John Huehnergard - An Annotated Bibliography

LANGUAGES OF THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

John Huehnergard and Na’ama Pat-El, The University of Texas at Austin

October, 2012 Contents

Introduction General surveys of Ancient Near Eastern Languages Afro-Asiatic Semitic Languages

Works on the Semitic family as a whole Akkadian and Eblaite Northwest Semitic: general studies

Amorite Amarna Canaanite Ugaritic Hebrew Phoenician Other Canaanite languages (Ammonite, Edomite, Moabite) Aramaic Other Northwest Semitic languages attested in biblical-period inscriptions

Ancient South Arabian Ancient North Arabian Arabic (classical) Ethiopic (classical; Ge‘ez)

Egyptian Classical (hieroglyphic) Egyptian Coptic

Indo-European languages Hittite Luvian (hieroglyphic) other ancient Anatolian Indo-European languages Old Persian

Language isolates Sumerian Elamite Hurrian and Urartian

Introduction Writing began in the Near East, almost simultaneously in ancient Sumer in Mesopotamia and in Egypt in the late fourth millennium, and the texts of those societies constitute humanity’s earliest written records. The languages covered in this bibliography span the period from the beginning of writing up to the creation of the biblical canon around the first century CE. Most of these languages are extinct, although a few, such as Aramaic, Hebrew, and Arabic continue to be spoken in parts of the modern Middle East. The languages are grouped according to language family, beginning with the most widely attested of the families, Afro-Asiatic, and its two ancient branches, the Semitic languages and Egyptian; these are followed by the Indo-European languages for which there is documentation in the ancient Near East; finally a few well-attested ancient languages that are not part of any known language family are presented. Some of the languages are very well attested; there are, for example, about a million cuneiform tablets in the Sumerian and Akkadian languages, in a wide range of genres. Other languages, such as Phoenician, are more sparsely attested, their grammar and vocabulary correspondingly less well known.

General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages In most of the books listed here (Gzella 2009, Kaltner and McKenzie 2002, Postgate 2007, Streck 2005, Woodard

Huehnergard & Pat-El, Languages of ANE – p. 2

2004), each chapter presents a reliable survey of a particular ancient Near Eastern language, in most cases covering the period of attestation of each language, the types of texts attested, the grammatical structure, and the basic resources for study the language and its texts. The chapters in Kaye 1997 present the phonology of individual languages, while those in Kaye 2007 present the morphology of individual languages. A shorter survey of the languages of the ancient Near East is Huehnergard 1992.

Gzella, Holger, ed. 2009. Sprachen aus der Welt des Alten Testaments. Stuttgart: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft.

Covers languages from the period of the Bible, with reviews of the grammar of the language, and their relevance for biblical studies: chapters cover the history of the alphabet, Ugaritic, Phoenician, ancient Hebrew, the languages of Transjordan, Old and Imperial Aramaic; Ancient South Arabian, Old Persian, and Greek.

Huehnergard, John. 1992. “Languages: Introductory Survey.” In The Anchor Bible Dictionary , vol. 4. Edited by David Noel Freedman, 155–70. New York: Doubleday.

An encyclopedia-length treatment of the languages of the biblical world. Kaltner, John, and Steven L. McKenzie, eds. 2002. Beyond Babel: A Handbook for Biblical Hebrew and Related Languages. Resources for Biblical Studies, 42. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature.

Each chapter covers a language relevant to biblical studies: Akkadian; Ammonite, Edomite, and Moabite; Arabic; Aramaic; Egyptian; Biblical and Epigraphic Hebrew; Postbiblical Hebrew; Hittite; Ugaritic.

Kaye, Alan S., with Peter T. Daniels, eds. 1997. Phonologies of Asia and Africa (Including the Caucasus). 2 vol. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns.

Covers a wide range of languages written and spoken in ancient and modern Asia and Africa, including most of the languages of the ancient Near East. Each chapter reviews the phonology of a particular language.

Kaye, Alan S., ed. 2007. Morphologies of Asia and Africa. 2 vol. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. Covers a wide range of languages written and spoken in ancient and modern Asia and Africa, including most of the languages of the ancient Near East. Each chapter reviews the morphology of a particular language.

Postgate, J. N., ed. 2007. The Languages of Iraq, Ancient and Modern. London: British School of Archaeology in Iraq.

Covers the languages spoken and written in Mesopotamia / Iraq from the beginning of writing until the modern period. Chapters on ancient Near Eastern languages: Sumerian, Akkadian, Hurrian, early Aramaic.

Streck, Michael, ed. 2005. Sprachen des Alten Orients. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft. Surveys of the grammars of selected ancient Near Eastern languages: Sumerian, Akkadian, Hittite, Hattic, Hurrian and Urartian, and Elamite.

Woodard, Roger D., ed. 2004. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World’s Ancient Languages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

The most thorough survey of the languages of the ancient Near East. There is a chapter for nearly every language attested around the world through the fifth century CE. Chapters cover period of attestation, text genres, linguistic affiliation, and summaries of grammar and lexicon.

Afro-Asiatic Afro-Asiatic — also formerly called Hamito-Semitic or Semito-Hamitic — is a large family of languages that includes two branches that have representatives in the ancient Near East, namely, the Semitic languages and the ancient Egyptian language. (Other branches of Afro-Asiatic, are Berber, Cushitic, Omotic, and Chadic; the last three are only attested more recently, but the Berber languages are probably represented in a corpus of alphabetic inscriptions, called Numidian or Libyan or Libyco-Berber, from across north Africa and dating to the second century BCE.) The comparative study of the Afro-Asiatic family is still in its early stages. While some scholars have suggested a connection between Afro-Asiatic and Indo-European (part of the so-called Nostratic hypothesis), most serious scholars reject the suggestion.

Cohen, David, ed. 1988. Les langues chamito-sémitiques. Part 3 of Jean Perrot, general ed., Les langues dans le monde ancien et moderne. Paris: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique.

The first half of this volume contains chapters on the Semitic languages, while the second half includes


chapters on Egyptian, on the Berber languages, and on the Cushitic–Omotic languages. Diakonoff, Igor M. 1988. Afrasian Languages. Moscow: Nauka.

Although rather brief, this is the only monograph-length comparative study of the Afro-Asiatic languages, by one of the most original scholars in this field of study.

Hayward, Richard J. 2000. “Afroasiatic.” In African Languages: An Introduction. Edited by Bernd Heine and Derek Nurse, 74–98. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

The most recent survey of the family and its main features, and a history of the scholarship on the family, by a specialist in Cushitic and Omotic languages.

Hetzron, Robert. 1987. “Afroasiatic Languages.” In The World’s Major Languages. Edited by Bernard Comrie, 645–53. New York: Oxford University Press.

A survey of the languages and their basic structures by one of the leading authorities on comparative Afro-Asiatic studies.

Semitic languages The Semitic languages constitute the predominant language family of the ancient Near East. The languages in which the Hebrew Bible / Old Testament was written, ancient Hebrew and, in a few chapters, Aramaic, are members of the Northwest Semitic subgroup of the Semitic family, a subgroup that also includes Amorite, Ugaritic, and, besides Hebrew, other Canaanite languages such as Phoenician (and its descendant Punic), and the sparsely-attested Ammonite, Edomite, and Moabite. The earliest Semitic language attested is Akkadian, the language of ancient Mesopotamia, which first appears in the third millennium, and continues to be written through the end of the biblical period. Also attested in texts from the period of the Hebrew bible are dialects of Ancient South Arabian and Ancient North Arabian. Other ancient Semitic languages relevant to the study of the biblical text are classical Arabic and classical Ethiopic. Works on individual Semitic languages are listed in chronological order of attestation, after an initial listing of general works on the entire Semitic language family.

Works on the Semitic family as a whole Surveys and reference works

Bergsträsser, Gotthelf. 1928. Einführung in die semitischen Sprachen: Sprachproben und grammatische Skizzen. München: Max Hueber. Translated with Notes and Bibliography and an Appendix on the Scripts by Peter T. Daniels, as Introduction to the Semitic Languages. Text Specimens and Grammatical Sketches. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1983.

While out of date in some respects, this volume by a specialist in Hebrew and Arabic remains very useful. An introductory chapter on comparative Semitic grammar is followed by chapters that include sketches of individual Semitic languages followed by texts samples.

Brockelmann, Carl. 1908–13. Grundriss der vergleichenden Grammatik der semitischen Sprachen. 2 vol. Berlin: von Reuther.

These extraordinary volumes remain the standard neogrammarian treatment of the Semitic languages. Gragg, Gene. 1997. “Semitic Languages.” In The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East, vol. 4. Edited by Eric Meyers, 516–27. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

An encyclopedia-length survey of the Semitic languages, their periods of attestation, grammar, and subgrouping.

Hetzron, Robert, ed. 1997. The Semitic Languages. London/New York: Routledge. This volume contains introductory chapters on the classification of the Semitic language family and on Semitic scripts, followed by chapters on individual Semitic languages, both ancient and modern, each chapter by a leading scholar.

