Semetic languages

This is a translation of a portion of the seatat (hours), prayed in the Ge'ez Rite, known as meharene ab (have mercy on us, father). I try to be as faithful to the Ge'ez, at every step, nook, and cranny, whilst still making sense for the contemporary hearer and paying homage to pretty English of the past. Enjoy.

Nearly two billion Christians and over 1.5 billion Muslims believe in him, yet Jesus is perhaps the most misunderstood and misrepresented person in history.
This book explores and demystifies Jesus – his life, teachings, personality and mission. It highlights commonalities but also examines differences between Christianity and Islam.

This book explains where and how the Qur’an challenges the traditional Church narrative.In doing so, it presents the reader with a compelling and clear understanding of Jesus and his true message.

The book also demonstrates why the Qur’an is the ‘missing link’, that all important ‘bridge’ connecting Judaism and Christianity, uniting all of the Abrahamic faiths.

Fully referenced and packed with up-to-date research, yet written in a readable style, this book will change your perspective on Jesus and his message forever!

Vocabulary of the Qurʾān and Historical Etymology:
The Imperatives and Pathologies

The  etymology  of  the  Qurʾānic  Vocabulary,  unlike  some  other
Qurʾānic  fields,  has  remained  in  the  traditional  paradigm.  Even
Jeffrey’s The Foreign Vocabulary of the Quran,  could  not  make  an
appropriate reaction among Muslim scholars, as has been seen inthe
wake of Nöldeke’s Geschichte des Qoransor Goldzher’s Richtungen
in the Muslim world.
Needless to say that the scholarly (rather than ideological) encounter
with this issue needs linguistic prerequisites', which now are missing
in our academic miliue. This contribution tries to shed light on some
aspects  of  this  subject  and  clarify  its  necessity  by  giving  some
examples. The most important suggestion of this paper is to establish
the new field of sematic languages in the Quranic colleagues.

Keywords:  Qurʾānic  Vocabulary,  involved  words,  lexical  resources,
Arabic, sematic languages.

Natural language processing has not been limited to European languages, it passed from these languages to very different ones, morphologically, syntactically
and even in the writing system. In the last thirty years Semitic languages, including Arabic, started to have their share of attention. Arabic, in particular, attracted attention because of its intriguing morphological system. It is a language of rich morphology, both derivational and inflectional.

The study employs Arabic poetics (balāghah) to help the ancient Egyptian text speak for itself. The Arabic tradition rediscovers ancient literary register and tone, which had been entirely obliterated in the Western scholarship. The book is the only work fully dedicated to carry out analyses, critical evaluations, and developed taxonomy of the Arabic literary device jinās ; one of the most important literary devices present throughout medieval and modern Arabic poetry, literary prose, songs, and proverbs. The objective of this book is therefore a double one: to radicalize Egyptological method through the deployment of Arabic literary and critical methods, and to refresh the study of ancient Egyptian and Arabic poetics. The book puts forward an innovative model as a spur to further literary comparisons between the ancient Near Eastern languages. It thus speaks to a much broader audience, including scholars in comparative poetics, comparative literature, world literature, Arabic poetics, and constructive rhetoric. The theoretical methodology can enrich and challenge works in such related fields.

ABSTRACT

The historical-critical method that characterizes academic biblical studies too often remains separate from approaches that stress the history of interpretation, which are employed more frequently in the area of Second Temple or Dead Sea Scrolls research. Inaugurating the new Eisenbrauns series, Critical Studies in the Hebrew Bible, A More Perfect Torah explores a series of test-cases in which the two methods mutually reinforce one another. The volume brings together two studies that investigate the relationship between the composition history of the biblical text and its reception history at Qumran and in rabbinic literature.

The Temple Scroll is more than the blueprint for a more perfect Temple. It also represents the attempt to create a more perfect Torah. Its techniques for doing so are the focus of part 1, entitled “Revelation Regained: The Hermeneutics of KI and 'IM in the Temple Scroll.” This study illuminates the techniques for marking conditional clauses in ancient Near Eastern literature, biblical law, and the Dead Sea Scrolls. It also draws new attention to the relationship between the Temple Scroll’s use of conditionals and the manuscript’s carefully organized spacing system for marking paragraphs. Syntax serves as a technique, no less than pseudepigraphy, to advance the Temple Scroll’s claim to be a direct divine revelation.

