Fassberg, The Hebrew of Qumran

Steven Fassberg has published a new grammar of Qumran Hebrew entitled The Hebrew of Qumran. This promises to be a very useful tool.

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Via Agade:

Ugarit-Verlag – Buch- und Medienhandel GmbH, Germany, has the pleasure to announce the publication of:

The Hebrew of Qumran

AOAT, 482

Steven E. Fassberg

Hardcover, 373 pp.

Price: 148,00 € / $ 172,00

ISBN: 978-3-86835-382-2

Steven E. Fassberg’s The Hebrew of Qumran provides a comprehensive yet concise account of the Hebrew language of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The study examines the linguistic features of the Qumran texts within the broader development of Hebrew during the Second Temple period, taking into account the diverse linguistic traditions and varieties attested in the manuscripts.

Following an introduction to the Qumran community, the archaeological site, the scrolls, and the history of linguistic research, Fassberg discusses orthography and phonology, morphology and morphosyntax, verbs, particles, and syntax. Particular attention is given to the relationship between Qumran Hebrew and Biblical Hebrew, Mishnaic Hebrew, and other ancient Hebrew traditions, as well as to possible Aramaic influence.

The grammar is complemented by comments on the lexicon, a chrestomathy of selected Qumran texts, a glossary, and extensive indices and bibliographical references. The volume thus provides an important reference work and practical research tool for the study of the language and texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Steven E. Fassberg is the Caspar Levias Professor of Ancient Semitic Languages at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

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Fassberg also provides an interesting personal note on the website:

This grammar owes its existence to Prof. Josef Tropper, at the time editor of the series Lehrbücher orientalischer Sprachen (LOS), who invited me to contribute a short grammar to the series on the Hebrew of Qumran. Because of previous commitments, many years passed before I was able to take up the task. The grammar turned out to be longer than originally intended and Prof. Thomas R. Kämmerer, the head of Ugarit-Verlag, suggested that Alter Orient und Altes Testament (AOAT) might be a more suitable series for the volume. I thank Prof. Kämmerer and the editors of AOAT, Prof. Régine Hunziker-Rodewald and Dr. Ulrike Steinert, for accepting the manuscript for publication.

This monograph does not replace the larger grammar of Elisha Qimron, A Grammar of the Hebrew of the Dead Sea Scrolls (Jerusalem, 2018). All students and scholars of the Dead Sea Scrolls are greatly indebted to Prof. Qimron for the massive amount of data he has amassed in his grammar as well as for his countless contributions to the language and the texts of the Scrolls over the past fifty years. It would be amiss not to mention also the pioneering Hebrew work of E. Y. Kutscher, Language and Linguistic Background of the Great Isaiah Scroll (Jerusalem, 1959; English translation Leiden, 1974), which still serves as a beacon to all in the field. The important contributions of many additional scholars are noted throughout the grammar.