Huehnergard, John. 1995. “Semitic Languages.” In Civilizations of the Ancient Near East, vol. 4. Edited by Jack M. Sasson, 2117–34. New York: Scribners.

A survey of the languages of the Semitic family, their subgrouping, and the basic features of comparative Semitic phonology and morphology.

Huehnergard, John. 2004. “Afro-Asiatic.” In The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World’s Ancient Languages. Edited by Roger D. Woodard, 138–59. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Contains a brief overview of the Afro-Asiatic branches, followed by an extensive survey of the Semitic


family and Proto-Semitic grammar. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Kienast, Burchart. 2001. Historische semitische Sprachwissenschaft. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.

The most recent monograph-length presentation of the Semitic language family, although its review of scholarship is sometimes out of date. The book also contains chapters on other branches of the Afro-Asiatic family, some by other scholars.

Lipiński, Edward. 1997. Semitic Languages: Outline of a Comparative Grammar. Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 80. Leuven: Peeters/Departement Oosterse Studies.

A lengthy treatment of comparative Semitic grammar, by a leading scholar of Northwest Semitic; the work was intended to replace Brockelmann 1908–13, but it is quite idiosyncratic in its presentation.

Olmo Lete, Gregorio del. A Bibliography of Semitic Linguistics (1940–2010). http://www.telefonica.net/web2/aulaorientalis/.

A comprehensive bibliography of scholarship on the Semitic languages, grouped by language and then by topic.

Rubin, Aaron D. 2010. A Brief Introduction to the Semitic Languages. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias. A recent and reliable short presentation of the Semitic languages, with a survey of the individual languages (both ancient and modern), followed by chapters on phonology, morphology, syntax, and lexicon.

Dictionaries

Cohen, David, François Bron, and Antoine Lonnet. 1970–. Dictionnaire des racines sémitiques ou attestées dans les langues sémitiques. Paris/The Hague: Mouton/Leuven: Peeters.

Intended as a dictionary of the entire Semitic lexicon, arranged by root, this work has been appearing in fascicles, irregularly, for the past four decades and is now about one-third complete. It curiously follows the order of the Hebrew alphabet.

Militarev, Alexander, and Leonid Kogan. 2000– . Semitic Etymological Dictionary. Vol. 1: Anatomy of Man and Animals; Vol. 2: Animal Names. Münster: Ugarit-Verlag.

A comparative etymological dictionary of the Semitic family, but arranged by major semantic category for each of the volumes, with each volume in turn arranged by root. Two volumes have appeared, and several further volumes are in preparation.

Akkadian and Eblaite Akkadian is the language of ancient Mesopotamia, attested from the mid-third millennium BCE until the turn of the era, in several hundred thousand texts written in cuneiform script on clay tablets (and other media). Akkadian of the third millennium is referred to as Old Akkadian; thereafter the Babylonian language in southern Mesopotamia and the Assyrian language in the north are distinguished; Babylonian and Assyrian are further subdivided into subdialects chronologically. Akkadian served as a lingua franca — a common international language — throughout the Near East in the second and part of the first millennia BCE. The reference grammars and textbooks listed here, as well as some of the surveys listed, provide further bibliography on grammars and dictionaries of individual dialects of Akkadian. Eblaite is the language of several thousand cuneiform texts dating to the 24th century from the city of Ebla in Syria. It is closely related to Akkadian; most of the texts, however, are largely written logographically, and so the grammar is not well understood. The most recent survey of Eblaite is Huehnergard and Woods 2004. Surveys

Buccellati, Giorgio. 1997. “Akkadian.” In Robert Hetzron, ed., The Semitic Languages. London/New York: Routledge, 69–99. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Buccellati, Giorgio. 1997. “Akkadian and Amorite Phonology.” In Alan S. Kaye, ed., Phonologies of Asia and Africa. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. 1.3–38. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Deutscher, G., and N.J.C. Kouwenberg, eds. 2006. The Akkadian Language in Its Semitic Context: Studies in the Akkadian of the Third and Second Millennium BC. Leiden: Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten.

An important collection of articles on the relationship of Akkadian to other Semitic languages. Diakonoff, Igor M., and Leonid E. Kogan. 2007. “Akkadian Morphology.” In Alan S. Kaye, ed.,


Morphologies of Asia and Africa. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. 1.3–48. George, Andrew R. 2007. “Babylonian and Assyrian: A History of Akkadian.” In N. Postgate, ed., The Languages of Iraq. London: British Institute for the Study of Iraq. Huehnergard, John, and Christopher Woods. 2004. “Akkadian and Eblaite.” In Roger D. Woodard, ed., The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World’s Ancient Languages. Cambridge: CUP, 218–87. Reprinted in Roger D. Woodard, ed., The Ancient Languages of Mesopotamia, Egypt and Aksum. Cambridge: CUP, 2008, 83–152. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*.

Reference grammars

Buccellati, Giorgio. 1996. A Structural Grammar of Babylonian. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. A complete grammar of the Babylonian form of Akkadian by a leading scholar of the language, presented according to the principles of the structural school of linguistics.

Soden, Wolfram von, with Werner Mayer. 1995. Grundriss der akkadischen Grammatik. 3rd ed. Rome: Pontificio Istituto Biblico.

The standard reference grammar of Akkadian, covering all major dialects, with all aspects of the grammar illustrated by copious examples.

Textbooks (learning–teaching grammars)

Caplice, Richard I. 1988. Introduction to Akkadian. 3rd ed. Rome: Pontificio Istituto Biblico. A short introduction to the language, with exercises in cuneiform and in transliteration.

Huehnergard, John. 2005. A Grammar of Akkadian. 2nd ed. Harvard Semitic Studies 45. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns.

A comprehensive introduction to the Old Babylonian form of Akkadian, with exercises in cuneiform and in transliteration from a variety of text genres.

Worthington, Martin. 2010. Complete Babylonian. London: Teach Yourself / New York: McGraw-Hill. A thorough introduction to the Babylonian form of Akkadian, with readings from a wide variety of text genres, presented in transliteration.

Dictionaries

Black, Jeremy, Andrew George, and J.N. Postgate, eds. 1999. A Concise Dictionary of Akkadian. Santag 5. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. Updated at http://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/cda_archive/.

A reliable student’s dictionary of Akkadian; all dialects are covered, but text citations are not given. Oppenheim, A. Leo, et al. 1956–2010. The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Glückstadt: Augustin / Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. Volumes downloadable free of charge at http://oi.uchicago.edu/research/pubs/catalog/cad/.

An encyclopedic dictionary of all dialects of Akkadian by a team of noted scholars of Akkadian. Each volume covers a “letter” of the Akkadian phonetic inventory. The first volume (�) appeared in 1956, and the last (U/W) in 2011.

Soden, Wolfram von. 1965–81. Akkadisches Handwörterbuch. 3 vol. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. A comprehensive dictionary of all dialects of Akkadian, by one of the leading scholars of the language. Cognates with other Semitic languages, when known, are presented for each verb entry.

Northwest Semitic: general studies The Northwest Semitic languages include Hebrew and Aramaic, the languages of the Hebrew Bible / Old Testament, as well as the earlier Ugaritic language, the contemporary Phoenician language, and a number of poorly attested dialects that are known from a small number of inscriptions dating to the biblical period. Also Northwest Semitic, but antedating the biblical period, are various words and names embedded in texts written in other languages, such as Akkadian (see Sivan 1984; see also *Amorite* and *Amarna Canaanite*) and Egyptian (see Hoch 1994 and Steiner 2011).

Garr, W. Randall. 1985. Dialect Geography of Syria-Palestine, 1000–586, B.C.E. Philadelphia: U. of Pennsylvania Press.

An important analysis of the geographical distribution of significant diagnostic grammatical features of the Northwest Semitic languages during the early biblical period.


Hasselbach, Rebecca and John Huehnergard. 2007. “Northwest Semitic Languages.” In Kees Versteegh, ed., Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics. 4 vol. Leiden: Brill. 3.408–22.

An encyclopedia-length survey of the Northwest Semitic languages and their diagnostic linguistic features.

Hoch, James E. 1994. Semitic Words in Egyptian Texts of the New Kingdom and Third Intermediate Period. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

A listing and grammatical analysis of some 500 (mostly Northwest) Semitic words that appear in Egyptian texts from roughly 1500–650 BCE.

Sivan, Daniel. 1984. Grammatical Analysis and Glossary of the Northwest Semitic Vocables in Akkadian Texts of the 15th–13th C.B.C. from Canaan and Syria. Kevelaer: Butzon & Bercker.

A listing and grammatical analysis of several hundred Northwest Semitic words that appear in Akkadian texts written in areas where Northwest Semitic languages were spoken during the centuries immediately before the biblical period.

Steiner, Richard C. 2011. Early Northwest Semitic Serpent Spells in the Pyramid Texts. Harvard Semitic Studies 61. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns.

A recent study in which several obscure passages of the mid-third millennium Egyptian Pyramid Texts are identified as clauses in an early form of Northwest Semitic. These clauses would be the earliest connected texts in any Semitic language.

