The Tiberian Pronunciation Tradition of Biblical Hebrew, Volume 2

Description

The form of Biblical Hebrew that is presented in printed editions, with vocalization and accent signs, has its origin in medieval manuscripts of the Bible. The vocalization and accent signs are notation systems that were created in Tiberias in the early Islamic period by scholars known as the Tiberian Masoretes, but the oral tradition they represent has roots in antiquity. The grammatical textbooks and reference grammars of Biblical Hebrew in use today are heirs to centuries of tradition of grammatical works on Biblical Hebrew in Europe. The paradox is that this European tradition of Biblical Hebrew grammar did not have direct access to the way the Tiberian Masoretes were pronouncing Biblical Hebrew. In the last few decades, research of manuscript sources from the medieval Middle East has made it possible to reconstruct with considerable accuracy the pronunciation of the Tiberian Masoretes, which has come to be known as the ‘Tiberian pronunciation tradition’. This book presents the current state of knowledge of the Tiberian pronunciation tradition of Biblical Hebrew and a full edition of one of the key medieval sources, Hidāyat al-Qāriʾ ‘The Guide for the Reader’, by ʾAbū al-Faraj Hārūn. It is hoped that the book will help to break the mould of current grammatical descriptions of Biblical Hebrew and form a bridge between modern traditions of grammar and the school of the Masoretes of Tiberias. Links and QR codes in the book allow readers to listen to an oral performance of samples of the reconstructed Tiberian pronunciation by Alex Foreman. This is the first time Biblical Hebrew has been recited with the Tiberian pronunciation for a millennium. Contents II. Introduction II.Int.0.1. Preliminary Remarks II.Int.0.2. The Long Version II.Int.0.3. The Short Version II.Int.0.4. The Manuscript Corpus II.Int.0.5. The Edition and Translation of the Texts II.Int.0.6. Terminology II.Int.0.6.1. Arabic Terms II.Int.0.6.2. Hebrew and Aramaic Terms Hidāyat Al-Qāriʾ (Long Version) II.L.0.0. Introduction II.l.1.0. The First Discourse: On the Letters II.L.1.1. Preliminary Discussion concerning the Nature of Letters II.L.1.2. Section concerning the Inventory of Letters II.L.1.3. Chapter concerning the Place of Articulation of the Letters II.L.1.4. Section concerning some General Issues relating to Letters II.L.1.5. Chapter on the Interchange of Letters II.L.1.6. Chapter concerning the Influence of the Four Letters ʾalef, vav, yod and he on the Six Letters ב̇ג̇ד̇כ̇פ̇ת̇ II.L.1.7. Section on Deviations from the General Rule II.L.1.8. Section on Further General Issues Relating to א̇ו̇י̇ה̇ II.L.1.9. Chapter concerning Letters that Occur in Three Grades II.L.1.10. Conjugations II.L.1.11. Chapter concerning the Occurrence of Letters for the Sake of Enhancement II.L.1.12. Section (more on Enhancement) II.L.1.13. Chapter on Contraction II.L.2.0. The Second Discourse II.L.2.1. Preliminary Remarks on Vowels II.L.2.2. Chapter concerning the Number of the Vowels and those of them that are ‘High’, those of them that are ‘Level’ and those of them that are ‘Low’, and what is Connected to this II.L.2.3. Section concerning what Corresponds to (Arabic) Inflectional Vowels II.L.2.4. Section on the Correspondence (of Hebrew Vowels) to Arabic Inflectional Vowels II.L.2.5. Section on Rafʿ II.L.2.6. Section on the Second Rafʿ II.L.2.7. Section on Naṣb II.L.2.8. Section on Khafḍ II.L.2.9. Section (Preliminary Remarks on the Shewa) II.L.2.10. Section concerning the Shewa II.L.2.11. Section on the Nature of Mobile Shewa II.L.2.12. Chapter concerning the Mobile Shewa and what is Related to this II.L.2.12.1. The First Subsection II.L.2.12.2. The Second Subsection II.L.2.12.3. The Third Subsection II.L.2.12.4. The Fourth Subsection II.L.2.12.5. The Fifth Subsection II.L.2.12.6. The Sixth Subsection II.L.2.12.7. The Seventh Subsection II.L.2.12.8. The Eighth Subsection II.L.2.12.9. The Ninth Subsection II.L.2.12.10. The Tenth Subsection II.L.2.12.11. The Eleventh Subsection II.L.2.12.12. The Twelfth Subsection II.L.2.12.13. The Thirteenth Subsection II.L.2.12.14. The Fourteenth Subsection II.L.2.13. Section concerning Uncertainty regarding the Reading of the Shewa II.L.2.14. Section on the Names of the Vowels II.L.2.15. Section on their Place of Articulation II.L.2.16. Section concerning Combinations of them (i.e. the Vowels) to Form Basic Nouns and Combinations of them to Form Abstractions II.L.2.17. Chapter concerning the Descending of the Vowels from One to the Other according to the Order of their Places of Articulation II.L.2.18. On the Origin of the Vowels II.l.3.0. The Third Discourse: On the Accents (Selected Passages) II.L.3.1. On the Gaʿya II.L.3.2. Chapter concerning Cases whose Rule is not at all Dependent on an Accent and Cases whose Rule is Dependent on an Unspecified Accent Hidāyat Al-Qāriʾ (Short Version) II.S.0.0. Introduction II.S.1.0. Section Concerning the Place of Articulation of the Letters II.S.2.0. Section Concerning א̇ו̇י̇ה̇ and ב̇ג̇ד̇כ̇פ̇ת̇ II.S.3.0. Tav II.S.4.0. Section Concerning the Vowels II.S.5.0. Section Concerning the Shewa II.S.6.0. Mobile Shewa II.S.6.1. The First Subsection II.S.6.2. The Second Subsection II.S.6.3. The Third Subsection II.S.6.4. The Fourth Subsection II.S.6.5. The Fifth Subsection II.S.6.6. The Sixth Subsection II.S.6.7. The Seventh Subsection II.S.6.8. The Eighth Subsection II.S.6.9. The Ninth Subsection II.S.6.10. The Tenth Subsection II.S.6.11. The Eleventh Subsection II.S.6.12. The Twelfth Subsection II.S.6.13. The Thirteenth Subsection II.S.6.14. The Fourteenth Subsection II.S.7.0. Section on the Names of the Vowels and Their Place of Articulation II.S.8.0. Discussion Concerning Their Place Of Articulation II.S.9.0. Section Concerning the Gaʿya Commentary on Hidāyat Al-Qāriʾ Long Version Short Version References and Abbreviations Abbreviations References Indexes