Jewish Babylonian Aramaic

Babylonian Aramaic was the form of Middle Aramaic employed by writers in Babylonia between the 4th century and the 11th century CE. It is most commonly identified with the language of the Babylonian Talmud (which was completed in the seventh century) and of post-Talmudic (Geonic) literature, which are the most important cultural products of Babylonian Jews. The most important epigraphic sources for the dialect are the hundreds of Aramaic magic bowls written.^[2]

Classification and type

The language was closely related to other Eastern Aramaic dialects such as Mandaic and Syriac language. 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,^[3] and where available those of the Iraqi, Syrian and Egyptian Jews. The value of the Yemenite reading tradition has been challenged by some scholars.^[4] (The vocalized Aramaic texts with which Jews are familiar, from the Bible and the prayer book, are of limited usefulness for this purpose, as they are in a different dialect.)^[5]

Talmudic Aramaic bears all the marks of being a specialist language of study and legal argumentation, like Law French, rather than a vernacular mother tongue, and continued in use for these purposes long after Arabic had become the language of daily life. It has developed a battery of technical logical terms, such as tiyuvta (conclusive refutation) and tiqu (undecidable moot point), which are still used in Jewish legal writings, including those in other languages, and have influenced modern Hebrew.

Like the Judean (Galilean Aramaic) and Assyrian Jewish dialects it was written with Hebrew alphabet.

Grammar

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.^[6][7]

Verbal pattern (binyan): pe‘al (פְּעַל) Basic Verb - Active

past tense

Participle

The Aramaic verb has two participles: an active participle with suffix ^[10] and a passive participle with suffix:^[11]

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 - Active

The verbal pattern (binyan) pa‘el are frequentative verbs showing repeated or intense action.

The verbal pattern pa'el is Active Frequentative.

past tense

future tense

Verbal pattern (binyan): Itpa'al (אִתְפַּעַל) Frequentative - Passive

The verbal pattern itpa'al is Passive Frequentative.

Verbal pattern (binyan): aph‘el (אַפְעֵל) Causative - Active

The verbal pattern aphel is Active Causative.

past tense

Participle

Future tense

Verbal pattern (binyan): itaphal (אִתַפְעַל) Causative - Passive voice

The verbal pattern itaphal is Passive Causative.

Noun: singular/plural

List of verbs

Idiom

Today

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 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.^[80]