Part 2 is entitled “Reception History as a Window into Composition History: Deuteronomy’s Law of Vows as Reflected in Qoheleth and the Temple Scroll.” The law of vows in Deut 23:22-24 is difficult in both its syntax and its legal content. The difficulty is resolved once it is recognized that the law contains an interpolation that disrupts the original coherence of the law. The reception history of the law of vows in Numbers 20, Qoh 5:4–7, 11QTemple 53:11–14, and Sipre Deuteronomy confirms the hypothesis of an interpolation. Seen in this new light, the history of interpretation offers a window into the composition history of the biblical text.

The volume shows the significance of syntax and historical linguistics for understanding how ancient scribes established claims of religious and textual authority. Appendixes on the use of conditionals in biblical law and the Dead Sea Scrolls provide resources for further research.

KEYWORDS

Pentateuch, Biblical Law, Dead Sea Scrolls, Qumran, Historical Criticism, History of Interpretation, Historical Linguistics, Reception History, Composition History, Redaction, Exegesis, Innerbiblical Exegesis, Rewritten Scripture, Halakic Exegesis, Legal Exegesis, Legal Hermeneutics, Covenant Code, Law of Vows, Syntax, Grammar, Oaths, Vows, Pleonasm, Conditionals, Casuistic Law, Scribal Practice, Textual Authority, Interpolation, Revelation, Voicing, Protasis, Apodosis, Lexik, Bundesbuch, Auslegungsgeschichte, Entstehungsgeschichte des Dtn, Wirkungsgeschichte, Grammatik, Innerbiblische Exegese

REVIEWS

"A More Perfect Torah is an important contribution to the ongoing dialogue about text and composition. The best feature of the work is the author's effort to bring together two often insular disciplines—biblical studies and the history of Jewish interpretation."
—Matthew McAffee, Bulletin for Biblical Research 24.1 (2014)

"L. has provided us with two fine detailed studies that nicely demonstrate the interplay of language and hermeneutics. The brief summary presented here does not do full justice to his arguments, which draw parallels from cuneiform law and rabbinics as well as from the Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls."
—John J. Collins in Theologische Literaturzeitung 139.2 (2014)

"[In this book,] Levinson accomplishes his goal with a clarity and specificity that is–in sum–nearly unassailable. . . . [He] states his case clearly, carefully, and brilliantly. . . . Levinson’s argument is so persuasive and his critical skills so sharpened by use that readers may find themselves bewitched into accepting without argument or question the conclusions he proffers. . . . [As a result,] it is so very tempting to surrender and suggest that Levinson has uttered the final word on the subject. The book is just that good."
—Jim West, "Zwinglius Redivivus" blog (2013)

"This cutting-edge monograph is the first in the new Eisenbrauns series Critical Studies in the Hebrew Bible. It is presented in two parts, the first of which, 'Revelation Regained: The Hermeneutics of ky and 'm in the Temple Scroll', was co-authored with Molly Zahn. By examining the syntax, linguistic forms, and the spacing system employed, the authors explain the replacement of the conditional particle ky ('if') in Deuteronomy with 'm ('if' or 'when') in 11QT as the redactor's desire to resolve the inconsistent arrangement and awkward content of the pre-existing laws. This textual sprucing was further accompanied by re-presenting the speeches of Moses as direct divine revelation, to construct a superior and definitive finished product for the Temple Scroll's audience(s). A separate analysis of the reception of Deuteronomy's law of vows (in Num. 20, Qoh. 5.4-7, 11QT 53.11-14 and Sifre Deut.) is then shown to illuminate the compositional history of the earlier biblical forms. This is a highly persuasive and compelling study, less accessible to non-specialists, but essential reading for understanding the development of authoritative Judaean texts in the Second Temple Period."
—Sandra Jacobs, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 38:5 (2014): 194

