STOUPS  . Only in these See also:

• SOUTHERN

southern dialects do we find, and that under forms substantially identical, the important innovation known as the " broken plurals," consisting in the employment of certain forms, denoting abstracts, for the expression of plurals . They agree, moreover, in employing a See also:

• PECULIAR

peculiar development of the verbal See also:

• ROOT (late O.E. rot, adopted from Scand., cf. Norw. and Swed. rot, Dan. rod; the true O.E. word was wyrt, plant, represented in Ger. Wurz or Wurzel; the ultimate root is the same in both words, and is seen in Lat. radix)
• ROOT, ELIHU (1845– )

root, formed by inserting an a between the first and second radicals (gatala, tagatala), in using the vowel a before the third See also:

• RADICAL (Lat. radix, a root)

radical in all active perfects—for example, (h)aqtala, gattala, instead of the haqtil, gattil of the See also:

• NORTHERN

northern dialects—and in many other grammatical phenomena . This is not at all contradicted by the fact that certain aspirated dentals of Arabic (th, dh, z) are replaced in Ethiopic, as in See also:

• HEBREW

Hebrew and See also:

• ASSYRIAN

Assyrian, by pure sibilants—that is, s (Hebrew and Assyrian sh), z whereas in Aramaic they are replaced by See also:

• SIMPLE

simple dentals (t, d, t), which seem to come closer to the Arabic sounds . Still, after the separation of the northern and the southern See also:

• GROUPS
• GROUPS, THEORY

groups, we suppose, the Semitic See also:

• LANGUAGES

languages possessed all these sounds, as the Arabic does, but afterwards simplified them, for the most See also:

• PART

part, in one direction or the other . Hence there resulted, as it were by See also:

• CHANCE (through the O. Fr. cheance, from the Late Lat. cadentia, things happening, from cadere, to fall out, happen; cf. " case ")

chance, occasional similarities . Even in many See also:

• MODERN

modern Arabic dialects th, dh become t, d.' Ethiopic, moreover, has kept d, the most peculiar of Arabic sounds, distinct from s, whereas Aramaic has confounded it with the guttural 'See also:

• AIN

ain, and Hebrew and Assyrian with s . It is therefore evident that all these languages once possessed the consonant in question as a distinct one . One See also:

• SOUND
• SOUND, THE (Danish Oresund)

sound, See also:

• SIN
• SIN (O. Eng. syn: a common Teutonic word, cf. Dutch zonde, Ger. Siinde)

sin, appears only in Hebrew, in Phoenician, and in the older Aramaic . It must originally have been pronounced very like sh, since it is represented in See also:

• WRITING
• WRITING (the verbal noun of " to write," O. Eng. writan, to inscribe)

writing by the same See also:

• CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character; in later times it was changed into an See also:

• ORDINARY (med. Lat. ordinarius, Fr. ordinaire)

ordinary s . Assyrian does not distinguish it from sh .2 The See also:

• DIVISION (from Lat. dividere, to break up into parts, separate)

division of the Semitic languages into the northern See also:

• GROUP

group and the southern is- therefore justified by facts . Even if we were to discover really important grammatical phenomena in which one of the southern dialects agreed with the northern, or See also:

• VICE

vice versa, and that in cases where such phenomena could not be regarded either as remnants of See also:

• PRIMITIVE

primitive Semitic usage or as instances of parallel but See also:

• INDEPENDENT

independent development, we ought to remember that the division of the two groups was not necessarily a sudden and instantaneous occurrence, that even after the separation intercourse may have been carried on between the various tribes who spoke kindred dialects and were therefore still able to understand one another, and that intermediate dialects may once have existed, perhaps such as were in use ' In words borrowed from the See also:

• LITERARY

literary See also:

• LANGUAGE (adapted from the Fr. langage, from langue, tongue, Lat. lingua)

language, s, z, habitually appear in See also:

• PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place of th, dh .

2 It is not quite certain whether all the Semitic languages originally had the hardest of the gutturals gh and kh in exactly the same places that they occupy in Arabic . In the See also:

• CASE
• CASE, JOHN (d. 1600)

case of kh we may assume so; since not only Arabic here agrees with Ethiopic, but Assyrian, also, has a particular guttural in roots which in Arabic have kh . But it would appear that in Hebrew and Aramaic the distinction between gh and 'ayin, between kh and h was often different from what it is in Arabic.amongst tribes who came into contact sometimes with the agricultural See also:

• POPULATION (Lat. populus, people; populare, to populate)

population of the See also:

• NORTH
• NORTH, BARONS
• NORTH, MARIANNE (1830—1890)
• NORTH, ROGER (1653-1734)
• NORTH, SIR THOMAS (1535?-16o1?)

north and sometimes with the nomads of the See also:

• SOUTH
• SOUTH, ROBERT (1634–1716)

south (see below) . All this is purely hypothetical, whereas the division between the northern and the southern Semitic languages is a recognized fact . It is perfectly certain, moreover, that Hebraeo-Phoenician and Aramaic are closely related with each other, and See also:

• FORM (Lat. forma)

form a group of their own, distinct even from Assyrian . In fact, Assyrian seems to be so completely sui generis that we should be well advised to See also:

• SEPARATE

separate it from all the cognate languages, as an independent See also:

• SCION

scion of proto-Semitic . We should classify these languages consequently in the following See also:

• ORDER
• ORDER (through Fr. ordre, for earlier ordene, from Lat. ordo, ordinis, rank, service, arrangement; the ultimate source is generally taken to be the root seen in Lat. oriri, rise, arise, begin; cf. " origin ")
• ORDER, HOLY

order: (I) Assyrian; (2) the remaining Semitic languages, viz.: A . Hebraeo-Phoenician and Aramaic, B. the southern Semitic See also:

• TONGUES, GIFT OF, or GLOSSOLALIA (yXwova, tongue, aXeiv, speak)

tongues . Although we cannot deny that there may formerly have existed Semitic languages quite distinct from those with which we are acquainted, yet that such was actually the case cannot be proved . Nor is there any See also:

• REASON (Lat. ratio, through French raison)

reason to think that the domain of the Semitic languages ever extended very far beyond its See also:

• PRESENT

present limits . Some See also:

• TIME (0. Eng. Lima, cf. Icel. timi, Swed. timme, hour, Dan. time; from the root also seen in " tide," properly the time of between the flow and ebb of the sea, cf. O. Eng. getidan, to happen, " even-tide," &c.; it is not directly related to Lat. tempus)
• TIME, MEASUREMENT OF
• TIME, STANDARD

time ago many scholars believed that they were once spoken in See also:

• ASIA

Asia See also:

• MINOR
• MINOR (Lat. for smaller, lesser)
• MINOR, ROBERT CRANNELL (1839-1904)

Minor and even in See also:

• EUROPE

Europe, but, except in the Phoenician colonies, this notion rested upon no solid See also:

• PROOF (in M. Eng. preove, proeve, preve, &°c., from O. Fr . prueve, proeve, &c., mod. preuve, Late. Lat. proba, probate, to prove, to test the goodness of anything, probus, good)

proof . It cannot be argued with any See also:

• GREAT

great degree of plausibility that even the Cilicians, who from a very See also:

• EARLY
• EARLY, JUBAL ANDERSON (1816-1894)

early See also:

• PERIOD
• PERIOD (Gr. irepioSos, a going or way round, circuit, aepi, round, and &Sis, way, road)

period held See also:

• CONSTANT, BENJAMIN (1845-1902)

constant intercourse with the Syrians and the Phoenicians, spoke a Semitic language .