Amorite Amorite is a term that Akkadian scribes of the late third and early second millennium used to identify a large number of individuals whose names they recorded in cuneiform texts. The vocabulary and structure of those names are clearly Semitic, but not Akkadian; rather, they more closely resemble those of later Northwest Semitic languages. A few of the names are similar to some of the names of the biblical patriarchs.

Gelb, Ignace J., et al. 1980. Computer-Aided Analysis of Amorite. Assyriological Studies 21. Chicago: Oriental Institute.

An analytical list of some 6,000 Amorite names, presented by vocabulary item and by root. Streck, Michael P. 2000. Das amurritische Onomastikon der altbabylonischen Zeit. Band 1: Die Amurriter, Die onomastische Forschung, Orthographie und Phonologie, Nominalmorphologie. Münster: Ugarit.

The most recent reconstruction of the grammar of Amorite on the basis of the names, and of some one hundred words that appear in Akkadian texts from the Old Babylonian city of Mari and elsewhere.

Amarna Canaanite Amarna, in central Egypt, is the site of the capital city Akhetaten founded by the heretic king Amenophis IV Akhenaten in the early 14th century BCE. The Amarna letters are part of the royal correspondence, written in cuneiform, that was left behind when the site was abandoned under Tutankhamun. Some of the letters were sent by other “great powers” of the day, such as Babylon, but many of the letters were sent by rules of Egypt’s vassal cities in the Levant, such as Ashkelon, Byblos, Gezer, and Jerusalem. Those letters, though ostensibly written in Akkadian, in fact exhibit the verbal morphology and syntax of the native Canaanite language of the Levantine scribes, and thus provide crucial evidence of the grammar of Canaanite in the centuries before the first Hebrew texts were written.

Rainey, Anson F. 1996. Canaanite in the Amarna Tablets. 4 volumes. Leiden: Brill. A comprehensive grammatical analysis of the Canaanite features of the Amarna letters written by Levantine scribes.

Izre’el, Shlomo. 1998. Canaano-Akkadian. Languages of the World, Materials 82. München: Lincom Europa.

A short, systematic summary of the unusual grammatical nature of the Amarna letters, highlighting the Canaanite features.

Moran, William L. 2003. Amarna Studies. Edited by J. Huehnergard and Shlomo Izre’el. Harvard Semitic Studies 54. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns.

A collection of articles by the scholar who first elucidated the underlying Canaanite grammar of the Amarna letters.


Tropper, Josef and Juan-Pablo Vita. 2010. Das Kanaano-Akkadische der Amarnazeit. LOS 1/1. Münster: Ugarit.

A short but thorough introduction to the Canaanite features of the Amarna letters, with sample texts. Ugaritic Ugaritic is the Northwest Semitic language of the ancient city of Ugarit (modern Ras Shamra) on the coast of Syria (northeast corner of the Mediterranean), attested in texts from the latter part of the Late Bronze Age (14th–12th centuries BCE). Ugaritic was written on clay tablets in an indigenous cuneiform alphabet. There are over fifteen hundred texts, including some fifty mythological texts that have helped to elucidate many biblical passages. Grammars and surveys

Bordreuil, Pierre, and Dennis Pardee. 2009. A Manual of Ugaritic. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. A recent textbook, by two of the world’s leading scholars of Ugaritic.

Day, Peggy L. 2002. “Ugaritic.” In John Kaltner and Steven L. McKenzie, eds., Beyond Babel: A Handbook for Biblical Hebrew and Related Languages. Resources for Biblical Studies, 42; Atlanta: SBL, 223–41. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Huehnergard, John. 2012. An Introduction to Ugaritic. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson.

A recent textbook by a specialist in comparative Semitic grammar. Pardee, Dennis. 1997. “Ugaritic.” In Robert Hetzron, ed., The Semitic Languages. London/New York: Routledge, 131–44. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Pardee, Dennis. 2004. “Ugaritic.” In Roger D. Woodard, ed., The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World’s Ancient Languages. Cambridge: CUP, 288–318. Reprinted in Roger D. Woodard, ed., The Ancient Languages of Syria-Palestine and Arabia, Cambridge: CUP, 2008, 5–35. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Pardee, Dennis. 2007. “Ugaritic Morphology.” In Alan S. Kaye, ed., Morphologies of Asia and Africa. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. 1.490–74. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Tropper, Josef. 2000. Grammatik des Ugaritischen. AOAT. Münster: Ugarit, 2000. Review article: D. Pardee, Archiv für Orientforschung 50 (2003/4), online at http://orientalistik.univie.ac.at/fileadmin/user_upload/inst_orientalistik/UgGr_pp._301-404.pdf.

Tropper’s massive, and masterful, volume is the most comprehensive reference grammar of Ugaritic. Pardee’s important 400-page review is, obviously, quite detailed.

Text collection, dictionaries, and other resources Dietrich, Manfried, Oswald Loretz, and Joaquín Sanmartín. 1995. Cuneiform Alphabetic Text from Ugarit, Ras Ibn Hani and Other Places. Münster: Ugarit-Verlag.

The standard edition of all Ugaritic texts that had been published through the early 1990’s. Olmo Lete, Gregorio del, and Joaquín Sanmartín. 2004. A Dictionary of the Ugaritic Language in the Alphabetic Tradition. 2 vol. Leiden: Brill. Translation of Diccionario de la lengua ugarítica. 2 vol. Sabadell: Editorial AUSA. Translated by W.G.E. Watson.

The most comprehensive dictionary of Ugaritic. The original Spanish edition is affordable, while the English translation is prohibitively expensive.

Smith, Mark S. A Bibliography of Ugaritic Grammar and Biblical Hebrew Grammar in the Twentieth Century. http://oi.uchicago.edu/OI/DEPT/RA/bibs/BH-Ugaritic.html.

A comprehensive bibliography of grammatical studies on Ugaritic and biblical Hebrew. Tropper, Josef. 2008. Kleines Wörterbuch des Ugaritischen. Elementa Linguarum Orientis 4. Münster: Ugarit.

A reliable and affordable dictionary. Ugaritic vocabulary is comprehensively presented, but the text citations are not as comprehensive as in Olmo Lete–Sanmartín 2004.

Hebrew Hebrew is the name given to a number of dialects spoken roughly between the Jordan River and the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. This dialect group belongs to the Canaanite branch of Northwest Semitic. The earliest attestation of Hebrew is in a stone tablet from the 10th century BCE (the Gezer calendar). The main ancient dialects are Biblical Hebrew, Mishnaic Hebrew and Qumran Hebrew, though at least the first two are


recognized as umbrella terms for more than one dialect. Hebrew is the main language of the Hebrew Bible. Surveys Classical Hebrew

Gzella, Holger. 2009. Althebräisch. In Holger Gzella, ed., Sprachen aus der Welt des Alten Testaments. Stuttgart: WBG, 65–88. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Hackett, Jo Ann. 2002. Hebrew (Biblical and Epigraphic). In John Kaltner and Steven L. McKenzie, eds., Beyond Babel: A Handbook for Biblical Hebrew and Related Languages. Resources for Biblical Studies, 42; Atlanta: SBL, 139–56. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Khan, Geoffrey. 1997. Tiberian Hebrew Phonology. In Alan S. Kaye, ed., Phonologies of Asia and Africa. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. 1.85–102. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. McCarter, P. Kyle. 2004. Hebrew. In Roger D. Woodard, ed., The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World’s Ancient Languages. Cambridge: CUP, 319–64. Reprinted in Roger D. Woodard, ed., The Ancient Languages of Syria-Palestine and Arabia, Cambridge: CUP, 2008, 36–81. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Rendsburg, Gary A. 1997. Ancient Hebrew Phonology. In Alan S. Kaye, ed., Phonologies of Asia and Africa. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. 1.65–83. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Rendsburg, Gary A. 2007. Ancient Hebrew Morphology. In Alan S. Kaye, ed., Morphologies of Asia and Africa. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. 1.85–105. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Sáenz-Badillos, Ángel. 1993. A History of the Hebrew Language. Trans. J. Elwolde. Cambridge: CUP.

This is solid history of the Hebrew language and its dialects from its Northwest Semitic background to Modern Israeli Hebrew. It includes a chapter on the various reading traditions. The book is referenced throughout and the Hebrew is transliterated.

Steiner, Richard C. 1997. Ancient Hebrew. In Robert Hetzron, ed., The Semitic Languages. London/New York: Routledge, 145–73. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*.

Non-Classical Hebrew Bar-Asher, Moshe 2006. Mishnaic Hebrew: an introductory survey. The Cambridge History of Judaism. S. T. Katz. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. 4: 369-403.

This is a rich and detailed survey essay, covering diverse issues such as the difference between Mishnaic and Biblical Hebrew, between dialects of Mishnaic Hebrew, manuscripts and traditions among others. It also discusses the relation of Hebrew to other languages (primarily Aramaic and Greek). Some bibliography is provided.

Levine, Baruch A. 2002. Hebrew (Postbiblical). In John Kaltner and Steven L. McKenzie, eds., Beyond Babel: A Handbook for Biblical Hebrew and Related Languages. Resources for Biblical Studies, 42; Atlanta: SBL, 157–82. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Dobbs-Allsopp, F. W., J. J. Roberts, et al. (2005). Hebrew Inscriptions. New Haven, Yale University Press.

