Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Yitzhak Sapir <yitzhaksapir AT gmail.com>]

On Sun, Jun 20, 2010 at 10:54 AM, James Christian wrote:
> Hi Yitzhak,
> I've just read two or you posts from two different but related threads. In
> the one you gave me the impression that you hold the position that the
> Masoretes knew both Aramaic and Biblical Hebrew well and did not allow the
> one to influence the other and now I read this post...
> Needless to say I'm left scratching my head. It would seem that when you
> respond to Karl you hold one position but when you respond to Randall you
> hold another. Please clarify.
> James Christian

Aramaic had an increasing influence on Hebrew during Biblical times.  This
includes clear examples of Aramaisms such as Ps 116:12 תגמולוהי.  But just
because Aramaic had influence on Hebrew and led to many changes in the
language, does not mean that Mishnaic Hebrew was closer to Aramaic than
to Biblical Hebrew, or that someone who read the Bible in Hebrew read it
through "Aramaic" lenses.

Yitzhak Sapir