Assyrian . See also:

• LONG, GEORGE (1800-1879)
• LONG, JOHN DAVIS (1838– )

Long before there existed any other Semitic culture, there flourished on the See also:

• LOWER

Lower See also:

• EUPHRATES (Babylon. Purattu, Heb. Perath, Arab. Frdt or Furst, Old Pers. Ufratu, Gr. Eb4 parrls)

Euphrates a See also:

• SISTER

sister language which has been preserved to us in the See also:

• CUNEIFORM (from Lat. cuneus, a wedge)

cuneiform See also:

• INSCRIPTIONS (from Lat. inscribere, to write upon)

inscriptions . It is usually called the Assyrian, after the name of the See also:

• COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country where the first and most important excavations were made; but the See also:

• TERM

term " Babylonian " would be more correct, as See also:

• BABYLON (mod. Hillah)

Babylon was the birthplace of this language and of the See also:

• CIVILIZATION

civilization to which it belonged . Certain Babylonian inscriptions go back to the See also:

• FOURTH

fourth See also:

• MILLENNIUM (a pseudo-Latin word formed on the analogy of biennium, triennium, from Lat. milk, a thousand, and armies, year)

millennium before our era; but the great See also:

• MASS (O.E. maesse; Fr. messe; Ger. Messe; Ital. messa; from eccl. Lat. missa)
• MASS, IN

mass of these cuneiform inscriptions date from between Iwo and 500 B.C . Assyrian differs in many respects from all the cognate languages . The See also:

• ANCIENT
• ANCIENT (also spelt ANTIENT; derived, through the Fr. ancien, old, from the late Lat. antianum, from ante, before)

ancient perfect has wholly disappeared, or See also:

• LEFT

left but few traces, and the gutturals, with the exception of the hard kh, Assyrian. have been smoothed down to a degree which is only paralleled in modern Aramaic dialects . So at least it would appear from the writing, or rather from the manner in which Assyriologists transcribe it . The Babylonian form See also:

• BEL

bel (occurring in Isa . )lvi . I ; See also:

• JET (Fr. jais, Ger. Gagat)

Jet . I . 2 and li .

44—passages all belonging to the 6th See also:

• CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century B.C., and in many other ancient monuments), the name of the See also:

• GOD

god who was originally called ba'l, is a See also:

• CONFIRMATION (Lat. confirmatio, from confirmare, to establish, make firm)

confirmation of this; but, on the other See also:

• HAND
• HAND (a word common to Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Hand, Goth. handus)
• HAND, FERDINAND GOTTHELF (1786-185r)

hand, the name of the country where Babylon was situated, viz . Shin'ar, and that of a Babylonian god, 'Anammelek (2 See also:

• KINGS, FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS OF

Kings xvii . 31), as well as those of the tribes Sho'a and Qo'a (Ezek. See also:

• XXIII

xxiii . 23) who inhabited the Assyrio-Babylonian territory, seem to militate against this theory, as they are spelt in the Old Testament with `ain . So, too, is the biblico-Aramaic word te'em, ta'am, " order," " See also:

• DECREE (from the past participle, decretus, of Lat. decernere)

decree," which is derived from the Assyrian; and we may also compare some Babylonian See also:

• LOCAL

local names, e.g . 'Anat . H is found in the name of the See also:

• TOWN

town See also:

• HIT

Hit, and in the name of a See also:

• MAN
• MAN, ISLE OF (anc. Mona)

man, written in Aramaic characters but formed quite in the Babylonian manner, Hadadnadinakh . Thus the Babylonians may have pronounced some gutturals, though they did not write them, precisely as the See also:

• PERSIAN
• PERSIAN, SYRIAN, EGYPTIAN AND TURKISH

Persian cuneiform inscriptions omit many h's, which, no doubt, were audible . The Assyrian See also:

• SYSTEM

system of writing is so complicated, and, in spite of its vast apparatus, is so imperfect an See also:

• INSTRUMENT (Lat. instrumentum, from insincere, to build up, furnish, arrange, prepare)

instrument for the accurate See also:

• REPRESENTATION

representation of sounds, that we are hardly yet See also:

• BOUND, or BOUNDARY (from O. Fr. bonde, Med. Lat. bodena or butina, a frontier line)

bound to regard the transcriptions of contemporary Assyriologists as being in all points of detail the final dictum of See also:

• SCIENCE (Lat. scientia, from scire; to learn, know)

science . However this may be, the present writer does not feel able to speak at greater length upon Assyrian . See also:

• ATTENTION (from Lat. ad-tendo, await, expect; the condition of being " stretched " or " tense ")

Attention may, however, be called to the fact, that, as might have been expected from the important role played by the Babylonians and Assyrians in the See also:

• HISTORY

history of civilization and of peoples, many words passed over from their language into Hebrew and, more especially, into Aramaic, some of which attained a still wider See also:

• VOGUE, EUGENE MELCHIOR, COMTE DE (1848- )

vogue.3 (Compare the See also:

• ARTICLE (from Lat. articulus, a joint)

article CUNEIFORM.) Hebrew . Hebrew and Phoenician are but dialects of one and the same language .

It is only as the language of the See also:

• PEOPLE

people of See also:

• ISRAEL (Hebrew for " God strives " or " rules "; see Gen. xxxii. 28; and the allusion in Hosea xii. 4)

Israel that Hebrew can be known with any precision . Since in the Old 2 So the Assyrian mashkenu was adopted into Hebrew and Aramaic as misken; from the Aramaic it was borrowed by Arabic and Ethiopic (misken), and from Arabic it found its way into the See also:

• ROMANCE

Romance languages (mesquinho, mezquino, meschind, mesquin) . Lost Semitic languages . Testament a few of the neighbouring peoples are represented as being descended from See also:

• EBER, PAUL (1511-1569)

Eber, the eponym of the See also:

• HEBREWS, EPISTLE TO THE

Hebrews, that is, are regarded as nearly related to the latter, it was natural to suppose that they likewise spoke Hebrew—a supposition which, at least in the case of the See also:

• MOA

Moa'bites, has been fully confirmed by the See also:

• DISCOVERY

discovery of the Mesha inscription (date, soon after 900 B.C.) . The language of this inscription scarcely differs from that of the Old Testament; the only important distinction is the occurrence of a reflexive form (with t after the first radical), which appears also in Arabic and Assyrian . We may remark in passing that the See also:

• STYLE
• STYLE (from Gr. a-6'1ms, a column; a different word from that used in literature, see below)

style of this inscription is quite that of the Old Testament, and enables us to maintain with certainty that a similar See also:

• HISTORICAL

historical literature existed amongst the Moabites . But it must be remembered that ancient Semitic inscriptions exhibit, in a sense, nothing but the See also:

• SKELETON

skeleton of the language, since they do not See also:

• EXPRESS (through the French from the past participle of the Lat. exprimere, to press out, by transference used of representing objects in painting or sculpture, or of thoughts, &c. in words)

express the vowels at all, or do so only in certain cases; still less do they indicate other phonetic modifications, such as the doubling of consonants, &c . It is therefore very possible that to the See also:

• EAR (common Teut.; O.E. are, Ger. Ohr, Du. oor, akin to Lat. auris, Gr. ovs)

ear the language of See also:

• MOAB

Moab seemed to differ considerably from that of the Judaeans . The Mesha inscription is the only non-Israelite source from which any knowledge of ancient Hebrew can be obtained . Still several Ancient Hebrew words occur even in the Tellel-Amarna letters, dis-Hebrew. covered in See also:

• EGYPT

Egypt, and written in the Babylonian language by princes of See also:

• PALESTINE

Palestine during the second millennium B.C . They clearly show that the " Hebrew " language existed in Palestine even before the See also:

• MIGRATION

migration of the Israelites into See also:

• CANAAN, CANAANITES

Canaan . Some fragments in the Old Testament belong to the last centuries of the second millennium before our era—particularly the See also:

• SONG

song of See also:

• DEBORAH (Heb. for " bee ")

Deborah (See also:

• JUDGES, THE BOOK OF

Judges v.), a document which, in spite of its many obscurities in matters of detail, throws much See also:

• LIGHT

light on the See also:

• CONDITION (Lat. condicio, from condicere, to agree upon, arrange; not connected with conditio, from condere, conditum, to put together)

condition of the Israelites at the time when the Canaanites were still contending with them for the See also:

• POSSESSION
• POSSESSION (Lat. possessio, possidere, to possess)

possession of the country .

The first rise of an historical literature may very probably date from before the See also:

• ESTABLISHMENT (0. Fr. establissement, Fr. etablissement, late Norm. Fr. establishement, from O. Fr. establir, Fr. etablir, Lat. stabilire, to make stable)

establishment of the See also:

• MONARCHY (Fr. monarchic, from Lat. monarchia, Gr. uovapXia, rule of one, µbvos, alone, apXi7, rule)

monarchy . Various portions of the Old Testament belong to the time of the earlier kings; but it was under the later kings that a great part of extant Hebrew literature came into shape . To this See also:

• AGE (Fr. age, through late Lat. aetaticum, from aetas)

age also belong the See also:

• GEZER

Gezer and the Siloam inscriptions and a daily increasing number of See also:

• SEALS

seals and gems bearing the names of Israelites . The Hebrew language is thus known to us from a very ancient period . But we are far from being acquainted with its real phonetic Pronun- condition in the time of See also:

• DAVID
• DAVID (a Hebrew name meaning probably beloved 1)
• DAVID, FELICIEN (1810—1876)
• DAVID, GERARD [GHEERAERT DAVIT], (?=1523)
• DAVID, PIERRE JEAN (1789–1856)
• DAVID, ST (Dewi, Sant)

David or See also:

• ISAIAH
• ISAIAH, ASCENSION OF

Isaiah . For, much as ciation. we owe to the labours of the later Jewish See also:

• SCHOOLS

schools, which with See also:

• INFINITE (from Lat. in, not, finis, end or limit; cf. findere, to deave)

infinite care fixed the See also:

• PRONUNCIATION (Lat. pronuntiatio, from pronuntiare, proclaim, announce, pronounce)

pronunciation of the sacred See also:

• TEXT (Lat. textum, woven fabric, from texere, to weave)

text by adding vowels and other signs, it is evident that even at the best they could only represent the pronunciation of the language in its latest See also:

• STAGE (Fr. 6/age; from Lat. stare, to stand)

stage, not that of very early ages . Besides, their See also:

• OBJECT

object was not to exhibit Hebrew simply as it was, but to show how it should be read in the See also:

• SOLEMN (Lat. sollemnis, sollemnis, less correctly solennis, yearly, annual; from sollus = totus, whole, entire, Gr. Mos., and annus, year)

solemn See also:

• CHANT (derived through the Fr. from the Lat. cantare, to sing; an old form is " chaunt ")

chant of the See also:

• SYNAGOGUE (avvaywyii)
• SYNAGOGUE, UNITED

synagogue . Accordingly, the pronunciation of the older period may have differed considerably from that represented by the See also:

• PUNCTUATION (Lat. punctum, a point)

punctuation . Such See also:

• DIFFERENCES, CALCULUS OF (Theory of Finite Differences)

differences are now and then indicated by the customary spelling of the ancient texts,I and sometimes the See also:

• ORTHOGRAPHY (from Gr. Opeoc, correct, right or straight, and yp&cbecv, to write)

orthography is directly at variance with the punctuation.' In a few rare cases we may derive help from the somewhat older tradition contained in the representation of Hebrew words and proper names by See also:

• GREEK
• GREEK, ETRUSCAN AND

Greek letters, especially in the ancient Alexandrine See also:

• TRANSLATION

translation of the See also:

• BIBLE
• BIBLE, ENGLISH

Bible (the so-called See also:

• SEPTUAGINT, THE (Gr. of 0', Lat. LXX.)

Septuagint) . It is of particular importance to remark that this older tradition still retains an See also:

• ORIGINAL

original a in many cases where the punctuation has the later i or e . We have examined this point somewhat in detail, in order to contradict the false but ever-recurring notion that the ordinary text of the Bible represents without any essential modification the pronunciation of ancient Hebrew, whereas in reality it expresses (in a very instructive and careful manner, it is true) only its latest development, and that for the purpose of solemn public recitation . A clear trace of dialectal differences within Israel is found in Judges xii .