See also

• Jewish Palestinian Aramaic

References

1. ↑ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian, eds. (2016). "Jewish Babylonian Aramaic (ca. 200–1200 CE)". Glottolog 2.7. Jena: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. 
2. ↑ Sokoloff 2003
3. ↑ Morag 1988
4. ↑ Morgenstern 2011
5. ↑ Elitzur Bar-Asher Siegal, Introduction to the Grammar of Jewish Babylonian Aramaic (2013)
6. ↑ Yitzhak Frank: Grammar for Gemara and targum onkelos: An Introduction to Aramaic, Ariel Institute, Jerusalem 2011 ISBN 978-1-59826-466-1, p. 18:A survey of the aramaic binyanim.
7. ↑ Yitzhak Frank: Grammar for Gemara and targum onkelos: An Introduction to Aramaic: , Ariel Institute, Jerusalem 2011 ISBN 978-1-59826-466-1, p. 23:Talmud Bavli Aramaic.
8. ↑ Yitzhak Frank: Grammar for Gemara and targum onkelos: An Introduction to Aramaic, Ariel Institute, Jerusalem 2011 ISBN 978-1-59826-466-1, p. 22:Past tense: binyan.
9. ↑ Yitzhak Frank: Grammar for Gemara and targum onkelos: An Introduction to Aramaic, Ariel Institute, Jerusalem 2011 ISBN 978-1-59826-466-1, p. 123:Past tense: came.
10. ↑ Frank (2011), p. 32.
11. ↑ Frank (2011), p. 33.
12. ↑ Yitzhak Frank: Grammar for Gemara and targum onkelos: An Introduction to Aramaic, Ariel Institute, Jerusalem 2011 ISBN 978-1-59826-466-1, p. 124:active participle with suffix
13. ↑ Yitzhak Frank: Grammar for Gemara and targum onkelos: An Introduction to Aramaic, Ariel Institute, Jerusalem 2011 ISBN 978-1-59826-466-1, p. 36:Future tense: binyan.
14. ↑ Yitzhak Frank: Grammar for Gemara and targum onkelos: An Introduction to Aramaic, Ariel Institute, Jerusalem 2011 ISBN 978-1-59826-466-1, p. 25:Past tense: binyan.
15. ↑ Yitzhak Frank: Grammar for Gemara and targum onkelos: An Introduction to Aramaic, Ariel Institute, Jerusalem 2011 ISBN 978-1-59826-466-1, p. 39:Future tense: binyan.
16. ↑ Yitzhak Frank: Grammar for Gemara and targum onkelos: An Introduction to Aramaic, Ariel Institute, Jerusalem 2011 ISBN 978-1-59826-466-1, p. 23:Past tense: binyan.
17. ↑ Yitzhak Frank: Grammar for Gemara and targum onkelos: An Introduction to Aramaic, Ariel Institute, Jerusalem 2011 ISBN 978-1-59826-466-1,p. 37:Future tense: binyan.
18. ↑ Yitzhak Frank: Grammar for Gemara and targum onkelos: An Introduction to Aramaic, Ariel Institute, Jerusalem 2011 ISBN 978-1-59826-466-1, p. 26:Past tense: binyan.
19. ↑ Yitzhak Frank: Grammar for Gemara and targum onkelos: An Introduction to Aramaic, Ariel Institute, Jerusalem 2011 ISBN 978-1-59826-466-1, p. 40:Future tense: banyan.
20. ↑ Yitzhak Frank: Grammar for Gemara and targum onkelos: An Introduction to Aramaic, Ariel Institute, Jerusalem 2011 ISBN 978-1-59826-466-1, p. 24:Past tense: binyan.
21. ↑ Yitzhak Frank: Grammar for Gemara and targum onkelos: An Introduction to Aramaic, Ariel Institute, Jerusalem 2011 ISBN 978-1-59826-466-1, p.123 f.
22. ↑ Yitzhak Frank: Grammar for Gemara and targum onkelos: An Introduction to Aramaic, Ariel Institute, Jerusalem 2011 ISBN 978-1-59826-466-1, p. 124:active participle with suffix
23. ↑ Yitzhak Frank: Grammar for Gemara and targum onkelos: An Introduction to Aramaic, Ariel Institute, Jerusalem 2011 ISBN 978-1-59826-466-1, p. 38:Future tense: binyan.
24. ↑ Yitzhak Frank: Grammar for Gemara and targum onkelos: An Introduction to Aramaic, Ariel Institute, Jerusalem 2011 ISBN 978-1-59826-466-1, p. 125:Future tense: will bring.
25. ↑ Yitzhak Frank: Grammar for Gemara and targum onkelos: An Introduction to Aramaic, Ariel Institute, Jerusalem 2011 ISBN 978-1-59826-466-1, p. 94:Past tense:was refuted/were refuted.
