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Copyright

Edward Cook;

Published On

2025-03-07

Page Range

pp. 403–420

Language

  • English

Print Length

18 pages

Some Cases of Grammaticalisation in Mishnaic Hebrew and Their Diachronic Implications

  • Edward Cook (author)
Chapter of: Interconnected Traditions: Semitic Languages, Literatures, Cultures—A Festschrift for Geoffrey Khan: Volume 1: Hebrew and the Wider Semitic World(pp. 403–420)
The article examines instances of grammaticalisation in Mishnaic Hebrew, highlighting the transition from Biblical Hebrew. Key examples include the particle הוֹאִיל ‘because, since’, which evolved from a Biblical Hebrew verb to a causal conjunction in Mishnaic Hebrew, and כְּדֵי ‘in order that’, derived from דַּי ‘enough’ in Biblical Hebrew. The study also analyses בִּשְׁבִיל ‘for the sake of’ and כֵּיוָן ‘as soon as’, exploring their lexical origins and grammaticalisation processes. While the study acknowledges the role of Aramaic as a substratum during this period, these transformations are rooted in internal Hebrew developments. The findings reveal a dynamic interplay between continuity and innovation in Hebrew grammar, underscoring the complex linguistic evolution shaped by contact and internal mechanisms.

Contributors

Edward Cook

(author)
Professor in Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic at Catholic University of America

Edward Cook (PhD, UCLA), The Catholic University of America, is a specialist in Biblical Hebrew and in ancient Aramaic, particularly the Aramaic of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the targums. Prof. Cook was chair of the department from 2010 to 2016. He was Lady Davis Visiting Professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2021 and 2022. His principal areas of research at present are Aramaic dialectology, the development of Mishnaic Hebrew, and the Semitic background of the New Testament. Recent publications include Dictionary of Qumran Aramaic (Eisenbrauns, 2015) and Biblical Aramaic and Related Dialects: An Introduction (Cambridge University Press, 2022).