6, which shows that the ancient Ephraimites pronounced samek instead of shin . The destruction of the Judaean See also:

• KINGDOM

kingdom dealt a heavy See also:

• BLOW, JOHN (1648-1708)

blow to the Hebrew language . But it is going too far to suppose that it Period of was altogether banished from ordinary See also:

• LIFE

life at the time See also:

• EXILE (Lat. exsilium or exilium, from exsul or exul, which is derived from ex, out of, and the root sal, to go, seen in salire, to leap, consul, &c.; the connexion with solum, soil, country is now generally considered wrong)

exile is of the exile, and that Aramaic came into use among all Babyloa. the See also:

• JEWS
• JEWS (Heb. Y8hudi, man of Judah; Gr. 'Iovbaiot; Lat. Judaei)

Jews . In the See also:

• EAST
• EAST, ALFRED (1849- )

East even small communities, especially if they form a religious See also:

• BODY

body, often cling persistently to their See also:

• MOTHER

mother-See also:

• TONGUE (O. Eng. lunge)

tongue, though they may be surrounded by a population of See also:

• ALIEN (Lat. alienus)

alien speech; and such was probably the case with the Jews in Babylonia . See HEBREW LANGUAGE . Even so See also:

• LATE

late as the time of See also:

• EZRA (from a Hebrew word meaning " help ")
• EZRA, FOURTH BOOK (or APOCALYPSE) OF
• EZRA, THIRD BOOK OF [I Esdras]

Ezra, Hebrew was in all See also:

• PROBABILITY (Lat. probabilis, probable or credible)

probability the ordinary language of the new community . In Neh. xiii . 24 we find a complaint that the See also:

• CHILDREN, LAW RELATING TO

children of Jews by wives from Ashdod and other places spoke See also:

• HALF

half in the " Jewish " language and half in the language of Ashdod, or whatever else may have been the tongue of their mothers . No one I For example, we may conclude with tolerable certainty, from the presence and See also:

• ABSENCE (Lat. absentia)

absence of the vowel-letters y and w, that in older times the accented e and o were not pronounced long, and that, on the other hand, the diphthongs au and ai were used for the later o and e . 2 The very first word of the Bible contains an Aleph (spiritus lenis), which is required by See also:

• ETYMOLOGY (Gr. grvµos, true, and X6yos, "account)

etymology and was once audible, but which the pronunciation represented by the point-system ignores.can suppose that See also:

• NEHEMIAH (Heb. for " Yah[weh] comforts ")

Nehemiah would have been particularly zealous that the children of Jews should speak an Aramaic See also:

• DIALECT (from Gr. Sia stcror, conversation, manner of speaking, &aXeyec6at, to converse)

dialect with correctness . He no doubt refers to Hebrew as it was then spoken—a stage in its development of which .Nehemiah's own See also:

• WORK

work gives a very See also:

• FAIR

fair See also:

• IDEA (Gr. Ibia, connected with i&eiv, to see; cf. Lat. species from specere, to look at)

idea . After the time of See also:

• ALEXANDER
• ALEXANDER (1461-1506)
• ALEXANDER (ALEXANDER OF BATTENBERG) (1857-1893)
• ALEXANDER (ALEXANDER OsxENOVici) (1876-1903)
• ALEXANDER, ARCHIBALD (1772—1851)
• ALEXANDER, FRANCIS (1800—1881)
• ALEXANDER, GEORGE (1858— )
• ALEXANDER, JOHN WHITE (1856- )
• ALEXANDER, JOSEPH ADDISON (18o9—186o)
• ALEXANDER, SIR JAMES EDWARD (1803—1885)
• ALEXANDER, WILLIAM (1824— )
• ALEXANDER, WILLIAM LINDSAY (1808—1884)

Alexander large bodies of the Jewish population were settled in See also:

• ALEXANDRIA
• ALEXANDRIA (Arab. Iskenderia)

Alexandria and other western cities, and were very rapidly Hellenized .

Meanwhile the See also:

• PRINCIPAL

principal language Hebrew of See also:

• SYRIA

Syria and the neighbouring countries, Aramaic, which supplanted had already become the language of the older Jewish colonies in Egypt (see below), and the See also:

• INFLUENCE (Late Lat. influentia, from influere, to flow in)

influence of which Aramaic. may be perceived even in some pre-exilic writings, began to spread more and more among the Jews of Palestine . Hebrew gradually ceased to be the language of the people and became that of See also:

• RELIGION
• RELIGION, FOLKLORE, CUSTOM

religion and the schools . The See also:

• BOOK

book of See also:

• DANIEL
• DANIEL (DANIL)
• DANIEL, BOOK
• DANIEL, GABRIEL (1649-1728)

Daniel, written in 167 or 166 B.C., begins in Hebrew, then suddenly passes into Aramaic, and ends again in Hebrew . Similarly the redactor of Ezra (or more correctly of the See also:

• CHRONICLES, BOOKS OF

Chronicles, of which Ezra and Nehemiah form the conclusion) borrows large portions from an Aramaic work, in most cases without translating them into Hebrew . No reason can be assigned for the use of Aramaic in Jewish See also:

• WORKS

works intended primarily for See also:

• JERUSALEM (Heb. ^S0-r, Yerushalaim, pronounced as a dual)
• JERUSALEM, SYNOD OF (1672)

Jerusalem, unless it were already the dominant speech, whilst, on the other hand, it was very natural for a pious See also:

• JEW, THE WANDERING

Jew to write in the ancient " See also:

• HOLY

holy " language even after it had ceased to be spoken . See also:

• ESTHER

Esther, See also:

• ECCLESIASTES (Heb. n5np, Kohelet, "Koheleth "; Sept. EKKarlveamrils; Jerome concionator)

Ecclesiastes, and a few See also:

• PSALMS, BOOK
• PSALMS, BOOK OF, or PSALTER

Psalms, which belong to the 3rd and 2nd centuries before our era, are indeed written in Hebrew, but are so strongly tinctured by the Aramaic influence as to prove that the writers usually spoke Aramaic . It is certain, of course, that there were still many Jews capable both of writing and speaking Hebrew . So the Book of Sirach, composed shortly after 200 B.C., was written in an almost absolutely pure Hebrew, as is proved by the portions of the original, amounting to about two-thirds of the whole, which have come to light in our See also:

• DAY (O. Eng. dreg, Ger. Tag; according to the New English Dictionary, " in no way related to the Lat. dies")
• DAY, JOHN (1574-1640?)
• DAY, THOMAS (1748-1789)

day . But we are not likely to be far wrong in saying that in the Maccabean age Hebrew had died out among the Jews as a current popular language, and there is nothing to show that it survived longer among any of the neighbouring peoples . But in the last period of the history of Jerusalem, and still more after the destruction of the See also:

• CITY (through Fr. cite, from Lat. civitas)

city by See also:

• TITUS
• TITUS, FLAVIUS SABINUS VESPASIANUS
• TITUS, THE EPISTLE TO

Titus, the Jewish schools played so important a part that the life of the Hebrew language was in a manner prolonged, The lectures and discussions of the learned were carried on in that tongue . We have very extensive specimens of this more modern Hebrew in the Mishnah and other works, and scattered pieces throughout both Talmuds . But, just as the " classical See also:

• SANSKRIT

Sanskrit, which has been spoken and written by the Brahmans during the last twenty-five centuries, differs considerably from the language which was once in use among the people, so this " language of the learned " diverges in many respects from the " holy language "; and this distinction is one of which the rabbis were perfectly conscious .