A collection of Hebrew inscriptions from the Biblical period with extensive epigraphical and linguistic notes. The book is well referenced and contains a helpful concordance. The book contains a map in the frontispiece and an identical one in the back of the book.

Reference grammars Classical Hebrew

Bauer, Hans and Pontius Leander. 1918-1922. Historische Grammatik der hebräischen Sprache des Alten Testament. Halle, Niemeyer.

An important and central work, this book is a historical phonology and morphology of Classical Hebrew. Although the bibliography is outdated, the grammar is still very influential and it has not been completely superseded.

Bergsträsser, Gotthelf. 1918–29 Hebräische Grammatik (Wilhelm Gesenius’ hebräische Grammatik, 29. Auflage). 2 vol. Leipzig: Vogel; reprint, Hildesheim: Olms, 1986.

An excellent phonology and morphology, it is a very rich but partial grammar. It was originally meant to replace Gesenius but contains a lot of original material. The work was translated into Hebrew by Mordechai Ben Asher in 1972.

Blau, Joshua. 2010. Phonology and Morphology of Biblical Hebrew. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns.


A historical grammar of Hebrew, this book introduces useful linguistic terminology and concepts to the study of the language. Although some parts are outdated and the bibliography is lacking, this is the most modern historical linguistics of Hebrew.

Gogel, Sandra Landis. 1998. A Grammar of Epigraphic Hebrew. Atlanta: Scholars. A grammar of pre-exilic Hebrew inscriptions, it includes a description of their phonology, morphology and syntax. The book also includes a lexicon and the text of the inscriptions. Some comparison to Biblical Hebrew is provided. Texts and lexical items are transliterated.

Joüon, Paul. 1923/2007. Grammaire de l’hébreu biblique. Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1923; trans. and updated by T. Muraoka as A Grammar of Biblical Hebrew. 2nd ed. Rome: PBI, 2007.

Although this comprehensive grammar is not a historical grammar, it frequently refers to proto forms and comparative data. The book was expanded by Takamitsu Muraoka who added notes with additional cross references and supplementary bibliographical items. It includes paradigms and several indices.

Kautzsch, Emil 1910. Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar. 2nd English ed. trans. from the 28th German ed. by A. E. Cowley. Oxford: Clarendon.

The standard reference grammar of Biblical Hebrew, this classic work offers a traditional description of Biblical Hebrew. It contains a section with paradigms and several indices. This is probably the most quoted grammar in biblical studies.

Waltke, Bruce and Michael O’Connor. 1990. An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns.

Despite its name, this book is a comprehensive yet traditional reference syntax of Biblical Hebrew. It offers a knowledgeable linguistic introduction to each topic and an extensive treatment of most syntactic issues in the Bible with bibliographical references.

Non Classical Hebrew

Qimron, Elisha. 1986. The Hebrew of the Dead Sea Scrolls. HSS 29. Atlanta: Scholars. This is a short but extensive grammar of the Hebrew texts from the Dead Sea. It the most important and exhaustive grammar of this stage of the language and contains essential discussions on problematic aspects of Qumran, such as its orthography and vocabulary.

Segal, M H. 1927 A Grammar of Mishnaic Hebrew. Oxford: Clarendon. A traditional and basic reference grammar, this book describes the structure of Rabbinic Hebrew clearly with references to Biblical Hebrew. Bibliographical notes are kept to a minimum and are largely outdated. It contains only a biblical passages index. It is currently the only reference grammar available for this dialect.

Textbooks (learning–teaching grammars)

Hackett, Jo Ann. 2010. A Basic Introduction to Biblical Hebrew. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson. (Includes CD-ROM)

A textbook designed for a 2-semetser course and focused on reading. It provides short and useful grammatical explanations with occasional linguistic notes. Topics are introduced in staged rather than by category. Each chapter is followed by an annotated vocabulary list and exercises, including English-to-Hebrew translations. The book includes a subject index. An audio CD is provided for pronunciation drills.

Pratico, Gary D. and Miles V. Van Pelt. 2007. Basics of Biblical Hebrew Grammar: Second Edition. Grand Rapids, MI, Zondervan. (Includes CD-ROM, Workbook and a summary)

A popular textbook in seminaries, this book first covers the grammar of the noun (including adjectives, numerals and suffixes and their syntax), then the Qal stem and finally the rest of the verbal stems. The final chapter is an introduction to the text. The text is littered with theological notes throughout. The book includes an English-Hebrew glossary and an audio CD.

Seow, Choon-Leong. 1995. A Grammar for Biblical Hebrew. Nashville, Abingdon Press. With the following: Green, Jennifer S., G. Brooke Lester and Joseph F. Scrivner. 2005. A Handbook to a Grammar for Biblical Hebrew. Nashville, Abingdon Press.

A popular textbook, it introduces topics gradually. It contains lengthy linguistic explanations and some historical linguistic notes. The book includes paradigms and indices including a subject index. The grammar does not include a glossary. The handbook offers more explanations and references to reestablish topics already covered by the grammar.


Dictionaries

Brown, Francis, S.R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs, eds. 1907. A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament with an Appendix containing the Biblical Aramaic based on the Lexicon of William Gesenius as translated by Edward Robinson. London: Oxford.

Despite its age, still one of the most reliable and useful reference dictionaries of biblical Hebrew. Entries are arranged by root. Etymological comparisons with other Semitic languages are judicious, but outdated by much subsequent work in lexicography in Akkadian and other important languages, and the discovery of closely-related languages such as Ugaritic.

Clines, David J.A., ed. 1993–. The Dictionary of Classical Hedbrew. 7 vol. of 8 appeared. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press.

This costly dictionary also includes entries from non-biblical sources up to ca. 200 CE. Entries are presented alphabetically rather than by root, and are organized internally according to their usage and syntactic function (verbs, for example, are organized according to their arguments). Etymologies are explicitly rejected as irrelevant to an understanding of Hebrew.

Kaddari, Mena�em Zevi. 2006. Oṣar Lešon ha-Miqra’ me-Alef ‘ad Taw (A Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew). Ramat-Gan: Bar-Ilan University Press.

A recent and reliable dictionary of biblical Hebrew in modern Hebrew, with references to recent scholarship for difficult words. Arranged by words rather than roots. Comparisons with other Semitic languages are frequently given.

Koehler, Ludwig, W. Baumgartner, et al. 1967–95. Hebräisches und aramäisches Lexikon zum Alten Testament. 3rd ed. 5 vol. Leiden: Brill, 1967–95. English translation A Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, by M.E.J. Richardson. 5 vol. Leiden: Brill, 1995–2001; 2-vol. edition, 2005.

The English translation is most recent comprehensive dictionary available in English. The two-volume “Student’s Edition” is an affordable reproduction of the entire original five-volume work. Etymologies are given, but must be used with caution as they are frequently overly speculative. The entries for the last few letters of the alphabet are unwieldy in their length.

Meyer, R., H. Donner, and U. Rüterswörden. 1987–2010. Gesenius’ hebräisches und aramäisches Handwörterbuch über das Alte Testament. 18th ed. 6 vol.. Berlin: Springer.

The most recent comprehensive dictionary of biblical Hebrew, unfortunately too expensive for most scholars and students. Includes the most recent scholarship on Hebrew lexicography and semantics. The etymologies unfortunately rely too heavily on Koehler–Baumgartner 1967–95.

Phoenician Phoenician is the name given to a group of Canaanite dialects spoken in what is now Lebanon and Northern Israel. The variant of the language spoken in North Africa and along the Mediterranean coast of Europe is called Punic. These dialects are attested 1000BCE - 400 BCE. Most of the textual evidence comes from official and religious inscriptions. The 22-letter Phoenician writing system is the basis for most European and Semitic scripts, including Epigraphic Hebrew. Surveys

Gzella, Holger. 2009. Phönizisch. In idem, ed., Sprachen aus der Welt des Alten Testaments. Stuttgart: WBG, 48–64. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Hackett, Jo Ann. 2004. Phoenician and Punic. In Roger D. Woodard, ed., The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World’s Ancient Languages. Cambridge: CUP, 365–85. Reprinted in Roger D. Woodard, ed., The Ancient Languages of Syria-Palestine and Arabia, Cambridge: CUP, 2008, 82–102. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Pardee, Dennis. 2004. Canaanite Dialects. In Roger D. Woodard, ed., The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World’s Ancient Languages. Cambridge: CUP, 386–90. Reprinted in Roger D. Woodard, ed., The Ancient Languages of Syria-Palestine and Arabia, Cambridge: CUP, 2008, 103–7. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Segert, Stanislav. 1997. Phoenician and the Eastern Canaanite Languages. In Robert Hetzron, ed., The Semitic Languages. London/New York: Routledge, 174–86. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*.


Grammars

Friedrich, Johannes, Wolfgang Röllig, and M. Amadazi Guzzo. 1999. Phönizisch-Punische Grammatik. 3rd ed. Rome: PBI.

