Jewish Babylonian Aramaic was the form of
Middle Aramaic
The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...
employed by writers in
Lower Mesopotamia
Lower Mesopotamia is a historical region of Mesopotamia. It's located in the alluvial plain of Iraq from the Hamrin Mountains to the Faw Peninsula near the Persian Gulf.
In the Middle Ages it was also known as the ''Sawad'' and al-Jazira al-sfli ...
between the fourth and eleventh centuries. It is most commonly identified with the language of the
Babylonian Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
(which was completed in the seventh century) and of post-Talmudic (
Gaonic
''Geonim'' ( he, גאונים; ; also transliterated Gaonim, singular Gaon) were the presidents of the two great Babylonian Talmudic Academies of Sura and Pumbedita, in the Abbasid Caliphate, and were the generally accepted spiritual leaders of ...
) literature, which are the most important cultural products of
Babylonian Jews
The history of the Jews in Iraq ( he, יְהוּדִים בָּבְלִים, ', ; ar, اليهود العراقيون, ) is documented from the time of the Babylonian captivity c. 586 BC. Iraqi Jews constitute one of the world's oldest and mo ...
. The most important
epigraphic
Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...
sources for the dialect are the hundreds of inscriptions on
incantation bowl
An incantation bowl, also known as a demon bowl, devil-trap bowl, or magic bowl, is a form of early protective magic found in what is now Iraq and Iran. Produced in the Middle East during late antiquity from the sixth to eighth centuries, particu ...
s.
Classification and type
![Zauberschale aus Mesopotamien](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Zauberschale_aus_Mesopotamien.jpg)
The language was closely related to other Eastern Aramaic dialects such as
Mandaic Mandaic may refer to:
* Mandaic language
* Mandaic alphabet
** Mandaic (Unicode block)
Mandaic is a Unicode block containing characters of the Mandaic script used for writing the historic Eastern Aramaic, also called Classical Mandaic, and the m ...
. Its original pronunciation is uncertain, and has to be reconstructed with the help of these kindred dialects and of the reading tradition of the
Yemenite Jews
Yemenite Jews or Yemeni Jews or Teimanim (from ''Yehudei Teman''; ar, اليهود اليمنيون) are those Jews who live, or once lived, in Yemen, and their descendants maintaining their customs. Between June 1949 and September 1950, the ...
, and where available those of the
Iraqi,
Syrian
Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indi ...
and
Egyptian Jews
Egyptian Jews constitute both one of the oldest and youngest Jewish communities in the world. The historic core of the Jewish community in Egypt consisted mainly of Egyptian Arabic speaking Rabbanites and Karaites. Though Egypt had its own com ...
. The value of the
Yemenite reading tradition has been challenged by
Matthew Morgenstern
Matthew Morgenstern, also known as Moshe Morgenstern ( he, משה מורגנשטרן; born 1968 in London, United Kingdom), is an Israeli linguist and religious studies scholar known for his work on Eastern Aramaic languages, especially Mandaic. He ...
. (The vocalized Aramaic texts with which Jews are familiar, from the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
and the
prayer book
A prayer book is a book containing prayers and perhaps devotional readings, for private or communal use, or in some cases, outlining the liturgy of religious services. Books containing mainly orders of religious services, or readings for them are ...
, are of limited usefulness for this purpose, as they are in different dialects.)
Talmudic Aramaic bears all the marks of being a specialist language of study and legal argumentation, like
Law French
Law French ( nrf, Louai Français, enm, Lawe Frensch) is an archaic language originally based on Old Norman and Anglo-Norman, but increasingly influenced by Parisian French and, later, English. It was used in the law courts of England, be ...
, rather than a vernacular mother tongue, and continued in use for these purposes long after
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
had become the language of daily life. It has developed a battery of technical logical terms, such as (conclusive refutation) and (undecidable moot point), which are still used in Jewish legal writings, including those in other languages, and have influenced
modern Hebrew
Modern Hebrew ( he, עברית חדשה, ''ʿivrít ḥadašá ', , '' lit.'' "Modern Hebrew" or "New Hebrew"), also known as Israeli Hebrew or Israeli, and generally referred to by speakers simply as Hebrew ( ), is the standard form of the He ...