The " language of the learned " borrows a great part of its vocabulary from Aramaic,3 and this exercises a strong influence upon the grammatical forms . The See also:

• GRAMMAR (from Lat. grammatica, sc. ars; Gr. ypaµ)

grammar is perceptibly modified by the peculiar style of these writings, which for the most part treat of legal and See also:

• RITUAL (from Lat. ritus, a custom, especially a religious rite or custom)

ritual questions in a strangely laconic and pointed manner . But, large as is the proportion of See also:

• FOREIGN

foreign words and artificial as this language is, it contains a considerable number of purely Hebrew elements which by chance do not appear in the Old Testament . Although we may generally assume, in the case of a word occurring in the Mishnah but not found in the Old Testament, that it is borrowed from Aramaic, there are several words of this class which, by their radical consonant,, prove themselves to be genuine Hebrew . And' even some grammatical phenomena of this language are to be regarded as a genuine development of Hebrew, though they are unknown to earlier Hebrew speech . From the beginning of the See also:

• MIDDLE

middle ages down to our own times the Jews have produced an enormous mass of writings in Hebrew, sometimes closely following the language of the Bible, See also:

• MEDIEVAL

medieval sometimes that of the Mishnah, sometimes introducing aad in a perfectly inorganic manner a great quantity of Modern Aramaic forms, and occasionally imitating the Arabic Hebrew. style . The study of these See also:

• VARIATIONS
• VARIATIONS, CALCULUS
• VARIATIONS, CALCULUS OF

variations has but little See also:

• INTEREST

interest for the linguist, since they are nothing but a purely artificial See also:

• IMITATION (Lat. imitatio, from intitari, to imitate)

imitation, dependent upon the greater or less skill of the individual . The language of the Mishnah stands in much closer connexion with real life, and has a definite raison d'etre; all later Hebrew is to be classed with medieval and modern Latin . The See also:

• DREAM (from a root dreug, connected with Germ. trugen, to deceive)

dream of some Zionists, that Hebrew—a would-be Hebrew, that is to say—will again become a living, popular language in Palestine, has still less prospect of realization than their See also:

• VISION (from Lat. videre, to see), or SIGHT

vision of a restored Jewish See also:

• EMPIRE

empire in the Holy See also:

• LAND

Land . Much Hebrew also was written in the middle ages by the hostile brethren of the Jews, the See also:

• SAMARITANS

Samaritans; but for the student of language these productions have, at the most, the See also:

• CHARM (through the Fr. from the Lat. carmen, a song)

charm attaching to curiosities . 3 It is a characteristic feature that " my See also:

• FATHER

father" and " my mother " are here expressed by purely Aramaic forms . Even the learned did not wish to See also:

• CALL (from Anglo-Saxon ceallian, a common Teutonic word, cf. Dutch kallen, to talk or chatter)

call their " papas " and " mammas " by any other names than those to which they had been accustomed in See also:

• INFANCY

infancy .

The ancient Hebrew language, especially in the See also:

• MATTER

matter of syntax, has an essentially primitive character . Parataxis of sentences Character prevails over hypotaxis to a greater extent than in any Ch ancient other literary Semitic language with which we are well Henw. acquainted . The favourite method is to See also:

• LINK

link sentences together by means of a simple "and." There is a great lack of particles to express with clearness the more subtle connexion of ideas . The use of the verbal tenses is in a great measure deter-See also:

• MINED

mined by the See also:

• IMAGINATION

imagination, which regards things unaccomplished as accomplished, and the past as still present . There are but few words or inflexions to indicate slight modifications of meaning, though in ancient times the language may perhaps have distinguished certain moods of the verb somewhat more plainly than the present punctuation does . But in any case this language was far less suited for the definite expression of studied thought, and less suited still for the treatment of abstract subjects, than for See also:

• POETRY

poetry . We must remember, however, that as long as Hebrew was a living language it never had to be used for the expression of the abstract . Had it lived somewhat longer it might very possibly have learnt to adapt itself better to the formulating of systematic conceptions . The only book in the Old Testament which attempts to grapple with an abstract subject in See also:

• PLAIN (O. Fr. plain, from Lat. plenum)

plain See also:

• PROSE

prose—namely, Ecclesiastes—See also:

• DATES

dates from a time when Hebrew was dying out or was already dead . That the gifted author does not always succeed in giving clear expression to his ideas is partly due to the fact that the language had never been employed for any scientific purposes whatsoever . With regard to grammatical forms, Hebrew has lost much that is still preserved in Arabic; but the greater richness of Arabic is in part the result of later development . The vocabulary of the Hebrew language is, as we have said, known but imperfectly .

The Old Testament is no very large work; vit contains, moreover, many repetitions, and a great Vocabu- oc number of pieces which are of little use to the lexicolary . grapher . On the other hand, much may be derived from certain poetical books, such as See also:

• JOB

Job.' The numerous Sirat; X€yoseva are a sufficient proof that many more words existed than appear in the Old Testament, the writers of which never had occasion to use them . Were we in possession of the,whole Hebrew vocabulary in the time of See also:

• JEREMIAH

Jeremiah, for example, we should be far better able to determine the relation in which Hebrew stands to the other Semitic languages, the Old Testament would be far more intelligible to us, and it would be very much easier to detect the numerous corrupt passages in our text . Phoenician . The Phoenician dialect closely resembles Hebrew, and is known to us from only one See also:

• AUTHENTIC (from Gr. aOO 'rns, one who does a thing himself)

authentic source, namely, inscriptions, some of Phoeec- which date from about 600 B.C. or earlier; but the great See also:

• CLAN (Gaelic clann, O. Ir. cland, connected with Lat. planta, shoot or scion, the ancient Gaelic or Goidelic substituting k for p)

clan. mass of them begin with the end of the 5th century before our era . These inscriptions"-- we owe to the Phoenicians of the mother-country and the neighbouring regions (See also:

• CYPRUS
• CYPRUS, CHURCH OF

Cyprus, Egypt and See also:

• GREECE

Greece), as well as to the Phoenicians of See also:

• AFRICA
• AFRICA, ROMAN

Africa, especially See also:

• CARTHAGE
• CARTHAGE (Phoenician Kart-hadshat, " New City "; Gr. Kapxn5c; v, Lat. Carthago or Carchedon)
• CARTHAGE, SYNODS OF

Carthage . Inscriptions are, however, a very insufficient means for obtaining the knowledge of a language . The number of subjects treated in them is not large; many of the most important grammatical forms and many of the words most used in ordinary life do not occur . Moreover, the " See also:

• LAPIDARY

lapidary style " is often very hard to understand . The repetition of obscure phrases, in the same connexion, in several inscriptions does not help to make them more intelligible . Of what use is it to us that, for instance, thousands of Carthaginian inscriptions begin with the very same incomprehensible See also:

• DEDICATION (Lat. dedicatio, from dedicare, to proclaim, to announce)

dedication to two divinities ?