A large and detailed reference grammar, this book provides a thorough description of the language. It provides relevant biblical references throughout and includes an extensive word and subject indices.

Segert, Stanislav. 1976. A Grammar of Phoenician and Punic. Munich: Beck. A small reference grammar, this book is a convenient tool. Occasional biblical references are provided in transliteration. The book includes some texts and a glossary.

Dictionaries Hoftijzer, Jacob, and K. Jongeling. 1995. Dictionary of the North-West Semitic Inscriptions. 2 vol. Handbuch der Orientalistik, 31. Leiden: Brill.

Currently this is the standard dictionary for Phoenician. The order of entries follows the Phoenician alphabet. Since it covers other languages it provides comparative evidence. The work contains basic bibliographical references and only a small selection of Phoenician and Punic examples.

Tombak, R. S. 1974. A Comparative Semitic Lexicon of the Phoenician and Punic Languages. New Haven, Yale University Press.

In this old but still useful dictionary each entry is followed by Semitic (and sometimes Egyptian) cognates and a list of examples from Phoenician and Punic. Every word is transliterated and translated. The order of entries follows the Phoenician alphabet.

Other Canaanite languages (Ammonite, Edomite, Moabite) Moabite is attested primarily in the Mesha‘ inscription, a long text dating to the mid-9th century BCE., and in two other small fragments; the language is very similar to biblical Hebrew. Ammonite is known from a few short inscriptions dating to the 9th through the 6th centuries BCE, and a large number of seals with Ammonite personal names. Edomite is attested in even fewer texts on ostraca and a few seals, from the 8th to the 6th centuries BCE.

Beyer, Klaus. 2009. “Die Sprachen Transjordaniens.” In Holger Gzella, ed., Sprachen aus der Welt des Alten Testaments. Stuttgart: WBG, 89–103. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Pardee, Dennis. 2004. “Canaanite Dialects.” In Roger D. Woodard, ed., The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World’s Ancient Languages. Cambridge: CUP, 386–90. Reprinted in Roger D. Woodard, ed., The Ancient Languages of Syria-Palestine and Arabia, Cambridge: CUP, 2008, 103–7. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Parker, Simon B. 2002. “Ammonite, Edomite, and Moabite.” In John Kaltner and Steven L. McKenzie, eds., Beyond Babel: A Handbook for Biblical Hebrew and Related Languages. Resources for Biblical Studies, 42; Atlanta: SBL, 43–60. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*.

Aramaic Aramaic is a Northwest Semitic branch, which includes a number of dialects. It is attested as early as 850 BCE and is still spoken today in Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria. In the ancient world it is attested in Syria and Mesopotamia, but as it was the lingua franca of both the Assyrian and Persian empires it spread with them all the way to China. Aramaic dialects are divided to Old, Official, Middle, Late and Modern. The following survey includes only works, which are of direct interest to biblical scholars. For a more extensive reference list see *Aramaic* in OBO Jewish Studies. Surveys

Beyer, Klaus. 1986. The Aramaic Language. Its Distribution and subdivisions. Translated J.F. Healey. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. Appeared in German as the first part of Die aramäischen Texte vom Toten Meer, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1984.

A short but very detailed description of the Aramaic dialects, which a list of distinguishing features. The division of the language is based on political affiliation and was generally not accepted, but the data are still relevant. The book concludes with a brief description of the development of the Aramaic script.


Creason, Stuart. 2004. Aramaic. In Roger D. Woodard, ed., The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World’s Ancient Languages. Cambridge: CUP, 391–426. Reprinted in Roger D. Woodard, ed., The Ancient Languages of Syria-Palestine and Arabia, Cambridge: CUP, 2008, 108–44. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Daniels, Peter T. 1997. Classical Syriac Phonology. In Alan S. Kaye, ed., Phonologies of Asia and Africa. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. 1.127–40. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Folmer, Margaretha. 2009. Alt- und Reichsaramäisch. In Holger Gzella, ed., Sprachen aus der Welt des Alten Testaments. Stuttgart: WBG, 104–31. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Greenspahn, Frederick E. 2002. Aramaic. In John Kaltner and Steven L. McKenzie, eds., Beyond Babel: A Handbook for Biblical Hebrew and Related Languages. Resources for Biblical Studies, 42; Atlanta: SBL, 93–108. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Kaufman, Stephen A. 1997. Aramaic. In Robert Hetzron, ed., The Semitic Languages. London/New York: Routledge, 114–30. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Khan, Geoffrey. 1997. Jewish Palestinian Aramaic Phonology. In Alan S. Kaye, ed., Phonologies of Asia and Africa. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. 1.103–13. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Khan, Geoffrey. 2007. The Morphology of Babylonian Jewish Aramaic. In Alan S. Kaye, ed., Morphologies of Asia and Africa. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. 1.107–19. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Moraoka, Takamitsu. 2007. Syriac Morphology. In Alan S. Kaye, ed., Morphologies of Asia and Africa. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. 1.135–47. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Segert, Stanislav. 1997. Old Aramaic Phonology. In Alan S. Kaye, ed., Phonologies of Asia and Africa. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. 1.115–25. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Segert, Stanislav. 2007. Old Aramaic Morphology. In Alan S. Kaye, ed., Morphologies of Asia and Africa. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. 1.121–33. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*.

Grammars

Old Aramaic Degen, R. (1969). Altaramäische Grammatik: der Inschriften des 10.-8. Jh. v. Chr. Wiesbaden, Deutsche Morgenländische Geselschaft.

An old but reliable and comprehensive reference grammar, it includes the texts themselves, but no glossary. The Aramaic is transliterated.

Hug, V. (1993). Altaramäische Grammatik der Texte des 7. und 6. Jh.s v. Chr. Heidelberg, Heidelberger Orientverlag.

This book includes the Old Aramaic inscriptions and other texts which are categorized as Imperial Aramaic (the Hemopolis letters). It includes the texts with annotations and a short discussion and a short but comprehensive grammar with a large section on syntax. The Aramaic is not transliterated. Several glossaries conclude this volume.

Biblical Aramaic Bauer, Hans and Leander, Pontus. Grammatik des Biblisch-Aramäischen. Halle, 1927 (reprinted Hildesheim, 1962).

An extensive reference grammar with comparative and historical notes. Rosenthal, Franz. 1995. A Grammar of Biblical Aramaic6. Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz.

This is a traditional reference grammar with a glossary. Reference index can be found in Wilson, Gerald H. 1979. "An Index to the Biblical Passages Cited in Franz Rosenthal A Grammar of Biblical Aramaic." JSS 24: 21-24.

Official/Imperial Aramaic Folmer, Margaretha L. 1995. The Aramaic Language in the Achaemenid Period: A Study in Linguistic Variation. Leuven, Peeters/Departement Oosterse Studies.

A comprehensive study of Aramaic morphosyntax, this large volume also studies the relevant Aramaic portions of the Bible. The study is primarily synchronic but is not meant to be a reference grammar. The Aramaic text is transliterated.

Muraoka, Takamitsu and Bezalel Porten. 2003. A Grammar of Egyptian Aramaic. 2nd. ed. Handbuch der Orientalistik, I/32. Leiden: Brill.

A reference grammar of the texts found in Elephantine, this book is a clear, comprehensive and


easy to use work. In addition to the traditional description it includes many comparative data and extensive indices, including loanwords and a full list of scribes and textual dating.

Dušek, Jan. 2007. Les manuscrits araméens du Wadi Daliyeh et la Samarie vers 450-332 av. J.-C. Leiden, Brill. A detailed grammatical study of the Aramaic texts from Samaria, it includes the texts, a solid bibliography, a glossary, and several indices, including a reference index.

Middle Aramaic Qumran

Fitzmyer, J. A. (2004). The Genesis Apocryphon3. Rome, Pontificio Instituto Biblico. This book includes the annotated text of the scroll and a short and exhaustive grammar of the text. With the absence of any comprehensive Qumran Aramaic grammar, it serves as the most up-to-date comprehensive grammatical description.

Targum Dalman, G. (1960). Grammatik des jüdisch-palästinischen Aramäisch. Darmstadt, Wissenscahftliche Buchgesellschaft.

An old grammatical work, which covers the unrelated Galilean Aramaic as well. The book includes a short chrestomathy with a glossary, but no syntax. It is still the only complete grammar of the Targum and is useful despite its shortfalls.

Late Aramaic Jewish Palestinian Aramaic

Kutscher, E. Y. (1976). Studies in Galilean Aramaic. Rmat Gan, Bar Ilan University Press. Despite its title, this is not a traditional grammar. It includes short philological and linguistic studies on a variety of topics, but does not offer systematic description of this dialect. The Aramaic is transliterated.

Christian Palestinian Aramaic Müller-Kessler, Christa. 1991. Grammatik des Christlich-Palästinisch-Aramäischen. 1: Schriftlehre, Lautlehre, Formenlehre. Hildesheim: Olms.

A very detailed description of the morphology and phonology, but no treatment syntax. The book includes a glossary and photos of manuscripts.

Syriac Nöldeke, Theodor. 1904/2001. Compendious Syriac Grammar. Transl. by James A. Crichton. London: Williams & Norgate, 1904; reprint, Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2001.