26. ↑ Yitzhak Frank: Grammar for Gemara and targum onkelos: An Introduction to Aramaic, Ariel Institute, Jerusalem 2011 ISBN 978-1-59826-466-1,p. 231-232.
27. ↑ Yitzhak Frank: Grammar for Gemara and targum onkelos: An Introduction to Aramaic, Ariel Institute, Jerusalem 2011 ISBN 978-1-59826-466-1,p. 231.
28. ↑ Yitzhak Frank: Grammar for Gemara and targum onkelos: An Introduction to Aramaic, Ariel Institute, Jerusalem 2011 ISBN 978-1-59826-466-1,p. 231.
29. ↑ Yitzhak Frank: Grammar for Gemara and targum onkelos: An Introduction to Aramaic, Ariel Institute, Jerusalem 2011 ISBN 978-1-59826-466-1,p. 231.
30. ↑ Yitzhak Frank: Grammar for Gemara and targum onkelos: An Introduction to Aramaic, Ariel Institute, Jerusalem 2011 ISBN 978-1-59826-466-1,p. 231.
31. ↑ Yitzhak Frank: Grammar for Gemara and targum onkelos: An Introduction to Aramaic, Ariel Institute, Jerusalem 2011 ISBN 978-1-59826-466-1,p. 231.
32. ↑ Yitzhak Frank: Grammar for Gemara and targum onkelos: An Introduction to Aramaic, Ariel Institute, Jerusalem 2011 ISBN 978-1-59826-466-1,p. 231.
33. ↑ Yitzhak Frank: Grammar for Gemara and targum onkelos: An Introduction to Aramaic, Ariel Institute, Jerusalem 2011 ISBN 978-1-59826-466-1,p. 231.
34. ↑ Yitzhak Frank: Grammar for Gemara and targum onkelos: An Introduction to Aramaic, Ariel Institute, Jerusalem 2011 ISBN 978-1-59826-466-1,p. 232.
35. ↑ Yitzhak Frank: Grammar for Gemara and targum onkelos: An Introduction to Aramaic, Ariel Institute, Jerusalem 2011 ISBN 978-1-59826-466-1,p. 232.
36. ↑ Yitzhak Frank:The Practical Talmud Dictionary, Jerusalem 2001, p. 178:From where is the maxim that people say?
37. ↑ Yitzhak Frank: Grammar for Gemara and targum onkelos: An Introduction to Aramaic, Ariel Institute, Jerusalem 2011 ISBN 978-1-59826-466-1,p. 231.
38. ↑ Yitzhak Frank: Grammar for Gemara and targum onkelos: An Introduction to Aramaic, Ariel Institute, Jerusalem 2011 ISBN 978-1-59826-466-1,p. 231-232.
39. ↑ Yitzhak Frank: Grammar for Gemara and targum onkelos: An Introduction to Aramaic, Ariel Institute, Jerusalem 2011 ISBN 978-1-59826-466-1,p. 233: ...in the plural of masculine nouns ... construct forms such as מַלְכֵי are often used not only in the construct state but even in the absolute and emphatic states. Thus, in Babylonian Aramaic, the form מַלְכֵי may mean either the kings of or kings or the kings.
40. ↑ Yitzhak Frank: Grammar for Gemara and targum onkelos: An Introduction to Aramaic, Ariel Institute, Jerusalem 2011 ISBN 978-1-59826-466-1,p. 231.
41. ↑ Yitzhak Frank: Grammar for Gemara and targum onkelos: An Introduction to Aramaic, Ariel Institute, Jerusalem 2011 ISBN 978-1-59826-466-1,p. 231.
42. ↑ Yitzhak Frank: Grammar for Gemara and targum onkelos: An Introduction to Aramaic, Ariel Institute, Jerusalem 2011 ISBN 978-1-59826-466-1,p. 233.
43. ↑ Yitzhak Frank: Grammar for Gemara and targum onkelos: An Introduction to Aramaic, Ariel Institute, Jerusalem 2011 ISBN 978-1-59826-466-1,p. 231.
44. ↑ Yitzhak Frank: Grammar for Gemara and targum onkelos: An Introduction to Aramaic, Ariel Institute, Jerusalem 2011 ISBN 978-1-59826-466-1,p. 231.
45. ↑ Yitzhak Frank: Grammar for Gemara and targum onkelos: An Introduction to Aramaic, Ariel Institute, Jerusalem 2011 ISBN 978-1-59826-466-1,p. 231.
46. ↑ Yitzhak Frank:The Practical Talmud Dictionary, Jerusalem 2001, p. 178:From where do we derive these things?
47. ↑ Frank (2011), p. 49, 105f.
48. ↑ Frank (2011), p. 49, 108f.
49. ↑ Frank (2011), p. 49, 59f.
50. ↑ Frank (2011), p. 49, 50f.
51. ↑ Frank (2011), p. 49, 56f.
52. ↑ Frank (2011), p. 49, 123f.
53. ↑ Frank (2011), p. 49, 116f.
54. ↑ Frank (2011), p. 49, 93.