The difficulty of See also:

• INTERPRETATION (from Lat. interpretari, to expound, explain, inter pres, an agent, go-between, interpreter; inter, between, and the root pret-, possibly connected with that seen either in Greek 4 p4'ew, to speak, or irpa-rrecv, to do)

interpretation is greatly increased by the fact that single words are very seldom separated from one another, and that vowel-letters are used extremely sparingly . We therefore come but too often upon very ambiguous groups of letters . In spite of this, our knowledge of Phoenician has made considerable progress of late . Some assistance is also got from Greek and Latin writers, who cite not only many Phoenician proper names, but single Phoenician words: See also:

• PLAUTUS, TITUS MACCIUS (originally perhaps MACCUS; cf. Asin. Prol. 11)

Plautus in particular inserts in the Poenulus whole passages in Punic, some of which are accompanied by a Latin translation . This source of in-formation must, however, be used with great caution . It was not the object of Plautus to exhibit the Punic language with precision, a task for which the Latin See also:

• ALPHABET (see also WRITING)

alphabet is but See also:

• ILL

ill adapted, but only to make the populace laugh at the See also:

• JARGON

jargon of the hated Carthaginians . Moreover, he had to force the Punic words into Latin senarii; and finally the text, being unintelligible to copyists, is terribly corrupt . Much ingenuity has been wasted on the Punic of Plautus; but the passage yields valuable results to cautious investigation which does not try to explain too much.' In its grammar Phoenician closely resembles Hebrew . In both dialects the consonants are the same, often in contrast to Aramaic i The Siloam inscription affords us one new word, the original of Sirach some others . In the Gezer inscription there seem to be some new words of dubious interpretation . z The scattered materials are being collected in the Corpus inscriptionum Semiticarum of the See also:

• PARIS
• PARIS (also called ALEXANDROS)
• PARIS, ALEXIS PAULIN (1800-x881)
• PARIS, BRUNO PAULIN GASTON (1839-1903)
• PARIS, FRANCOIS DE (169o-1727)
• PARIS, LOUIS PHILIPPE ALBERT
• PARIS, TREATIES OF (1814-1815)

Paris See also:

• ACADEMY, GREEK
• ACADEMY, ROYAL

Academy . ' See Gildemeister, in See also:

• RITSCHL, ALBRECHT (1822-1889)
• RITSCHL, FRIEDRICH WILHELM (1806-1876)

Ritschl's Plautus (vol. ii. fasc. v., See also:

• LEIPZIG

Leipzig, 1884).and other cognate languages.' As to vowels, Phoenician seems to diverge rather more from Hebrew .

The connecting of clauses is scarcely carried farther in the former language than in the latter . A slight See also:

• ATTEMPT (Lat. adtemptare, attentare, to try)

attempt to define the tenses more sharply appears once at least in the joining of kan (fuit) with a perfect, to express See also:

• COMPLETE

complete accomplishment (or the pluperfect)." One important difference is that the use of wd,w conversive with the imperfect—so See also:

• COMMON

common in Hebrew and in the inscription of Mesha—is wanting in Phoenician . The vocabulary of the language is very like that of Hebrew, but words rare in Hebrew are often common in Phoenician . For instance, " to do " is in Phoenician not 'as a but pa`al (the Arabic fa`See also:

• ALA

ala), which in Hebrew occurs only in poetry and elevated language . " See also:

• GOLD
• GOLD [symbol Au, atomic weight 195.7(H = 1),197.2(0 =16)]

Gold " is not (zahab as in most Semitic languages), but harts (Assyrian huras), which is used occasionally in Hebrew poetry . Traces of dialectical distinctions have been found in the great inscription of Byblus, the inhabitants of which seem to be distinguished from the See also:

• REST (O. Eng. rest, reste, bed, cognate with other Teutonic forms, e.g. Ger. Rast, Riiste, rest, and probably Gothic Rasta, league, i.e. resting or stopping place)

rest of the Phoenicians in Josh. xiii . 5 (and i Kings v . 32 ? [A.V. v. i8]) . It is probable that various differences between the language of the mother-country and that of the See also:

• AFRICAN

African colonies arose at an early date, but our materials do not enable us to come to any definite conclusion on this point . It is tolerably certain that the language of Carthage possessed many dull vowels which were See also:

• STRANGE, SIR ROBERT (1721-1792)

strange to Greek and Latin, so that the manner in which they are reproduced in proper names by the Greeks and See also:

• ROMANS
• ROMANS, EPISTLE TO THE

Romans shows great diversity . In the later African inscriptions there appear certain phonetic changes, especially in consequence of the softening of the gutturals—changes which show themselves yet more plainly in the so-called Neo-Punic inscriptions (beginning with the 1st, if not the 2nd, century before our era) .

In these the gutturals, which had lost their real sound, are frequently interchanged in writing: and other modifications may also be perceived . Unfortunately the Neo-Punic inscriptions are written in such a debased indistinct character that it is often impossible to discover with certainty the real form of the words . This dialect was still spoken about 400, and perhaps long afterwards, in those districts of North Africa which had once belonged to Carthage . It would seem that in the mother-country the Phoenician language withstood the encroachment of Greek on the one hand and of Aramaic on the other somewhat longer than Hebrew did . Aramaic . Aramaic is nearly related to Hebraeo-Phoenician; but there is nevertheless a See also:

• SHARP, GRANVILLE (1735-1813)
• SHARP, JAMES (1618-1679)
• SHARP, JOHN (1645-1714)
• SHARP, RICHARD (1759-1835)
• SHARP, WILLIAM (1749-1824)
• SHARP, WILLIAM (1856-1905)

sharp See also:

• LINE

line of demarcation between the two groups . Of its original See also:

• HOME
• HOME, DANIEL DUNGLAS (1833-1886)
• HOME, EARLS OF

home nothing certain is known . In the Old Geo-Testament " See also:

• ARAM, EUGENE (17o4-17J9)

Aram " appears at an early period as a l designation of certain districts in Syria (" Aram of gxtehiraphicaof See also:

• DAMASCUS

Damascus," &c.) and in See also:

• MESOPOTAMIA (Mevoaora)

Mesopotamia (" Aram of the Two exte t See also:

• RIVERS
• RIVERS, ANTHONY WOODVILLE, or WYDEVILLE, 2ND EARL (c. 1442—1483)
• RIVERS, EARL
• RIVERS, RICHARD SAVAGE, 4TH EARL (c. 1660—1712)

Rivers ") . The language of the Aramaeans gradually spread far and wide, and occupied all Syria, both those regions which were before in the possession of the Kheta, probably a non-Semitic people, and those which were most likely inhabited by Canaanite tribes; last of all, Palestine became Aramaized . Towards the east this language was spoken on the Euphrates, and throughout' the districts of the See also:

• TIGRIS (Old Persian Tigrd, Diklat of the cuneiform inscriptions, Hiddekel of the Old Testament, Diglath of the Targum, Digla of the Arabs)

Tigris south and See also:

• WEST
• WEST, BENJAMIN (1738-1820)
• WEST, NICHOLAS (1461-1533)

west of the Armenian and Kurdish mountains; the See also:

• PROVINCE
• PROVINCE (Lat. provincia; perhaps a contraction of providentia)

province in which the capitals of the Arsacids and the Sassanids were situated was called " the country of the Aramaeans." In Babylonia and See also:

• ASSYRIA

Assyria a large, or perhaps the larger, portion of the population were most probably Aramaeans, even at a very early date, whilst Assyrian was the language of the See also:

• GOVERNMENT
• GOVERNMENT (0. Fr. governement, mod. gouvernement, O. Fr. governer, mod. gouverner, from Lat. gubernare, to steer a ship, guide, rule; cf. Gr. xv(3epvav)

government . The See also:

• OLDEST

oldest extant Aramaic documents consist of inscriptions on monuments and on seals, weights and gems . Latterly, a very remarkable inscription of a See also:

• KING
• KING (O. Eng. cyning, abbreviated into cyng, cing; cf. O. H. G. chun- kuning, chun- kunig, M.H.G. kiinic, kiinec, kiinc, Mod. Ger. Konig, O. Norse konungr, kongr, Swed. konung, kung)
• KING [OF OCKHAM], PETER KING, 1ST BARON (1669-1734)
• KING, CHARLES WILLIAM (1818-1888)
• KING, CLARENCE (1842–1901)
• KING, EDWARD (1612–1637)
• KING, EDWARD (1829–1910)
• KING, HENRY (1591-1669)
• KING, RUFUS (1755–1827)
• KING, THOMAS (1730–1805)
• KING, WILLIAM (1650-1729)
• KING, WILLIAM (1663–1712)

king of Hamaths belonging to the 8th century B.C. has been found in Central Syria, and a few years before excavations in the extreme north of Syria (Zengirli and See also:

• DISTRICT

district; Nerab) brought to light some not less remarkable inscriptions which go back to the same century .

The language of all these inscriptions is Aramaic, though in certain places it agrees with Hebrew . It is especially surprising that in the case of the Arabic sounds th, dh, z, they have not t, d, t,—as Aramaic generally has,—but sh, z, s, as is the See also:

• RULE

rule in Hebrew and Assyrian . It is extremely strange, however, that, in place of the Arabic d, 'See also:

• AIR (from an Indo-European root meaning " breathe," " blow ")
• AIR, or ASBEN

air does not appear, as elsewhere in Aramaic, nor yet s as in Hebrew and Assyrian,—and, in isolated cases, even in Aramaic,—but q . These phenomena may be observed on several smaller monuments . We have no entirely satisfactory explanation at our disposal: perhaps Assyrian influence has been at work . Individual monuments prove, however, that the phonetic system of See also:

• GENERAL
• GENERAL (Lat. generalis, of or relating to a genus, kind or class)

general Aramaic was already in existence ' At an early period the Phoenician pronunciation may have distinguished a greater number of original consonants than are distinguished in writing . It is at least remarkable that the Greeks render the name of the city of Sur (Hebrew $or), which must origin-ally have been pronounced Thurr, with a r (Tfpos), and the name of See also:

• SIDON (Phoen. ins, Hebrew 1-rs, Assyr. Sidunnu, Egypt. Diduna)

Sidon (where the radicals runs through all the Semitic languages, with a o (1i5mv) . Distinctions of this See also:

• KIND (O. E. ge-cynde, from the same root as is seen in " kin," supra)

kind, justified by etymology, have perhaps been obscured in Hebrew by the imperfection of the alphabet . In the case of sin and shin this can be positively proved . "Kate nadar, " had vowed," Idal . 5 (C.I.S . Phoen .

No . 93) . ' The consonants of his name are ZKR; the pronunciation, perhaps, was Zakkiir . in the period of our inscriptions: it would seem, therefore, that we must assume a dialectical cleavage, perhaps originated by the influence of Hebrew or Canaanean . Particularly remarkable is the use of the waw consecutivum in the inscriptions of the king of Hamath hitherto only known from Hebrew . Traces of the divergent phonetic treatment are found in the Hellenistic era, and—here and there—even later . Still, at the most, these can scarcely be more than conscious archaisms,—a view which is particularly corroborated by the fact, that, in certain Aramaic documents of the Persian period, both forms are used interchangeably, e.g. argil, " See also:

• EARTH
• EARTH (a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Erde, Dutch aarde, Swed. and Dan. jord; outside Teutonic it appears only in the Gr. 'pq'e, on the ground; it has been connected by some etymologists with the Aryan root ar-, to plough, which is seen in
• EARTH, FIGURE OF
• EARTH, FIGURE OF THE

earth," and ar'a . The latter orthography doubtless represents the actual pronunciation of the writer . It is to be observed, however, that zi for di, held its ground with especial tenacity as a form of the relative pronoun and in other capacities . In the Persian period Aramaic was the See also:

• OFFICIAL (Late Lat. QJicialis, for class. Lat. apparitor, from officium, office, duty)

official language of the provinces west of the Euphrates; and this explains the fact that coins which were struck by See also:

• GOVERNORS

governors and See also:

• VASSAL (Fr. vassal, vassaut, vassault, &c,)

vassal princes in Asia Minor, and of which the See also:

• STAMP (from " to stamp," to strike or tread heavily, hence to impress, O. Eng. stempen, Du. stampen, Ger. stampfen, whence, O. Fr. estamper, mod. etamper)

stamp was in some cases the work of skilled Greek artists, See also:

• BEAR
• BEAR, BLACK
• BEAR, BROWN
• BEAR, GRIZZLY
• BEAR, ISABELLINE
• BEAR, WHITE

bear Aramaic inscriptions, whilst those of other coins are Greek . This, of course, does not prove that Aramaic was ever spoken in Asia Minor and as far north as See also:

• SINOPE

Sinope and the See also:

• HELLESPONT (i.e. " Sea of Helle "; variously named in classical literature `EXX oirov-ros, o "EXXns a6vros, Hellespontum Pelagus, and Rectum Hellesponticum)

Hellespont . In Egypt some Aramaic inscriptions have been found of the Persian period, one bearing the date of the fourth See also:

• YEAR

year of See also:

• XERXES (the Greek form of the Pers. Khshayarsha; Old Testament Ahasverus, Akhashverosh—i.e. Ahasuerus (q.v.)—with wrong vocalization and substitution of y for v, instead of Akhshavarsh; in Aramaic inscriptions and papyri from Egypt the name is written Khs

Xerxes (482 B.C.) .