“In the final analysis, this short book about biblical literature should challenge scholars of rabbinic Judaism in a number of productive ways. First, the book’s daunting melding of hermeneutics with historical linguistics argues against the separation of labor that currently characterizes a great deal of work on rabbinic Judaism. Second, the book convincingly destabilizes the categories of scripture and rewritten scripture. This is not only a helpful reminder that the history of biblical exegesis begins before scripture was fixed. By showing how the earliest exegetical impulses have impacted biblical texts, Levinson is shaking the canonical foundation on which many histories of biblical exegesis begin. Third, the book demonstrates what can be seen by working both forward and backward through time. A great deal of scholarship on rabbinic Judaism is structured chronologically—from the Torah to the Talmud. There are plenty of good reasons for this, and certainly no justification for wholesale change. Indeed, the first chapter of the present work is perfectly chronological. But the second chapter disturbs this all-to-neat structural device, demonstrating that the shakiness of some foundations can best be seen not just by looking down from above but by climbing down and probing deeply and carefully. Finally, Levinson’s contribution to our understanding of the Second Temple period quest for a more perfect Torah sheds general light on rabbinic literature, especially by implicit contrast. Rabbinic Judaism—with its belief in the dual Torah, and its employment of explicitly exegetical midrashic styles—developed an entirely different approach, whereby revelation could be regained from a Torah that need not, and no longer could, be perfected by rewriting.”
    —Jonathan Klawans, The Review of Rabbinic Judaism 18 (2015): 167–170

“A More Perfect Torah contains two short yet richly rewarding studies which seek to combine what are frequently considered separate disciplinary pursuits within biblical studies, skillfully demonstrating the benefits of a broader and more integrative approach to the field. . . .

“The two studies. . .demonstrate that history critics must at least consider Rewritten Scripture and reception history as avenues of historical-critical inquiry. Moreover, the studies show that the evidence of Rewritten Scripture or reception history will, in certain cases, be determinative or strongly corroborative of historical-critical conclusion. The studies in this volume thus not only issue a challenge to the boundaries between disciplinary specialization within biblical studies, but significantly problematize any distinction between Scripture and Rewritten Scripture or between Bible and reception.”
—Deane Galbraith, University of Otago, Relegere: Studies in Religion and Reception 4:1 (2014): 105–8. Online: http://dx.doi.org/10.11157/rsrr4-1-636

For as long as the human species has had access to language we have also had a fascination with numbers. In fact, in the ancient world several pivotal civilizations combined their alphabets with numerals into one integrated system. These same cultures also devised various religio-linguistic-mathematical systems that constructed values for words and phrases that they felt had prominent significance. It is interesting to note that the same cultures that combined number, letter and often word are the same that developed mathematical systems such as Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry and Trigonometry. The focus of this paper is to tease out the commonalities in these cultures, address the neurological correlates that possibly underlie this phenomenon, and link the numbering of letters and the lettering of numbers to a psychological propensity that is advantageous in developing mathematical theory.