A classic work, this is still the most trustworthy grammar of Syriac. It includes an abundance of examples and some comparative notes.

Jewish Babylonian Aramaic Morag, Shlomo. 1988. Babylonian Aramaic [Hebrew]. Jerusalem, Ben Zvi Institute.

A detailed phonology and verbal morphology according to the Yemenite tradition, this book is the most comprehensive grammatical description of this dialect but is not a complete grammar.

Dictionaries

Jastrow, Marcus. 1886–1903. A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi and the Midrashic Literature. New York.

An old dictionary, which covers the Targums and both Talmuds, it is still useful. New reprints are available.

Payne Smith, J., ed. 1903. A Compendius Syriac Dictionary. Oxford. Online at http://bible.zoxt.net/syr /syr.htm.

A short English translation of an excellent Latin-Syriac dictionary with an abundance of examples, it is the most popular Syriac dictionary. It should be used with Margoliouth, Jessie P. 1927. Supplement to the Thesaurus Syriacus of R. Paine Smith. Oxford, Clarendon Press (downloadable at http://www.dukhrana.com/lexicon/Margoliouth/)

Schulthess, Friedrich. 1903. Lexicon syropalestinum. Berlin: Reimer. A very short Latin-CPA dictionary, it offers minimal lexical data and few comparative notes but is fairly useful.

Sokoloff, Michael. 1990. A Dictionary of Jewish Palestinian Aramaic. Ramat-Gan: Bar-Ilan University Press.

An up-to-date dictionary to replace Jastrow, it offers more examples and some recent bibliography. It contains minor comparative notes and no etymology.


Sokoloff, Michael. 2002. A Dictionary of Jewish Babylonian Aramaic of the Talmudic and Geonic Periods. Ramat-Gan: Bar-Ilan University Press.

A very good and useful dictionary, it offers vocalized entries with variant spellings. Basic bibliography, some comparative data and an abundance of references are provided.

Sokoloff, Michael. 2003. A Dictionary of Judean Aramaic. Ramat-Gan: Bar Ilan University Press. A clear and easy to use dictionary of the Aramaic texts from the area around the Dead Sea, this is a very short dictionary which contains minimal bibliography and almost no etymological notes.

Sokoloff, Michael. 2009. A Syriac Lexicon. Winona Lake, IN/Pscataway, NJ, Eisenbrauns/Gorgias. A translation to English and update of Brockelmann’s Lexicon Syriacum, it is more accessible to modern students of Syriac, but it lacks the etymological portion which was Brockelmann’s strongest suit.

Online The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon: http://cal1.cn.huc.edu/index.html

This website includes a pan-Aramaic dictionary, texts and a coded bibliography. It is not updated frequently.

Other Northwest Semitic languages attested in biblical-period inscriptions The language of the two sets of 8th-century BCE Northwest Semitic inscriptions has been the subject of much scholarly debate. Two royal inscriptions from the Syrian site of Zincirli are sometimes said to be in a dialect of Old Aramaic, but other scholars consider the language to reflect an independent branch of Northwest Semitic. The long, beautifully written inscription on plaster found at Deir ‘Allā in Jordan, which concerns the biblical prophet Balaam, is said by some scholars to be in a form of Aramaic, by others to be Canaanite, and by still others to reflect another separate strain of Northwest Semitic.

Hackett, Jo Ann. 1984. The Balaam Text from Deir ‘Allā. Chico, CA: Scholars. The most thorough and reliable linguistic analysis of text and of its the language.

Tropper, Josef. 1987. Die Inschriften von Zincirli. Münster: Ugarit-Verlag. The most thorough presentation of the unusual dialect exhibited by two of the Zincirli inscriptions.

Ancient South Arabian This group, also called Old or Epigraphic South Arabian, covers four dialects, Sabaic being the most well-attested, and belongs to the Central Semitic branch. It is primarily known from inscriptions, the oldest of which is dated to the 8th century BCE. These languages were spoken in the southern edge of the Arabian peninsula, primarily in Yemen. Surveys

Gragg, Gene. 1997. Old South Arabian Phonology. In Alan S. Kaye, ed., Phonologies of Asia and Africa. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. 1.161–68. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Hasselbach, Rebecca. 2009. Altsüdarabisch. In Holger Gzella, ed., Sprachen aus der Welt des Alten Testaments. Stuttgart: WBG, 132–59. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Kogan, Leonid E. and Andrey V. Korotayev. 1997. Sayhadic (Epigraphic South Arabian). In Robert Hetzron, ed., The Semitic Languages. London: Routledge, 220–41. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Kogan, Leonid E. and Andrey V. Korotayev. 2007. Epigraphic South Arabian Morphology. In Alan S. Kaye, ed., Morphologies of Asia and Africa. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. 1.167–92. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Nebes, Norbert and Peter Stein. 2004. Ancient South Arabian. In Roger D. Woodard, ed., The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World’s Ancient Languages. Cambridge: CUP, 454–87. Reprinted in Roger D. Woodard, ed., The Ancient Languages of Syria-Palestine and Arabia, Cambridge: CUP, 2008, 145–78. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*.

Reference grammars

Beeston, A.F.L. 1984. Sabaic Grammar. Journal of Semitic Studies Monograph 6; Manchester: University. A very short and easy to use book, it covers the Sabaic dialect but contains brief grammatical reviews of Minaic, Qatabanic and Hadramitic. There are occasional comparative notes, but on the whole it is a traditional grammatical description. The corrigenda at the end of the book is essential.


Stein, Peter. 2003. Untersuchungen zur Phonologie und Morphologie des Sabäischen. Epigraphische Forschungen auf der Arabischen Halbinsel 3. Rahden: Marie Leidorf.

This is an excellent phonology and morphology of Sabaic with hundreds of examples and an extensive bibliography. It is not meant to be a traditional grammar and does not replace Beeston’s Sabaic Grammar. Although there is no systematic treatment of syntax, syntactic notes are scattered throughout the book.

Dictionaries

Beeston, A.F.L., M.A. Ghul, W.W. Müller, and J. Ryckmans. 1982. Sabaic Dictionary/Dictionnaire sabéen (English–French–Arabic). Louvain-la-Neuve: Peeters/Beirut: Librairie du Liban.

This dictionary provides definitions in three languages: English, French and Arabic. There are no examples, though references are provided, and no etymological or comparative data is given.

Biella, Joan. 1982. Dictionary of Old South Arabic, Sabaean Dialect. Harvard Semitic Studies 25. Chico: Scholars.

Although it is not meant as a comparative dictionary, it contains references to other Semitic languages, primarily Arabic and Ethiopic. It is arranged according to the Hebrew alphabet. Examples are given with translation.

Ricks, Stephen D. 1989. Lexicon of Inscriptional Qatabanian. Rome: PIB. The material in this short dictionary follows the Hebrew alphabet and contains plenty of comparative data. The examples are translated and glossed though not grammatically tagged.

Ancient North Arabian Ancient (or Old) North Arabian refers to a group of languages and dialects exhibited by inscriptions found in central and northern Arabia, which span the 8th century BCE through the 4th century CE. These languages are similar to classical Arabic, but, though attested much earlier than the latter, they are clearly not ancestral to it. They are written in variations of the Ancient South Arabian alphabet. The language of the vast majority of these inscriptions, most of which are graffiti, is called Safaitic.

Macdonald, Michael C.A. 2004. “Ancient North Arabian.” In Roger D. Woodard, ed., The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World’s Ancient Languages. Cambridge: CUP, 488–533. Reprinted in Roger D. Woodard, ed., The Ancient Languages of Syria-Palestine and Arabia, Cambridge: CUP, 2008, 179–224. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Macdonald, Michael C.A. 2007. “Old Arabic (Epigraphic).” In Kees Versteegh, ed., Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics. 4 vol. Leiden: Brill. 3.464–77.

A thorough review of the dialect distribution of the inscriptions, and of the major grammatical features, by the leading scholar of these texts.

Arabic (classical) Arabic, a Central Semitic language, was spoken primarily in the Arabian Peninsula. Its predecessor, Ancient North Arabian, is first attested in the 4th century CE. Classical Arabic spread with the Islamic conquest to the Middle East and North Africa beginning in the mid-7th century CE as a liturgical language and the language of the Qur�an. The title “Classical Arabic” refers to texts written primarily up to the Abbasid period, which follow the strict grammatical norms set by Arabic grammarians. Surveys

Fischer, Wolfdietrich. 1997. Classical Arabic. In Robert Hetzron, ed., The Semitic Languages. London/ New York: Routledge, 187–219. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Versteegh, K. (2001). The Arabic Language. Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press.

This book-length survey covers the linguistic and cultural history of the Arabic language from its earliest attestations to its modern position. The author, a renowned scholar of Arabic traditional grammar, discusses the classification of Arabic within Semitic, diglossia and bilingualism.

Kaltner, John. 2002. Arabic. In John Kaltner and Steven L. McKenzie, eds., Beyond Babel: A Handbook for Biblical Hebrew and Related Languages. Resources for Biblical Studies, 42; Atlanta: SBL, 61–92. Kaye, Alan S. 1997. Arabic Phonology. In idem, ed., Phonologies of Asia and Africa. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. 1.187–204. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*.


