Biblical Hebrew Forum

[K Randolph <kwrandolph AT gmail.com>]

Chavoux:

On Tue, Jul 16, 2013 at 1:43 AM, Chavoux Luyt <chavoux AT gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Karl

On 16 July 2013 05:43, <b-hebrew-request AT lists.ibiblio.org> wrote:

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 ---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: K Randolph <kwrandolph AT gmail.com>
<snip> 

By the way, can you document any changes that happened to Biblical Hebrew language during the 800 years from Moses to Nebuchadnezzar when it was a natively spoken language?

First off, it is known from surrounding ANE countries that scribes normally updated the language (grammar, spelling and sometimes vocabulary) when they copied a previous work. Understanding was more important than keeping archaisms. So it is reasonable that the same process happened in Biblical Hebrew.

Reasonable, but still speculation. Would the temple scribes have put up with such? Was the careful copying an innovation during the DSS period, or a continuation of a practice from before?

 

I also think it would be good to compare the spelling used in the tunnel of Hezekiah to that used in our later copies of the Tanach. If I remember correctly, there is much less use of plene spelling (matres lectionis).

I have an electronic copy of the Siloam Inscription—except for one word, where I think many scholars are wrong in saying “fire” should be “man”—the rest of the “matres lectionis” uses are entirely consistent with pre-Babylonian uses in Tanakh.

 

I would assume that even though some archaisms survived in the older texts, most of the language would be updated as was normal at the time.

Israel, when it followed Tanakh, was different in other ways, why not this way too?

 

One glaring example of change is the use of the male הוא (hu) for females instead of היא (hi) found only in the Torah and in none of the later books.

I thought this pattern was more widespread than this. 

There are stylistic differences that are noticeable, but what I’m looking for are linguistic changes. 

Shalom

Chavoux Luyt

Thanks, Chavoux.

Karl W. Randolph.