Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Shoshanna Walker <rosewalk AT concentric.net>]

I wasn't doing that, I wasn't referring at all to Adam - I was just 
responding to

"And as far as BIBLICAL Hebrew is concerned it
is important to keep in mind that it is an artificial language,"

since BIBLICAL Hebrew preceded "ancient" Hebrew, as the Torah even 
preceded Creation.

Shoshanna




Dear Shoshanna,
Adam was sui generis since he was not 'born of man.'  Thus you can't 
generalize
Adam's case from the case of mankind as a whole.
Respectfully,
Art Gershman



Ben Zoma said: Who is wise?  Those who learn from all people.  Pirkei Avot 4:1

----- Original Message -----
From: <mailto:rosewalk AT concentric.net>Shoshanna Walker
To: <mailto:b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
Sent: Friday, December 01, 2006 3:50 PM
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] English to Hebrew?

BIBLICAL Hebrew came first

Shoshanna


>
He ist absolutely right. We are to perceive Ancient Hebrew as a
historical language - avtually there is no contemporary speaker of
that language anymore. And as far as BIBLICAL Hebrew is concerned it
is important to keep in mind that it is an artificial language,
mixing up several synchronic and diachronic different layers
(registers, dialects and so on). So, what is BIBLICAL Hebrew to
speak? See, for instance, Edward Ullendorf's important studies "Is
Biblical Hebrew a language?" and other papers in his: Is Biblical
Hebrew a language?, Wiesbaden 1977, and, more recently, E.A.Knauf,
War "Biblisch-hebräisch" eine Sprache? Empirische Gesichtspunkte zur
linguistischen Annäherung an die Sprache der althebräischen
Literatur: ZAH 3 (1990) 11-23.
Because there is no one to speak to who has a native speaker's
competence in Biblical Hebrew, there is neither a sound reason to
translate a paragraph of any language into Biblical Hebrew nor a
chance to learn anything from that lest that we are ignorant.

Reinhard G. Lehmann
Academical Director
Forschungsstelle für althebräische Sprache
Johannes Gutenberg-University of Mainz

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