A (New) Old Iranian Etymology for Biblical Aramaic ‮אֲדַרְגָּזַר‬‎

Despite the many advances that have taken place in our understanding of the Hebrew Bible’s Old Iranian terminology, the donor terms of several words have remained elusive. Among them is Biblical Aramaic ‮אֲדַרְגָּזַר‬‎ (Dan. 3:2–3). Proposed Old Iranian etymologies for this word suffer from various...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Aramaic studies
Main Author: Noonan, Benjamin J. 1981- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Brill 2018
In: Aramaic studies
Year: 2018, Volume: 16, Issue: 1, Pages: 10-19
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Aramaic language / Etymology / Iranian languages / Bible. Daniel 3,1-7
IxTheo Classification:HB Old Testament
HC New Testament
TB Antiquity
Further subjects:B Azariah
B Dan 3,2-3
B Biblical Aramaic Book of Daniel Old Iranian languages loanwords language contact
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Summary:Despite the many advances that have taken place in our understanding of the Hebrew Bible’s Old Iranian terminology, the donor terms of several words have remained elusive. Among them is Biblical Aramaic ‮אֲדַרְגָּזַר‬‎ (Dan. 3:2–3). Proposed Old Iranian etymologies for this word suffer from various phonological and semantic difficulties, rendering them unlikely. This paper proposes that Biblical Aramaic ‮אֲדַרְגָּזַר‬‎ is best derived from *ādrangāžara- ‘announcer of financial obligation’, a compound of *ādranga- ‘financial obligation’ and *āžara- ‘announcer’. A derivation from Old Iranian *ādrangāžara- adequately explains the form of Biblical Aramaic ‮אֲדַרְגָּזַר‬‎. Furthermore, this etymology also suits the context well in that ‮אֲדַרְגָּזַר‬‎ occurs just prior to ‮גְּדָבַר‬‎ ‘treasurer’ and therefore falls logically within the progression from political administration to finances to law evident in the lists of Nebuchadnezzar’s officials (Dan. 3:2–3).
ISSN:1745-5227
Contains:In: Aramaic studies
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/17455227-01601002