Biblical Aramaic Gentilics Reconsidered: Nonethnic Labels, Relational Adjectives, and the Mechanisms of Classification
The two Biblical Aramaic passages in Daniel 3:2–3 and Ezra 4:9 preserve occupation-based gentilic nouns amid professional titles and population names based on toponyms according to the Masoretic vocalization. From a text-critical standpoint, the nonethnic labels with gentilic vocalization appear “co...
| Autore principale: | |
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| Tipo di documento: | Elettronico Articolo |
| Lingua: | Inglese |
| Verificare la disponibilità: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Pubblicazione: |
2025
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| In: |
Aramaic studies
Anno: 2025, Volume: 23, Fascicolo: 1, Pagine: 1-21 |
| Altre parole chiave: | B
Biblical Aramaic
B relational adjective B gentilics |
| Accesso online: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Riepilogo: | The two Biblical Aramaic passages in Daniel 3:2–3 and Ezra 4:9 preserve occupation-based gentilic nouns amid professional titles and population names based on toponyms according to the Masoretic vocalization. From a text-critical standpoint, the nonethnic labels with gentilic vocalization appear “corrupt” due to scribal errors. However, a philological solution offers an explanation that takes two different modes of interpretation into consideration. By elucidating the mechanism of classification embedded in the category of gentilics through the notion of relational adjectives in cross-linguistic data, this article revisits Franz Rosenthal’s remark that considers the Aramaic gentilic vocalizations of the Masoretic text to be errors due to their semantic deviance. It argues that the inclusion of nonethnic labels among other gentilics reflects a logic of classifying ancient identities that do not necessarily align with what is normalized as an ethnonym in taxonomic nomenclature. Simultaneously, a different interpretation emerged through a reanalysis of the loanwords. |
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| ISSN: | 1745-5227 |
| Comprende: | Enthalten in: Aramaic studies
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