Details

Subject(s)

• Hebrew language, Post-Biblical [Browse]

Series

Cambridge Semitic languages and cultures. [More in this series]

Summary note

"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-Qāriʼ 'The Guide for the Reader', by ʼAbū 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."--Publisher's website.

Bibliographic references

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Source of description

Description based on: online resource; title from PDF title page (Taylor & Francis, viewed May 12, 2023).

Contents

• Preface
• Introduction / Geoffrey Khan
• 1. Consonants / Geoffrey Khan
• 2. Vowels and Syllable Structure / Geoffrey Khan
• 3. Dagesh and Rafe / Geoffrey Khan
• 4. Reflections of the Imperfect Learning of the Tiberian Pronunciation in the Middle Ages / Geoffrey Khan
• 5. Summary of the Tiberian Pronunciation and Sample Transcriptions of Biblical Passages / Geoffrey Khan
• References And Abbreviations
• Indexes.

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Other title(s)

Tiberian Pronunciation Tradition of Biblical Hebrew

Statement on language in description

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