Kaye, Alan S. 2007. Arabic Morphology. In idem, ed., Morphologies of Asia and Africa. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. 1.211–47. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*.

Grammars

Fischer, Wolfdietrich. 2006. Grammatik des Klassischen Arabisch. 4th ed. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. English transl. of 3rd ed. (2002) by Jonathan Rodgers, A Grammar of Classical Arabic. New Haven: Yale U. Press, 2002.

In this relatively short and easy to use grammar, individual Arabic words are transliterated, but not whole sentences. Recommended for use to those who have some background in Arabic.

Wright, W. (1967). A Grammar of the Arabic Language3. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. The most popular grammar of the Classical language, this is an extensive grammar with plenty of examples. It contains many references to other Semitic languages, although its etymology is occasionally outdated. Knowledge of Arabic script is necessary.

Dictionaries While biblical scholars are encouraged to use Arabic for the study of Biblical Hebrew, it is nonetheless advisable to consult with an Arabist, as the following books contain material occasionally based on grammars rather than on texts.

Ambros, Arne A. 2004. A Concise Dictionary of Koranic Arabic. Wiesbaden: Reichert. An excellent dictionary of the Quranic text, it is organized by root and fully transliterated and translated. The entries contain many grammatical data and are easy to use. The book also includes several useful indices, including names and particles.

Hava, J. G. (1982). Al-Farāʾid Arabic-English Dictionary5. Beirut, Dar el-Mashreq. A concise dictionary, it is nonetheless comprehensive and easy to use for those with an Arabic background. No transliteration is provided and the typeset is difficult to read on occasion.

Lane, Edward Wm. 1863–93. Maddu-l-Kamoos. An Arabic–English Lexicon. 8 vol. London: Williams & Norgate.

Organized by root, this is still the most trustworthy and extensive Arabic dictionary. No transliteration is provided but entries are fully vocalized and all examples are translated.

Ullmann, Manfred, ed. 1970–2008. Wörterbuch der klassischen arabischen Sprache. 2 vol, Kaf and Lam. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.

Still incomplete, this is a very comprehensive dictionary. It is arranged by root. Headings are in Arabic but the entry is fully transliterated. Each entry contains many examples but most are not translated. Basic definitions are given in German and English.

Ethiopic (classical; Ge‘ez) Classical Ethiopic or Ge‘ez was the language of the kingdom of Axum in northern Ethiopia. It is first attested in monumental inscriptions from the fourth century CE, recorded in the consonantal Ancient South Arabian alphabet, and soon in a modified form of that alphabet that also indicated vowels. Translations of the Bible followed, and eventually a vast Christian literature. Some early Jewish and Christian texts, such as Enoch and Jubilees are largely preserved only in their Ethiopic translations. Ge‘ez died out as a spoken language in the tenth century but continued to be used as a literary and liturgical language. Surveys

Gragg, Gene. 1997. Ge‘ez (Ethiopic). In Robert Hetzron, ed., The Semitic Languages. London/New York: Routledge, 242–60. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Gragg, Gene. 1997. Ge‘ez Phonology. In Alan S. Kaye, ed., Phonologies of Asia and Africa. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. 1.169–86. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Gragg, Gene. 2004. Ge’ez (Aksum). In Roger D. Woodard, ed., The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World’s Ancient Languages. Cambridge: CUP, 427–53. Reprinted in Roger D. Woodard, ed., The Ancient Languages of Mesopotamia Egypt, and Aksum. Cambridge: CUP, 2008, 211–38. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Voigt, Rainer. 2007. Classical Ethiopic (Ge‘ez). In Alan S. Kaye, ed., Morphologies of Asia and Africa. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. 1.193–210. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*.


Reference grammars Dillmann, August. 1907. Ethiopic Grammar. Transl. by J. Crichton. London: Williams & Norgate.

Although now over a century old, this remains the standard reference grammar of classical Ethiopic, with many examples of each point of grammar.

Weninger, S. (1993). Geʿez: Classical Ethiopic. München, Lincom Europa. A short but reliable presentation of the main grammatical features by a leading scholar of the language.

Textbooks (learning–teaching grammars) Lambdin, Thomas O. 1978. Introduction to Classical Ethiopic (Ge‘ez). Harvard Semitic Studies 24. Scholars.

A graded lesson grammar, presented in transliteration, with copious exercises to reinforce the grammatical features of each lesson. A substantial chrestomathy of texts with notes is also given, as well as a large glossary.

Tropper, Josef. 2002. Altäthiopisch: Grammatik des Ge‘ez mit Übungstexten und Glossar. Münster: Ugarit. A comprehensive presentation of the grammar, in transliteration, is followed by a short selection of texts in the Ethiopic script and transliteration, and paradigms and bibliography.

Dictionaries Dillmann, August. 1865. Lexicon linguae aethiopicae cum indice latino. Leipzig: Weigel.

The only comprehensive dictionary of the language that includes text citations. It is arranged by roots, according to the order of the Ethiopic alphabet. A useful index of proper names is included. There is also a Latin–Ethiopic index. The etymologies are outdated and not reliable.

Leslau, Wolf. 1987. Comparative Dictionary of Ge‘ez (Classical Ethiopic). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. This comprehensive dictionary takes into account a great deal of modern research on classical Ethiopic, but gives no text citations. It is arranged by roots, in the order of the Latin alphabet. There is also an English–Ethiopic index. Includes up-to-date etymologies comparing other Semitic languages and other Ethiopian Semitic languages.

Egyptian Ancient Egyptian first appears in brief inscriptions in the late 4th millennium, very soon after the earliest Mesopotamian writing. The distinctive, indigenous hieroglyphic script (and the hieratic and demotic derivatives of the latter) encodes a logo-consonantal writing system. The Coptic form of the Egyptian language is written in a modified form of the Greek alphabet. Egyptian is distantly related to the Semitic language family.

Classical (hieroglyphic) Egyptian Classical Egyptian is divided by scholars into Old, Middle, and Late periods; changes in the grammar and vocabulary are evident in these phases. The hieroglyphic language continued to be written until the 4th century CE. Grammars and surveys

Allen, James P. 2010. Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of the Hieroglyphs. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

A recent, widely-used textbook of the classical form of Egyptian. Gardiner, Alan H. 1957. Egyptian Grammar, Being an Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

This classic volume is both a textbook and a reference grammar of the classical form of Egyptian. The presentation of the verbal system has become outdated.

Loprieno, Antonio. 1995. Ancient Egyptian: A Linguistic Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

A thorough linguistic presentation of the entire history of the Egyptian language, from Old Egyptian through Coptic.

Loprieno, Antonio. 2004. “Ancient Egyptian and Coptic.” In The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World’s Ancient Languages. Edited by Roger D. Woodard, 160–217. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Reprinted in Roger D. Woodard, ed., The Ancient Languages of Mesopotamia Egypt, and Aksum.


Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008, 153–210. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*.

Dictionaries Erman, Adolf, and Hermann Grapow. 1926–63. Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache. 7 vol. Leipzig: J.C. Hinrichs / Berlin: Akademie Verlag.

The standard comprehensive dictionary of Egyptian, spanning the entire history of the hieroglyphic texts.

Faulkner, Raymond O. 1962. A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian. Oxford: Griffith Institute. A reliable and useful dictionary of the classical phase of Egyptian for students.

Hannig, Rainer. 2006. Grosses Handwörterbuch Ägyptisch-Deutsch (2800-950 v. Chr.): Die Sprache der Pharaonen. 4th ed. Mainz: P. von Zabern.

A recent, thorough dictionary of the language. Johnson, Janet H., ed. 2001– . The Demotic Dictionary of the University of Chicago. Chicago: Oriental Institute. Volumes downloadable at http://oi.uchicago.edu/research/pubs/catalog/cdd/.

A comprehensive dictionary of the last (pre-Coptic) phase of the language. Lesko, Leonard H., and Barbara Switalaki Lesko. 2002–4. A Dictionary of Late Egyptian. 2nd ed. Providence, RI: B.C. Scribe.

A dictionary of the Egyptian language during the biblical period.

Coptic Coptic is a late form of the Egyptian language, written in the Greek alphabet, with extra letters. It is the language of a vast early Christian literature.

Crum, W.E. 1939. A Coptic Dictionary. Oxford: Clarendon. The standard reference dictionary of Coptic.

Lambdin, Thomas O. 1983. Introduction to Sahidic Coptic. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press. A reliable and accessible textbook for students.

Layton, Bentley. 2004. A Coptic Grammar with Chrestomathy and Glossary: Sahidic Dialect. 2nd ed. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.

A recent, comprehensive reference grammar of Coptic by a leading scholar of Coptic texts and language.

Layton, Bentley. 2006. Coptic in 20 Lessons: Introduction to Sahidic Coptic with Exercises and Vocabularies. Leuven: Peeters.

A reliable textbook for students, based on Layton 2004.

