Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Randall Buth <randallbuth AT gmail.com>]

> K'vod Hammoreh Rnadall,
>
>   I really didn't follow closely the lively exchanges
 about the benefit of knowing modern Hebrew for the
 study of biblical Heb.
>
>   One is tempted to ask: how could an anonymous
translator to the Greek of the LXX, or an Ibn Ezra',
 or a Gesenius do their respective jobs without modern
 Hebrew? I chose different individuals, distant many
 centuries from each other.
>
  Perhaps the modern language is not essential for the
 knowledge of the old?
>
shalom Uri

The translators to LXX were fluent in both literary (high) and
spoken (low/mishnaic) Hebrew of their time.
Ibn Ezra was fluent in the high-level "medieval Hebrew" of
his time.
Gesenius, I don't know his language skills. But he was a better
cataloguer than theorest. Perhaps he had become fluent in
Arabic?

The issue isn't 'modern' per se (bixvoda ube`atsma), but the
advantage of fluency/internalization of any closely related
dialect, especially one with close to 100% morphological
overlap.

Must travel.
blessings
Randall

  >May this reflection encourage some on this list.
>
  Mimmenni HeHagav,
>
  >Uri Hurwitz



-- 
Randall Buth, PhD
www.biblicalulpan.org
randallbuth AT gmail.com
Biblical Language Center
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