZ4mX0NhzUS4L3KUJG