55. ↑ Frank (2011), p. 49, 68f.
56. ↑ Frank (2011), p. 49, 70f.
57. ↑ Frank (2011), p. 49, 74.
58. ↑ Frank (2011), p. 49, 82f.
59. ↑ Frank (2011), p. 49, 88f.
60. ↑ Frank (2011), p. 49, (Nr. 2 - Index).
61. ↑ Frank (2011), p. 49, 64.
62. ↑ Frank (2011), p. 49, 74f.
63. ↑ Frank (2011), p. 49, 111.
64. ↑ Frank (2011), p. 49, 114f.
65. ↑ Frank (2011), p. 49, 126f.
66. ↑ Frank (2011), p. 49, 132f.
67. ↑ Frank (2011), p. 49, (Nr. 26 - Index).
68. ↑ Yitzhak Frank:The Practical Talmud Dictionary, Jerusalem 2001, p. 230.
69. ↑ Yitzhak Frank:The Practical Talmud Dictionary, Jerusalem 2001, p. 230: "This participle is often used with a word that has a prepositional prefix - אֵי, to mean basing oneself upon or referring to."
70. ↑ Yitzhak Frank:The Practical Talmud Dictionary, Jerusalem 2001, p. 229.
71. ↑ Yitzhak Frank:The Practical Talmud Dictionary, Jerusalem 2001, p. 229: " A contraction of the participle קָאֵים (from the root קום ) is often placed before another participle...it has an emphatic effect that is difficult to translate into english ."
72. ↑ Yitzhak Frank:The Practical Talmud Dictionary, Jerusalem 2001, p. 153.
73. ↑ Yitzhak Frank:The Practical Talmud Dictionary, Jerusalem 2001, p. 153: "What new point is he teaching us? This question points out a difficulty: Since the amora's halakha was already known to us from a mishna, a baraita, or the amora's own statement on another occasion - why did the amora present it again?"
74. ↑ Yitzhak Frank:The Practical Talmud Dictionary, Jerusalem 2001, p. 152.
75. ↑ Yitzhak Frank:The Practical Talmud Dictionary, Jerusalem 2001, p. 152: "What does he mean? This question seeks a clarification of the meaning of a mishna, a baraitha, an amoraic statement, or a pasuk."
76. ↑ Yitzhak Frank:The Practical Talmud Dictionary, Jerusalem 2001, p. 260.
77. ↑ Yitzhak Frank:The Practical Talmud Dictionary, Jerusalem 2001, p. 260: "the hakhamim taught. This expression usually introduces a baraitha that begins with an anonymous statement."
78. ↑ Yitzhak Frank:The Practical Talmud Dictionary, Jerusalem 2001, p. 178.
79. ↑ Yitzhak Frank:The Practical Talmud Dictionary, Jerusalem 2001, s. p.178: "From where do we derive these things? What is the source? This question seeks a source for a statement in a mishna, in a baraitha, or by an amora."
80. ↑ Jay Bushinsky, "The passion of Aramaic-Kurdish Jews brought Aramaic to Israel"

Bibliography

• Bar-Asher Siegal, Elitzur A., Introduction to the Grammar of Jewish Babylonian Aramaic, Münster: Ugarit-Verlag, 2013 ISBN 978-3-86835-084-5
• 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 ISBN 0-87306-612-X
• Jastrow, Marcus, A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (reprinted many times) ISBN 1-56563-860-3
• 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 ISBN 0-8191-1363-8
• 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 ISBN 1-58330-776-1
• Morag, Shelomo (1988). Babylonian Aramaic: The Yemenite Tradition – Historical Aspects and Transmission Phonology: the Verbal System . Jerusalem: Ben Zvi Institute. ISBN 0-8018-7233-2.  (in Hebrew)
• Morgenstern, Matthew (2011). Studies in Jewish Babylonian Aramaic Based Upon Early Eastern Manuscripts. Harvard Semitic Studies. ISBN 1-57506-938-5. 
• Sokoloff, Michael (2003). A Dictionary of Jewish Babylonian Aramaic of the Talmudic and Geonic Periods. Bar Ilan and Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-7233-2. 

External links

Jewish Babylonian Aramaic test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator

• Links to selected pages of Talmud showing Yemenite vocalization
• Grammatical synopsis