Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Karl Randolph" <kwrandolph AT email.com>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Yitzhak Sapir" <yitzhaksapir AT gmail.com>
> 
> Karl,
> 
> ...
> 
> > I have already said what would convince me, and so far
> > you have refused, absolutely refused, to provide it.
> 
Well? 

> And just for the record, in various cases that you have listed
> what would convince you, I have asked for clarifying questions
> ("Why is Onkelos not a valid example of 2nd Millenium
> Aramaic?", 

1) this is Aramaic, irrelevant to a study of Biblical Hebrew 
(except as an indicator as to how Tanakh was understood 
by 2nd century AD Jews)

2) histories that I read stated that it is an example of 
second *century* AD Aramaic, long *after* the period in 
question. Again irrelevant.

>       "How would I know that some text in language X
> is Ancient Hebrew and not a cognate language or vice versa?"),

1) recognized as cognate languages from standard 
comparative linguistics.

2) you failed to show any geographic or linguistic 
connection between the languages (other than supplied 
by comparative linguistics, which show the above)

a) contemporary records indicate that Hebrew and 
Aramaic differed enough that native speakers could not 
understand each other (without translators or learning the 
other language). The two languages were contemporary.

b) you failed to show any development from Ugaritic to 
Hebrew, either geographical or linguistic. All you have is 
comparative linguistics indicating #1 above.

c) you failed to show any indication that the historical 
claims recorded in Tanakh are inaccurate, those historical 
claims which indicate that Biblical Hebrew was written 
centuries *before* Ugaritic, hence Ugaritic was a 
contemporary cognate, not precursor, to Hebrew.

3) some of the surviving inscriptions are so short that 
researchers are not sure in which language they are 
written.

> but these have been left without response.
> 
All of the above responses were either answered by me, 
other contributers (which made me think that I didn't need 
to waste bandwidth answering them myself) or standard 
sources such as histories and linguistic writings (again 
reasons I didn't think I needed to answer them myself).

> > Karl W. Randolph.
> >
>
> 
> Yitzhak Sapir

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