A Newly Reconstructed Karaite Work on Hebrew Grammar

Karaite grammatical thought originated in the ninth or even the eighth century CE. It had its roots in Masoretic literature and in the Arabic tradition of grammar. Scholarly study of Karaite grammatical tradition was given new impetus when the second Firkovitch Collection held in the National Librar...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Vidro, Nadezhda (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Oxford University Press 2009
In: Journal of Semitic studies
Year: 2009, Volume: 54, Issue: 1, Pages: 169-178
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Parallel Edition:Non-electronic
Description
Summary:Karaite grammatical thought originated in the ninth or even the eighth century CE. It had its roots in Masoretic literature and in the Arabic tradition of grammar. Scholarly study of Karaite grammatical tradition was given new impetus when the second Firkovitch Collection held in the National Library of Russia in St Petersburg and containing the majority of extant Karaite linguistic manuscripts became open to international scholars. Hitherto a number of Karaite grammatical treatises have been edited and the origins, periodization and characteristic features of this tradition studied. Yet further surviving treatises must be reconstructed and grammatical concepts investigated in more detail before a complete account of the Karaite linguistic teachings can be given.This article reconstructs from unpublished manuscripts the Karaite grammatical treatise Kitāb al-ʿuqūd fī taṣārīf al-lugha al-ʿibrāniyya traditionally attributed to Abū al-Faraj Hārūn. The newly reconstructed text shows that Kitāb al-ʿuqūd was not composed by Abu al-Faraj Harun and must presently be considered anonymous. Additionally, it provides evidence that the word ʿuqūd here is a previously unknown technical term meaning ‘derivational relations, rules’ rather than ‘pearl-strings’ as was suggested before.
ISSN:1477-8556
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of Semitic studies
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1093/jss/fgn046