Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Bryant J. Williams III" <bjwvmw AT com-pair.net>]

Dear Randall,

[RB]
Mishnaic Hebrew can be used in more than one way, of course, though
generically it refers to the colloquial Hebrew from the Second Temple
thru 200CE (sometimes called MH 1) and then 200-700 CE (sometimes
called MH 2). As I explained offlist, we have many documents and graffiti
from the Second Temple period that are normally classified as either
mishnaic Hebrew, or proto-mishnaic Hebrew. If it isn't classified as
literary Hebrew then it normally is classified as 'mishnaic'. It all depends
on the level of precision being intended. I would call Qohelet and
4QMMT two different dialects of proto-mishnaic Hebrew on the one
hand, or simply 'mishnaic Hebrew' when speaking broadly. The
Bar Kochba period (130-135CE) documents are normally called
mishnaic Hebrew, those these, too, can be further specified since they
are non-rabbinic and with a few distinctives of their own.

     LIke writing:
"I call upon myself heaven as witness'
me`id and `ali ta-shamayim ... (from a BarKochba letter)
מעיד אני עלי תשמים

or 'that I put/give chains on your legs
    like I did to . . .'
she-ani noten ta-kkvalim
    beraglexem kema she-`asiti
שאני נתן תכבלים ברגלכם
      כמה שעסתי . . . ל

or 'fortify the place'
Hazzeq ta-mmaqom  ... (from a BarKochba letter)
חזק תמקום

How do you like them apples? (Bryant will be happy.)

[Bryant]
:)))))))) Doing the Snoopy dance!!!!!!!!!!!

I wish to thank you for being considerate in publishing the data and source 
for
your readings and interpretations. The other information further down the post
was extremely helpful to the debate between Hebrew/Aramaic of the Second 
Temple
Period.

What we need now is for the rest of the list to step up and do the same in
referencing enough of the text (chapter and verse) so that everyone benefits. 
I
was a "royal pain" to my professors in Seminary, but in the long run everyone
benefited from making sure that declarative statements have the evidence
presented (whether the evidence actually backed up the statements is another
matter altogether) and could be checked (President Ronald Reagan's idea of
"trust, but verify").

Finally, by presenting the evidence to us, it allows those who do not have
access to the information (usually monetary, unable to obtain from a library,
etc.) to at least SEE the evidence.

Thank you,

Rev. Bryant J. Williams III