Syntactic Features of Left Dislocation Constructions in Post-Exilic Biblical Hebrew

Abstract

Left dislocation constructions involve a constituent that precedes the matrix sentence and is resumed within the sentence by a coreferential resumptive element. Cross-linguistically, left dislocation constructions exhibit considerable syntactic variation, which can be described on the basis of (1) the grammatical features of the resumptive element, (2) the relationship of the left dislocated constituent to the resumptive element, especially with respect to case agreement, and (3) the relationship of the left dislocation construction to the broader syntactic context. In this essay we describe the syntactic features of left dislocation constructions in the biblical books traditionally and uncontroversially identified as post-exilic—Ezra, Nehemiah, Daniel, and Esther. We identify ways in which trajectories of change in Biblical Hebrew can be identified in these constructions as well as syntactic features that are stable within the biblical corpus.