Indo-European languages Two major branches of Indo-European, which includes English and most other European languages, appear in ancient Near Eastern sources. The oldest attested branch of Indo-European is the Anatolian, which includes Hittite and several other important languages. Old Persian, one of the official languages of the Persian (Achaemenid) Empire, is a member of the Indo-Iranian branch of Indo-European.

Hittite Hittite is the first-attested Indo-European language; texts date from 17th to the 12th centuries BCE (although a few Hittite words already appear in Old Assyrian texts from the 19th century). Hittite is written in Mesopotamian cuneiform, on clay tablets. The majority texts have been found at the ancient Hittite capital of �attusa (modern Boğazköy) in central Anatolia (modern Turkey). A wide range of genres is represented among the thousands of Hittite texts. A much smaller number texts are in related languages, Palaic and Luvian (the latter, Luvian, is also written in an indigenous hieroglyphic script; see *Luvian*).

Güterbock, Hans G., and Harry A. Hoffner, Jr., eds. 1980– . The Hittite Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Chicago: Oriental Institute. Volumes downloadable free of charge at http://oi.uchicago.edu/research/pubs/catalog/chd/.

A comprehensive dictionary of all periods of Hittite, by leading scholars. Thus far, volumes covering


L–N, P, and S have appeared. Hoffner, Harry A., Jr., and H. Craig Melchert. 2008. A Grammar of the Hittite Language. 2 vol. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns.

A recent work by two leading scholars of Hittite. Volume 1 is a comprehensive reference grammar, while volume 2, called Tutorial, comprises a series of graded lessons with reading samples, keyed to the reference grammar.

Watkins, Calvert. 2004. “Hittite.” In The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World’s Ancient Languages. Edited by Roger D. Woodard, 551–75. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Reprinted in Roger D. Woodard, ed., The Ancient Languages of Asia Minor. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*.

Luvian (hieroglyphic) Luvian (or Luwian) is a member of the Anatolian branch of Indo-European, and thus related to Hittite. Some Luvian texts are written in Mesopotamian cuneiform, but others, especially monumental stone inscriptions, are written in an indigenous hieroglyphic script that has only been fully deciphered in recent years. Texts date from the 14th century to the 8th century BCE.

Melchert, H. Craig. 2004. “Luvian.” In The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World’s Ancient Languages. Edited by Roger D. Woodard, 576–84. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Reprinted in Roger D. Woodard, ed., The Ancient Languages of Asia Minor. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Payne, Annick. 2010. Hieroglyphic Luwian: An Introduction with Original Texts. 2nd ed. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.

A reliable and comprehensive textbook that reviews the grammar of the language and reproduces original texts with commentary; it also includes a glossary and a sign list.

Lycian, Lydian, Carian These languages are members of the Anatolian branch of Indo-European, like Hittite and Luvian, but they appear later, in the mid-first millennium BCE, and are written in alphabetic scripts. There is a Lydian–Aramaic bilingual text, and there is a Lycian–Greek–Aramaic trilingual.

Melchert, H. Craig. 2004. “Lycian,” “Lydian,” “Carian.” In The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World’s Ancient Languages. Edited by Roger D. Woodard, 591–613. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Reprinted in Roger D. Woodard, ed., The Ancient Languages of Asia Minor. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*.

Old Persian Old Persian, one of the official languages of the Persian (Achaemenid) Empire, was a member of the Indo-Iranian branch of Indo-European. It was written in a modified, much reduced cuneiform script developed specifically for the language by the Persian court, and is attested, primarily in royal inscriptions, from the late 6th century through the 4th century BCE. It is related to Avestan, the language of sacred Zoroastrian texts.

Kent, Roland G. 1963. Old Persian: Grammar, Texts, Lexicon. New Haven, CT: American Oriental Society.

Although somewhat outdated, this remains a useful compendium of the language. Schmitt, Rüdiger. 2004. “Old Persian.” In The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World’s Ancient Languages. Edited by Roger D. Woodard, 717–40. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Reprinted in Roger D. Woodard, ed., The Ancient Languages of Asia and the Americas. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Skjærvø, Prods Oktor. 2002. An Introduction to Old Persian. 2nd version. http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~iranian/OldPersian/index.html

A freely-available textbook by a leading scholar of the language. Skjærvø, Prods Oktor. 2007. “Avestan and Old Persian Morphology.” In Morphologies of Asia and Africa, vol. 2. Edited by Alan S. Kaye, 853–940. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns.


Skjærvø, Prods Oktor. 2009. “Old Iranian Languages.” In The Iranian Languages. Edited by G. Windfuhr, 43–195. Routledge: London and New York.

A comprehensive survey of the language. Testen, David. 1997. “Old Persian and Avestan Phonology.” In Phonologies of Asia and Africa, vol. 2. Edited by Alan S. Kaye, 569–600. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*.

Language isolates Here are listed languages of the ancient Near East that have no close linguistic relatives, that is, that have not been shown to be members of language families. In addition to those listed here there are a number of others, such as Qutian and Kassite, known only from a few words in Mesopotamian (Akkadian) texts.

Sumerian The first recorded language; speakers of Sumerian invented writing in the 34th century, in the city of Uruk. At first pictographic, the writing evolved into what is known as cuneiform. There are many thousands of texts in a variety of genres — economic and legal dockets, letters, mythological and other literary texts, scholarly texts, and more. Although Sumerian ceased to be spoken in the centuries around 2000 BCE, it continued to be learned and written by Akkadian scribes until the end of the cuneiform writing tradition at the turn of the era.

Edzard, Dietz Otto. 2003. Sumerian Grammar. Leiden: Brill. This comprehensive grammar by one of the leading authorities on Sumerian is the most up-to-date presentation of the language.

Hayes, John L. 1997. “Sumerian Phonology.” In Phonologies of Asia and Africa, vol. 2. Edited by Alan S. Kaye, 1001–19. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. Hayes, John L. 2000. A Manual of Sumerian Grammar and Texts. 2nd ed. Malibu, CA: Undena.

A reliable introduction to the language, with graded lessons, sample texts, paradigms, and sign list. Michalowski, Piotr. 2004. “Sumerian.” In The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World’s Ancient Languages. Edited by Roger D. Woodard, 19–59. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Reprinted in Roger D. Woodard, ed., The Ancient Languages of Mesopotamia Egypt, and Aksum. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008, 6–46. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Rubio, Gonzalo. 2007. “Sumerian Morphology.” In Morphologies of Asia and Africa, vol. 2. Edited by Alan S. Kaye, 1327–79. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*. Thomsen, Marie-Louise. 1987. The Sumerian Language: An Introduction to Its History and Grammatical Structure. 2nd ed. Copenhagen: Akademisk Forlag.

A reliable guide to the language, though not as up-to-date as Edzard 2003. Sjöberg, Åke, Erle V. Leichty, and Steve Tinney, eds. 1974– . The Pennsylvania Sumerian Dictionary. http://psd.museum.upenn.edu/epsd/index.html.

A reliable and comprehensive dictionary by a team of noted Sumerian specialists. Four volumes of this dictionary appeared in print in the 1980’s, covering words beginning with A (three volumes) and B. Thereafter the project was reconceived as an online resource, freely accessible.

Elamite A language of ancient Elam, in southwestern Iran, Elamite was written in Mesopotamian cuneiform. Old Elamite is known from a small number of inscriptions dating to the 23rd century; Middle Elamite, from the 13th–11th centuries BCE, and Neo-Elamite, from the 8th–6th centuries BCE, are better attested, in several hundred documents. Elamite was also an official language of the Achaemenid Empire (6th–4th centuries BCE), from which time several thousand texts are attested.

Grillot-Susini, Françoise. 2008. L’élamite: éléments de grammaire. Rev. ed. Paris: Geuthner. A reliable recent survey of the grammar.

Krebernik, Manfred. 2005. “Elamisch.” In Sprachen des Alten Orients. Edited by Michael P. Streck, 159–82. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft. Stolper, Matthew W. 2004. “Elamite.” In The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World’s Ancient Languages.


Edited by Roger D. Woodard, 60–94. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Reprinted in Roger D. Woodard, ed., The Ancient Languages of Mesopotamia Egypt, and Aksum. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008, 47–82. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*.

Hurrian and Urartian Hurrian, a language of southern and central Anatolia and the northern Fertile Crescent, is first attested in the late third millennium, but the majority of texts date to the second half of the second millennium BCE. The closely related Urartian, from the kingdom of Urartu (biblical Ararat), is attested in the 9th–7th centuries BCE. Attempts to show that these languages are members of the Caucasian language family have not convinced most scholars. Both are written in Mesopotamian cuneiform, and both remain imperfectly understood.

Wegner, Ilse. 2007. Einführung in die hurritische Sprache. 2nd ed. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. A reliable, up-to-date introduction to Hurrian.

Wilhelm, Gernot. 2004. “Hurrian,” “Urartian.” In The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World’s Ancient Languages. Edited by Roger D. Woodard, 95–137. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Reprinted in Roger D. Woodard, ed., The Ancient Languages of Asia Minor. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008. See *General surveys of ancient Near Eastern languages*.

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John Huehnergard - An Annotated Bibliography