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Recent Articles
- Binyanim Under Pressure: Exodus 8:26
- When Service Ends: A Hebrew Lesson on Numbers 8:25
- Consecration Through Syntax: The Priestly Ritual in Leviticus 8:24
- “A Three-Day Journey”: The Syntax of Volition and Deixis in Exodus According to Targum Onkelos
- Disaster That Flies Down: A Hebrew Lesson on Isaiah 8:22
- Purified and Presented: A Hebrew Lesson on Numbers 8:21
- Like the Nations Before You: A Hebrew Walkthrough of Deuteronomy 8:20
- Voices of the Dead or the Living God? A Hebrew Lesson on Isaiah 8:19
- When the Ground Denies Him: A Hebrew Walkthrough of Job 8:18
- From Dust to Gnats: A Hebrew Lesson in Action
- The Power of Repetition: Exploring the Waw-Consecutive
- Through the Great and Fearsome Wilderness: From Fiery Serpent to Flowing Spring
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Category Archives: Aramaic
“A Three-Day Journey”: The Syntax of Volition and Deixis in Exodus According to Targum Onkelos
מַהֲלַךְ תְּלָתָא יוֹמִין נֵיזִיל בְּמַדְבְּרָא וּנְדַבַּח קֳדָם יְיָ אֱלָהָנָא כְּמָא דִּיֵימַר לָנָא:
(Exodus 8:23 Targum Onkelos)
A journey of three days let us go into the wilderness and let us offer sacrifices before YHWH our God, just as He said to us
Voices from the Edge of the Wilderness
This verse from Targum Onkelos on Exodus 5:3 is not a mere translation. It’s a careful reshaping of Moshe’s diplomatic plea to Parʿo, emphasizing volitional modality, Aramaic deixis, and verb chains that pulsate with collective intentionality.… Learn Hebrew
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Lighting the Grammar: A Dialogue on יָת and Ritual Syntax in Onkelos (Numbers 8:2)
מַלֵּיל עִם אַהֲרֹן וְתֵימַר לֵיהּ בְּאַדְלָקוּתָךְ יָת בּוֹצִינַיָּא לָקֳבֵיל אַפֵּי מְנָרְתָא יְהוֹן מְנָהֲרִין שִׁבְעָא בוֹצִינַיָּא׃
(Numbers 8:2, Targum Onkelos)
Speak with Aharon and say to him: “When you kindle the lamps, opposite the face of the menorah, the seven lamps shall give light.”
Apprentice and Master Scribe: A Ritual Grammar Lesson
Apprentice: Master, I was copying from Onkelos, and in Numbers 8:2, I saw this word יָת — the direct object marker. But why here? Isn’t the verb clear enough?
Master: Ah, young scroll-rider, listen well.… Learn Hebrew
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Scroll Marginalia: Weighted Syntax and Sanctified Measures (Numbers 7:31, Onkelos)
קֻרְבָּנֵיהּ מְגִסְתָּא דִכְסַף חֲדָא מְאָה וּתְלָתִין סִלְעִין הֲוָה מַתְקְלַהּ מִזְרְקָא חַד דִּכְסַף מַתְקְלֵיהּ שַׁבְעִין סִלְעִין בְּסִלְעֵי קוּדְשָׁא תַּרְוֵיהוֹן מְלַן סֻלְתָּא דְּפִילָא בִמְשַׁח לְמִנְחָתָא
(Numbers 7:31, Targum Onkelos)
His offering: one silver bowl—its weight was one hundred and thirty sheqels; one silver basin—its weight was seventy sheqels, according to the sheqels of the sanctuary; both of them were filled with fine flour mixed with oil for the grain offering.
The Grammar of Quantified Worship
Though this passage lists weights and vessels, its grammar functions as liturgical architecture.… Learn Hebrew
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Syntax of Judgment: Divine Legal Language in Genesis 6:13 (Onkelos)
וַאֲמַר יְיָ לְנֹחַ קִצָּא דְכָל בִּשְׂרָא עַלַּת לִקֳדָמַי אֲרֵי אִתְמְלִיאַת אַרְעָא חֲטוֹפִין מִן קֳדָם עוֹבָדֵיהוֹן בִּישַׁיָּא וְהָא אֲנָא מְחַבֶּלְהוֹן עִם אַרְעָא:
And YHWH said to Noaḥ, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with plunder from before them because of their evil deeds, and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth.”
