The points in the letters: greek philosophy in the service of medieval jewish linguistics
A recurring idiom in medieval Jewish literature, first linguistic and later kabbalistic, likens the vocal points in the letters to the soul in the body. While scholars of the last century and a half successfully traced the idiom to early Arabic grammar, no one has yet succeeded in accurately deciph...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
HUC
2019
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| In: |
Hebrew Union College annual
Year: 2018, Volume: 89, Pages: 261-296 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Greece
/ Philosophy
/ Aristoteles 384 BC-322 BC
/ Judaism
/ Linguistics
/ Hebrew language
/ Vocalization
/ Phraseology
/ Soul
|
| IxTheo Classification: | BH Judaism |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | A recurring idiom in medieval Jewish literature, first linguistic and later kabbalistic, likens the vocal points in the letters to the soul in the body. While scholars of the last century and a half successfully traced the idiom to early Arabic grammar, no one has yet succeeded in accurately deciphering its meaning. In this essay, I propose that the idiom stems from Aristotle's theory of the soul. The soul, according to Aristotle's description in De Anima , satisfies the definition of motion in his Physics in that it changes a body from living-in-potentiality to living-in-actuality. Vowels as well, in Arabic grammatical literature (literally: “motions”), satisfy this definition by serving as a transitional phonetic phase between consonants. Thus, the meaning of the idiom is made clear. This essay will include a short survey of the idiom's semantic developments from medieval linguistic literature into kabbalistic thought, as well as its origin's linguistic context: a viewpoint which actively advocated and encouraged the use of and reliance on the vocal points, as part of a historical process that stabilized the reading tradition and authoritative interpretation of the Bible. It is my hope that like this idiom, other hidden ties between Greek philosophy (especially outside the realm of logic) and medieval Semitic linguistics will be uncovered. |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Hebrew Union College annual
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.15650/hebruniocollannu.89.2018.0261 |