We possessed, even before this, a few official documents and other written pieces in Aramaic, inscribed upon See also:

• PAPYRUS

papyrus, and dating from this period, but unfortunately in a very dilapidated condition . Latterly, however, we have had a whole See also:

• SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

series of similar documents of the 5th century B.C., in a very See also:

• GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good See also:

• STATE
• STATE, GREAT OFFICERS OF

state of preservation, bearing upon the affairs of Jewish colonists in the far south of Egypt . In that country, where the native writing was so formidable to the learner, the Aramaic language and script may well have appeared peculiarly serviceable . Thus they were employed, and frequently, even by indigenous Egyptians . But we need not doubt that, in Egypt, Aramaic was also spoken by many who had migrated from Syria; and this must be assumed to have been the case with the Jewish colonists mentioned . The fact is now established that these Jews who had come to Egypt before the Persian period were military colonists, and were often referred to in documents as " Aramaeans." According to Deut. xvii . 16, the kings of See also:

• JUDAH

Judah sold their subjects to the kings of Egypt, who at that time obtained n6mbers of warriors from foreign countries, instead of employing their own unwarlike subjects . The Syrian kings also sent soldiers to Egypt, from whom the Jews learned Aramaic . That this was used not only as an official language, but also as a See also:

• VERNACULAR (Lat. verna, dim. vernaculus, a slave horn in his master's house)

vernacular, is shown by the fact that fragments of ordinary speech are found in Judaeo-Aramaic papyri . That the See also:

• EGYPTIAN

Egyptian-Aramaic documents exhibit traces of Hebrew and Phoenician influence is a matter for no surprise . Probably the preference shown by the Persians for Aramaic originated under the Assyrian empire, in which a very large proportion of the population spoke Aramaic, and in which this language would naturally occupy a more important position than it did under the Persians . We therefore understand why it was taken for granted that a great Assyrian official could speak Aramaic (2 Kings xviii .

26; Isa. See also:

• XXXVI

xxxvi . II), and for the same reason the dignitaries of Judah appear to have learned the language (ibid.), namely, in order to communicate with the Assyrians . The See also:

• SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short dominion of the Chaldacans very probably strengthened this preponderance of Aramaic . A few ancient Aramaic inscriptions have been discovered far within the limits of See also:

• ARABIA

Arabia, in the See also:

• PALM (Lat. palma, Gr. iraX6.jn )
• PALM, JOHANN PHILIPP (1768-1806)

palm See also:

• OASIS (Gr. &toss, the name given by Herodotus to the fertile spots in the Libyan desert: it probably represents an Egyptian word, cf. Coptic ouahe, ouih, to dwell, from which the Egyptian Arabic sod is derived)

oasis of Teima (in the north of the Ilijaz); the oldest and by far the most important of these was very likely made before the Persian period . We may presume that Aramaic was introduced into the district by a See also:

• MERCANTILE (or COMMERCIAL) AGENCIES

mercantile See also:

• COLONY (Lat. colonia, from colonus, a cultivator)

colony, which settled in this ancient seat of See also:

• COMMERCE
• COMMERCE (Lat. commercium, from, cum, together, and rnerx, merchandise)

commerce, and in consequence of which Aramaic may have remained for some time the literary language of the neighbouring See also:

• ARABS

Arabs . The Aramaic portions of the Old Testament show us the form of the language which was in use among the Jews of Palestine . Isolated Biblical passages in Ezra perhaps belong to the Persian period, but Aramaic. have certainly been remodelled by a later writer.' Yet in Ezra we find a few See also:

• ANTIQUE (Lat. antiquus, old)

antique forms which do not occur in Daniel . The Aramaic pieces contained in the Bible have the great See also:

• ADVANTAGE

advantage of being furnished with vowels and other orthographical signs, though these were not inserted until long after the See also:

• COMPOSITION
• COMPOSITION (Lat. compositio, from componere, to put together)

composition of the books, and are sometimes at variance with the text itself . But, since Aramaic was still a living language when the punctuation came into existence, and since the See also:

• LAPSE (Lat. lapses, a slip or departure)

lapse of time was not so very great, the tradition ran less See also:

• RISK

risk of corruption than in the case of Hebrew . Its general correctness is further attested by the innumerable points of resemblance between this language and See also:

• SYRIAC

Syriac, with which we are accurately acquainted . The Aramaic of the Bible still exhibits various antique features, found in the Egyptian papyri too, which afterwards disappeared,—for example, the formation of the passive by means of See also:

• INTERNAL

internal vowel-See also:

• CHANGE (derived through the Fr. from the Late Lat. cambium, cambiare, to barter; the ultimate derivation is probably from the root which appears in the Gr. «a urmu', to bend)

change, and the causative with ha instead of with a,—phenomena which have been falsely explained as Hebraisms . Biblical Aramaic agrees in all essential points with the language used in the numerous inscriptions of See also:

• PALMYRA

Palmyra (beginning soon before the See also:

• CHRISTIAN
• CHRISTIAN, WILLIAM (1608-1663)

Christian era and extending to about the end of the 3rd century), and on the Nabataean coins and See also:

• STONE
• STONE (0. Eng. shin; the word is common to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Stein, Du. steen, Dan. and Swed. sten; the root is also seen in Gr. aria, pebble)
• STONE, CHARLES POMEROY (1824-1887)
• STONE, EDWARD JAMES (1831-1897)
• STONE, FRANK (1800-1859)
• STONE, GEORGE (1708—1764)
• STONE, LUCY [BLACKWELL] (1818-1893)
• STONE, MARCUS (184o— )
• STONE, NICHOLAS (1586-1647)

stone monuments ' The decree which is said to have been sent by Ezra (vii .

I2 sqq.) Is in its present form a comparatively late See also:

• PRODUCTION (Lat. productionem, from producere, to pro-duce)

production.(concluding about the year too) . Aramaic was the language of Palmyra, the See also:

• ARISTOCRACY (Gr. apuvror, best; «paria, government)

aristocracy of which were to a great extent of Arabian extraction . In the northern portion of the Nabataean kingdom (not far from Damascus) there was probably a large Aramaic population, but farther south Arabic was spoken . At that time, however, Aramaic was highly esteemed as a cultivated language, for which reason the Arabs in question made use of it, as their own language was not reduced to writing, just as in those ages Greek inscriptions were set up in many districts where no one spoke Greek . That the See also:

• NABATAEANS

Nabataeans were Arabs is sufficiently proved by the fact that, with the exception of a few Greek names, almost all the numerous names which occur in the Nabataean inscriptions are Arabic, in many cases with distinctly Arabic terminations . A further proof of this is that in the great inscriptions over the tombs of Ilejr (not far from Teima) the native Arabic continually shows through the foreign disguise,—for instance, in the use of Arabic words whenever the writer does not happen to remember the corresponding Aramaic terms, in the use of the Arabic ghair, " other than," and in several syntactic features . The great inscriptions cease with the overthrow of the Nabataean kingdom by See also:

• TRAJAN [MARCUS ULPIUS TRAJANUS] (A. D. 53-117)

Trajan (105) ; but the Arabian nomads in those countries, especially in the Sinaitic See also:

• PENINSULA
• PENINSULA (Lat. paeninsula, from paene, almost, and insula, an island)

peninsula, often scratched their names on the rocks down to a later period, adding some benedictory See also:

• FORMULA
• FORMULA (Lat. diminutive of forma, shape, pattern, &c., especially used of rules of judicial procedure)

formula in Aramaic . We know hundreds of these Sinaitic inscriptions.' In any case Aramaic then exercised an immense influence . This is also proved by the place which it occupies in the strange See also:

• PAHLAVI, or PEHLEVI

Pahlavi writing, various branches of which date from the time of the See also:

• PARTHIAN

Parthian empire (see PAHLAVI) . Biblical