.
Like the other
Judeo-Aramaic languages
Judaeo-Aramaic languages represent a group of Hebrew-influenced Aramaic and Neo-Aramaic languages.
Early use
Aramaic, like Hebrew, is a Northwest Semitic language, and the two share many features. From the 7th century BCE, Aramaic became the ...
, it was written in the
Hebrew alphabet
The Hebrew alphabet ( he, wikt:אלפבית, אָלֶף־בֵּית עִבְרִי, ), known variously by scholars as the Ktav Ashuri, Jewish script, square script and block script, is an abjad script used in the writing of the Hebrew languag ...
.
Grammar
Pronouns
Independent nominative pronouns
Copulative pronouns
Genitive pronominal suffixes
Demonstrative pronoun
Accusative pronominal suffixes
Six major verbal patterns
There are six major verb stems or verbal patterns (binyanim) in Jewish Babylonian Aramaic. The form ''pe‘al'' (פְּעַל) “to do”, the form ''Aph'el'' (אַפְעֵל) “let do”, and the form ''Pa'el'' (פַּעֵל) “like to do”, are all in the active voice. But the form ''Itpe'el'' (אִתְפְּעֵל), the form ''Itaph'al'' (אִתַפְעַל) and the form ''Itpa'al'' (אִתְפַּעַל) are essentially reflexive and have usually function in a passive sense.
Verbal pattern (binyan): ''pe‘al'' (פְּעַל) Basic Verb - Active
; past tense
; Participle
The Aramaic verb has two
participle
In linguistics, a participle () (from Latin ' a "sharing, partaking") is a nonfinite verb form that has some of the characteristics and functions of both verbs and adjectives. More narrowly, ''participle'' has been defined as "a word derived from ...
s: an active participle with
suffix
In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns, adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can carry ...
and a passive participle with
suffix
In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns, adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can carry ...
:
; active participles with suffix
; passive participle with suffix
; infinitive /gerund
; Future tense
Verbal pattern (binyan): '' Itpe'el '' (אִתְפְּעֵל) Basic Verb - Passive
; past tense
; future tense
Verbal pattern (binyan): ''pa‘el'' (פַּעֵל)
Frequentative
In grammar, a frequentative form (abbreviated or ) of a word is one that indicates repeated action but is not to be confused with iterative aspect. The frequentative form can be considered a separate but not completely independent word called a ...
- Active
The verbal pattern (binyan) ''pa‘el'' are
frequentative verbs showing repeated or intense action.
The verbal pattern ''pa'el'' is
Active
Active may refer to:
Music
* ''Active'' (album), a 1992 album by Casiopea
* Active Records, a record label
Ships
* ''Active'' (ship), several commercial ships by that name
* HMS ''Active'', the name of various ships of the British Royal ...
Frequentative
In grammar, a frequentative form (abbreviated or ) of a word is one that indicates repeated action but is not to be confused with iterative aspect. The frequentative form can be considered a separate but not completely independent word called a ...
.
; past tense
; future tense
Verbal pattern (binyan): ''Itpa'al'' (אִתְפַּעַל)
Frequentative
In grammar, a frequentative form (abbreviated or ) of a word is one that indicates repeated action but is not to be confused with iterative aspect. The frequentative form can be considered a separate but not completely independent word called a ...
- Passive
The verbal pattern ''itpa'al'' is
Passive
Passive may refer to:
* Passive voice, a grammatical voice common in many languages, see also Pseudopassive
* Passive language, a language from which an interpreter works
* Passivity (behavior), the condition of submitting to the influence of on ...
Frequentative
In grammar, a frequentative form (abbreviated or ) of a word is one that indicates repeated action but is not to be confused with iterative aspect. The frequentative form can be considered a separate but not completely independent word called a ...
.
Verbal pattern (binyan): ''aph‘el'' ()
Causative
In linguistics, a causative (abbreviated ) is a valency-increasing operationPayne, Thomas E. (1997). Describing morphosyntax: A guide for field linguists'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 173–186. that indicates that a subject either ...
