Akkadian Lexicon Companion for Biblical Hebrew Etymological, Semantic and Idiomatic Equivalence [Paperback]

Hayim Tawil (Author), Richard White (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 30, 2009 | ISBN-10: 1602801142 | ISBN-13: 978-1602801141 | Edition: Bilingual

The Companion does not confine its interest solely to etymological equivalents with Akkadian but also embraces semantic and idiomatic relationships. It helps uncover meanings for Hebrew words that have eluded clear definition in particular contexts, but which have either Akkadian cognates or vocable euivalents employed in a similar context. It proposes nuances for Hebrew words suggested by similar Akkadian usages. It illuminates idioms from related expressions in Akkadian. It corrects certain understandings of Hebrew words and expressions in light of their Akkadian equivalents. It shows that the large resource of Akkadian literature, though geographically and temporally somewhat remote and linguistically somewhat different from Hebrew, can, offer a large number of insights for the task of understanding and interpreting Biblical Hebrew.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The work of Professor Hayim Tawil contributes to the study of the Hebrew Bible and its language at its highest level. His expertise in the Bible, its language, and in the world of the Ancient Near East is apparent from this important study. Many idioms and expressions from the Book of Books find their elucidation in Professor Tawil s explications. --Dr. Moshe Bar Asher, Professor Emeritus, The Hebrew University President of the Academy of the Hebrew Language Winner of the Israel Prize in 1993

Since the decipherment of cuneiform in the 19th century, Bible scholars have searched the Akkadian texts for cognates to Biblical Hebrew lexemes. In the 20th century, their search was substantially facilitated by the Chicago Assyrian Dictionary (CAD) and Von Soden s Akkadisches Handwoerterbuch (Ahw). But the 21st century promises to usher in a new age for the critical utilization of the comparative lexical evidence, thanks to Hayim Tawil s Akkadian Lexical Companion for Biblical Hebrew. Tawil has systematically combed the standard dictionaries of Akkadian (and occasionally, Ugaritic) to list every potential or proposed cognate to the Biblical Hebrew lexicon. Individual studies, widely scattered in the periodical and monographic literature, have also been adduced. The author has organized the material according to such categories as idiomatic usage, phraseology, sequencing and denotation. The result is an impressive demonstration of the extent to which the languages in question illuminate each other and of the limits of the comparisons. --William W. Hallo, The William M. Laffan Professor Emeritus of Assyriology and Babylonian Literature, Yale University

I can only admire the immense amount of labor you are expending on this project…I view your project as rather unique, as I am not familiar with anyone who has endeavored to undertake what you are about here. And what I find especially significant and helpful is that you do not confine your interest to etymological equivalents but also embrace semantic and idiomatic relationships. This certainly enhances the usefulness of your work. While the prodigious amount of data you have assembled will appeal primarily to Hebrew Bible and/or East Semitic scholars, I think anyone with some knowledge with biblical Hebrew and Akkadian would want to consult this Lexical Companion from time to time in connection with linguistic interpretation in their own work.
- --Dr. George M. Landes, Professor Emeritus, Union Theological Seminary

Product Details

• Paperback: 530 pages
• Publisher: KTAV Publishing House; Bilingual edition (November 30, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1602801142
• ISBN-13: 978-1602801141
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 8.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #243,830 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #14 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Aramaic
  • #52 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > Hebrew > Instruction

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for Bible Students!, July 29, 2011

By 

PhDavid - See all my reviews

This review is from: Akkadian Lexicon Companion for Biblical Hebrew Etymological, Semantic and Idiomatic Equivalence (Paperback)

I studied Biblical Hebrew before starting Akkadian with Huehnergard's grammar. I found Tawil's book to be very helpful in connecting these related languages. It made learning Akkadian much more fun, i.e., I didn't have to look up every word in the CAD to find cognates. Although it's not cheap, I highly recommend this book!

5.0 out of 5 stars Good literary comparison of the Bible and Assyrian and Babylonian literature -, February 17, 2012

By 

A. Tice - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Akkadian Lexicon Companion for Biblical Hebrew Etymological, Semantic and Idiomatic Equivalence (Paperback)

This is not just a dictionary. It is a comparison in the form of paragraphs and sentences of the biblical usage of similar or the same words of Babylonian and Assyrian with a mirrored comparison of their literature. The material used here for the Assyrian - Babylonian is from CAD - "The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago", which is huge encyclopedic sized dictionary set of the ancient Assyrian literature.

For comparison, is a comparative phonology chart of Proto-Semitic; Hebrew; Aramaic; Ugaritic; Arabic; Old South Arabian; Ethiopic (Geez) ; & Akkadian. There is an overview of history on all the language stages of Akkadian from 2600 BCE to approx. 50 CE., info. on Morphology, and then an Akkadian to Hebrew Concordance, and Akkadian to Aramaic Concordance, then the Bibliography, although sources are listed throughout.

An example from the dictionary: Leviticus 6:5 (in Hebrew & English) "the fire on the altar shall be kept burning, not to go out" ; compared to (Akkadian transliterated and English) Akk: "isatu bullu/ballu, e.g. isatu ina muhhi garakku la tebelli" the fire on the altar must not go out" (CAD B 73 I). This example is for the word fire, and there are ten more paragraphs of examples for this word.

I have the "A Concise Dictionary Of The Assyrian Language" by William Muss Arnolt from 1905, which is similar except it doesn't compare biblical literature, but it does sometimes list a Hebrew word if it is cognate or similar.

I wanted something newer and updated to compare, because the William Muss Arnolt edition of 1905 has unknown word meanings, and this is it!... Until I can afford the CAD!