Poetic Reflection: When Grammar Bears Witness
The world is not judged with thunder, but with syntax. In Targum Onkelos, YHWH’s speech to Noaḥ is a juridical declaration — not merely emotional or punitive, but constructed with linguistic precision.… Learn Hebrew
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Erasure by Divine Speech: Volition, Object Marking, and Decreation in Genesis 6:7
וַאֲמַר יְיָ אֶמְחֵי יָת אֲנָשָׁא דִּי בְרֵאתִי מֵעַל אַפֵּי אַרְעָא מֵאֱנָשָׁא עַד בְּעִירָא עַד רִיחֲשָׁא וְעַד עוֹפָא דִּשְׁמַיָּא אֲרֵי תָבִית בְּמֵימְרִי אֲרֵי עֲבַדְתִּנוּן:
(Genesis 6:7)
And YHWH said, “I will wipe out mankind whom I created from the face of the earth, from man to beast, to creeping thing and to the bird of the heavens—for I have repented by My word that I made them.”
Scroll Marginalia: A Commentary of Undoing
In a single decree, existence recoils. The language of Targum Onkelos captures this moment not only with legal exactness but with a grammar of divine reversal.… Learn Hebrew
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On the Heart and from the Mouth: Command Syntax in Targum Onkelos on Deuteronomy 6:6
וִיהוֹן פִּתְגָּמַיָּא הָאִלֵּין דִּי אֲנָא מְפַקְּדָךְ יוֹמָא דֵין עַל לִבָּךְ
And these words which I am commanding you today shall be upon your heart.
Why This Verse?
This pivotal line from Targum Onkelos on Deuteronomy 6:6, part of the daily Shema, showcases:
Emphatic demonstrative construction: פִּתְגָּמַיָּא הָאִלֵּין
Paʿel verb with object suffix: מְפַקְּדָךְ
Temporal immediacy: יוֹמָא דֵין
Internalization: עַל לִבָּךְ
Targum Onkelos is generally more literal than Targum Jonathan, and this verse is a prime example of its restrained yet precise interpretive style.… Learn Hebrew
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Historical Phonetic Shifts: Changes that Affect Textual Variants
Phonological shifts in Biblical Hebrew weren’t just whispers lost to time—they redirected the way Scripture was written, read, and interpreted. As sounds merged, gutturals eroded, and vowel patterns transformed, scribes across traditions made subtle substitutions, some guided by dialectal accent, others by auditory memory. Variants between the Masoretic Text, Dead Sea Scrolls, and Septuagint often reveal this sonic undercurrent: whether it’s a missing consonant, expanded mater lectionis, or altered verb form, phonetic history shaped the sacred text’s orthographic evolution. Sound, quite literally, left its fingerprint on Scripture’s form and transmission.… Learn Hebrew
Posted in Aramaic, Grammar, Septuagint Studies, Textual Criticism
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Aramaic in Late Biblical Texts: Traces of Aramaic in Post-Exilic Writings
Post-exilic Hebrew absorbed Aramaic not as contamination—but as cultural calibration. Books like Daniel, Ezra, and Esther whisper empire in syntax, echo decree in vocabulary, and breathe bilingual resilience into sacred discourse. Participial constructions, SV order, and legalistic lexemes like פִּתְגָם and כְּתָב are more than linguistic quirks—they’re artifacts of lived theology under imperial rule. The result? A contact dialect that bridges tradition and transformation, allowing Hebrew to speak powerfully in the language of its captors without surrendering its prophetic voice.
The Historical Setting: Hebrew and Aramaic in the Post-Exilic Period
Following the Babylonian exile (586 BC) and during the Persian period (539–332 BC), Aramaic rose to unprecedented prominence as the administrative and diplomatic lingua franca of the Near East.… Learn Hebrew
Aramaic Syntax: Sentence Structures That Reflect Aramaic Influence
Aramaic’s influence on Biblical Hebrew syntax isn’t a case of passive borrowing—it’s a record of resilience and reinvention. In post-exilic texts like Daniel, Ezra, and Ecclesiastes, Hebrew absorbs Aramaic’s subject-verb order, participial flow, and emphatic pronoun use to navigate multilingual realities without surrendering its soul. These shifts—from copula-less clauses to object-fronted constructions—don’t dilute Hebrew’s essence but rather expand its expressive reach, allowing sacred speech to resonate amid imperial discourse. Syntax, here, becomes historical evidence: grammar as survival, adaptation, and theological dialogue.… Learn Hebrew
Loanwords: Aramaic Words Incorporated into Hebrew Vocabulary
Aramaic loanwords in Biblical Hebrew—like פִּתְגָם, שַׁלִּיט, and כְּתָב—aren’t just linguistic imports; they’re echoes of exile, empire, and theological adaptation. Emerging from domains of governance, law, and prestige, these terms often appear in post-exilic texts, absorbing Aramaic’s bureaucratic edge while enriching Hebrew’s expressive range. Their inclusion signals cultural contact, historical realism, and literary sophistication—where sacred language reflects a dynamic world. The adoption isn’t dilution—it’s dialogue, revealing how Hebrew authors used foreign syllables to articulate divine sovereignty.
Defining Loanwords in the Context of Hebrew-Aramaic Contact
Loanwords are lexical items adopted from one language into another.… Learn Hebrew