- Active
The verbal pattern ''aphel'' is
Active
Active may refer to:
Music
* ''Active'' (album), a 1992 album by Casiopea
* Active Records, a record label
Ships
* ''Active'' (ship), several commercial ships by that name
* HMS ''Active'', the name of various ships of the British Royal ...
Causative
In linguistics, a causative (abbreviated ) is a valency-increasing operationPayne, Thomas E. (1997). Describing morphosyntax: A guide for field linguists'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 173–186. that indicates that a subject either ...
.
; past tense
; Participle
; Future tense
Verbal pattern (binyan): ''itaphal'' (אִתַפְעַל)
Causative
In linguistics, a causative (abbreviated ) is a valency-increasing operationPayne, Thomas E. (1997). Describing morphosyntax: A guide for field linguists'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 173–186. that indicates that a subject either ...
- Passive voice
The verbal pattern ''itaphal'' is
Passive
Passive may refer to:
* Passive voice, a grammatical voice common in many languages, see also Pseudopassive
* Passive language, a language from which an interpreter works
* Passivity (behavior), the condition of submitting to the influence of on ...
Causative
In linguistics, a causative (abbreviated ) is a valency-increasing operationPayne, Thomas E. (1997). Describing morphosyntax: A guide for field linguists'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 173–186. that indicates that a subject either ...
.
Noun: singular/plural
List of verbs
Idiom
Modern study
The language has received considerable scholarly attention, as shown in the Bibliography below. However, the majority of those who are familiar with it, namely
Orthodox Jewish
Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on M ...
students of Talmud, are given no systematic instruction in the language, and are expected to "sink or swim" in the course of Talmudic studies, with the help of some informal pointers showing similarities and differences with Hebrew.
Jay Bushinsky, "The passion of Aramaic-Kurdish Jews brought Aramaic to Israel"
/ref>
See also
* Jewish Palestinian Aramaic
Jewish Palestinian Aramaic or Jewish Western Aramaic was a Western Aramaic language spoken by the Jews during the Classic Era in Judea and the Levant, specifically in Hasmonean, Herodian and Roman Judea and adjacent lands in the late first mil ...
References
Bibliography
* Bar-Asher Siegal, Elitzur A.
Introduction to the Grammar of Jewish Babylonian Aramaic
Münster: Ugarit-Verlag, 2013
* J. N. Epstein, ''Diqduq Aramit Bavlit'' ("Grammar of Babylonian Aramaic"), 1960 (Hebrew)
* Frank, Yitzhak, ''Grammar for Gemara: An Introduction to Babylonian Aramaic'': Jerusalem, Ariel Institute, 2000
* Jastrow, Marcus, ''A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature'' (reprinted many times)
* Kara, Yehiel, ''Babylonian Aramaic in the Yemenite Manuscripts of the Talmud: Orthography, Phonology and Morphology of the Verb'': Jerusalem 1983
* Klein, Hyman, ''An Introduction to the Aramaic of the Babylonian Talmud'': London 1943
* Kutscher, Eduard Yechezkel, ''Hebrew and Aramaic Studies'', ed. Z. Ben-Hayyim, A. Dotan, and G. Sarfatti: Jerusalem, The Magnes Press / The Hebrew University, 1977
* Levias, Caspar, ''A grammar of the Aramaic idiom contained in the Babylonian Talmud'': 1900 (reprints available)
* Marcus, David, ''A Manual of Babylonian Jewish Aramaic'': University Press of America, Paperback
* Margolis, Max Leopold, ''A manual of the Aramaic language of the Babylonian Talmud; grammar chrestomathy & glossaries'': Munich 1910 (reprints available)
* Melamed, Ezra Zion, ''Dictionary of the Babylonian Talmud'', Feldheim 2005
* (in Hebrew)
*
*
{{incubator, code=tmr
Languages attested from the 4th century
Languages extinct in the 11th century
Eastern Aramaic languages
History of Mesopotamia
Jewish languages
Judeo-Aramaic languages
Extinct languages of Asia
Languages of Iraq
Sacred languages