Akdemir, Ankara Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi bünyesinde Tefsir alanında uzun yıllar görev yapmış bir akademisyendir. O, hayatının son yıllarında Kur’an’ın anlaşılmasında Sami Dillerinin önemini gündeme getirmiştir.
Kur’an’da geçen sözcüklerin nüzul dönemindeki kök anlamlarının tespiti, Kur’an’ın doğru anlaşılabilmesi için önemlidir. Ancak konunun önemine dikkat çeken az sayıda bilim adamı birtakım önerilerde bulunsa da bu öneriler Akdemir’e göre yeterli değildir. Zira Akdemir, Sami Dillerinin, Kur’an sözcüklerinin kök anlamlarının tespit edilmesinde vaz-geçilmez bir unsur olduğunu vurgulamaktadır. Akdemir’in bu düşünceleri sadece bir öneri olmakla kalmamıştır. Bilakis bu teorisini, yüksek lisans ve doktora çalışmalarıyla pratiğe geçirmiştir.
Biz bu çalışmamızın ilk aşamasında kısaca Akdemir’in hayatından bahsedeceğiz. Ardın-dan Sami Dilleri hakkında öz bilgi sunmaya çalışacağız. Daha sonraki aşamada ise Ak-demir’in Sami Dilleri konusundaki görüşlerine yer vereceğiz. Son olarak da Kur’an’ın an-laşılmasında Sami Dillerinin gerçekten olmazsa olmaz bir ölçüt olup olmadığını ortaya koymaya çalışacağız. 
Akdemir was an academician who worked in the field of Tafsir for years at Ankara Uni-versity Faculty of Theology. During his last years of life, he brought up the importance of Semitic languages  in the understanding of the Qur’an.
Determination of the root meanings for the words in the Quran in the period of its revela-tion is vital for the true understanding of the Quran. However, although a minority of sci-entists who draw attention to the importance of the issue made some suggestions, these suggestions were not sufficient according to Akdemir. Because Akdemir emphasized that Semitic languages are indispensable in determining the root meanings of words in the Qur'an. These thoughts of Akdemir were not only suggestions. On the contrary, he put his theory into practice with his master's and PhD studies while he was alive.
We will briefly talk about Akdemir's life within the first section of this article. Then we will try to give some concise information about Semitic languages. After that, we will cover Akdemir's opinions on Semitic languages. Finally, we will try to present whether the Semitic languages are necessary in understanding the Qur’an.
Keywords: Salih Akdemir, Semitic Languages, Qur'an, Tafsir. 
Structured Abstract: In order to understand the Qur’an accurately different studies have been done since the earliest of times.  One of the most important among these stud-ies is the science of tafsir (interpretation). When we look at the first period of tafsir stud-ies, we see that most of them are linguistically oriented. This demonstrates the im-portance of determining the root meanings of the words in the Qur’an. 
It is undeniable that words go through changes in their meanings over time. In this re-gard, words resemble living organisms. There is always a possibility that words will un-dergo semantic narrowing, semantic enlargement and transition of meaning. However, some words can preserve their root meanings for centuries as if challenging history. This is also true for the words in the Qur’an. For this reason, the necessity of such studies emerge in order to determine the meaning of the Qur’an at the time of its revelation and to understand it as the first addressees understood it.  Therefore, diachronic semantic studies are inevitable. The most important of Akdemir’s studies to understand the Qur’an is his work on determining the root meanings of the words in Qur’an through semantic languages. Akdemir had 15 graduate students investigate 20 different word roots in their graduate studies. In these studies, it was found that the word roots generally undergo semantic contraction, semantic expansion or semantic changes. Rarely, as a result of these studies we observe that roots such as “brk”, “sbh”, “kds”, “hsb”, “emn” and “kfr” have preserved their root meanings. The results of these studies have a vital importance in understanding the Qur’an.  We believe that diachronic semantic studies are beneficial in determining the root meanings of the words in the Qur’an and therefore are essential in understanding of the Qur’an. However, it should be noted that such studies are more dif-ficult than thought. Perhaps for this reason, no one has yet undertaken such a study after Akdemir. In fact, we did not come across such a research method before Akdemir.

Perhaps few people familiar with Arabic morphology have not heard the statement that the declension أَبَی – یَأبی is an exception to a certain general rule, to the extent that it is sometimes cited in scholarly discourse as a prime example of such exceptions. According to the rules of Arabic morphology, the declension pattern فَعَلَ یَفعَلُ is conditional on either of the middle or the last letters of the trilateral verb being a guttural consonant, but أَبَی is declined as یَأبَی despite the absence of this condition. Due to the occurrence of the derivatives of this root in the Qurʾān, the commentators have also attempted to elaborate on this issue, with the ultimate result that there has been a consensus about the exception to the rule. Although أَبَی – یَأبَی is not the only exception to the rule and there are fourteen other similar cases, the very phenomena of exception is exemplified by these verbs.
However, an extension of the scope of study shows the limitations of some grammatical rules. The present study attempts to offer a clearer picture of the issue in the light of other Semitic languages, in particular a comparative study of Arabic and Hebrew and modern linguistic studies. The belief in the exceptional character of the declension of the verb in question has been influenced by at least two presuppositions of classical grammar: (a) its being text-based, and (b) a non-distinctions between written and spoken language.
Keywords: abi-yaʿba (أَبَی – یَأبی), Arabic morphology, Hebrew guttural verbs, Semitic languages, linguistics.