Biblical Hebrew Forum

[K Randolph <kwrandolph AT gmail.com>]

Randall:

On Mon, Oct 26, 2009 at 8:46 PM, Randall Buth <randallbuth AT gmail.com> wrote:

> >That I have already answered that there is no attestation for it. שפת כנען
> in the context used in Isaiah could refer to Aramaic or another language,
> it
> is not necessarily Hebrew.>
>
>  Natuarally, a person needs some background to read Isha`yahu correctly.
> Where was Kena`an?
> Where were its linguistic characteristics?
> How does it relate to Phoencian, Hebrew, and Moabite?
> How does it relate to Aramaic?
> How does it relate to the substrata of ElAmarna?
> How does it relate to Ugaritic?
>
>
> A related question is: did Isaiah refer to the language that originally was
spoken in Canaan, or did he refer to the language then spoken in Canaan? If
the latter, and due to invasion and colonization that language was Aramaic,
then the phrase could very well refer to Aramaic.

Within Isaiah’s lifetime, the majority of Canaan spoke Aramaic for the very
reasons listed above, with the exception of Judea. After the Babylonian
Captivity, Judea too spoke Aramaic. That made the language spoken on the
streets and at the hearths the language of Canaan, namely Aramaic.


> Randall
>
> Randall Buth, PhD
> www.biblicalulpan.org
> randallbuth AT gmail.com
> Biblical Language Center
> Learn Easily - Progress Further - Remember for Life
>

Karl W. Randolph.