Pub Date : 2023-02-17DOI: 10.25159/2663-6573/12374
J. Gericke
The concept of knowledge plays an important role in Qoheleth. Both linguistic and philosophical perspectives remain popular trends in current related research. Developments in the two auxiliary disciplines that remain largely ignored include those associated with “Epistemic Contextualism.” The theory has been used as both a substantive-epistemological and a descriptive-semantic thesis, both of which concern the way variable epistemic standards are seen to supervene in different contexts of knowledge attributions. Initially offered as a solution to the challenges of radical scepticism, it has recently sought to show how an utterance affirming and denying a subject “knows” that something is the case could both be meaningful in virtue of changing propositional contents expressed in response to variable contextual stakes, interests, and needs. The original contribution of this study lies in constructing the relevant data set in Qoheleth and illustrating the possibilities and problems of applying the semantic format of the theory to discrepant propositional attitude reports in the world of the text.
{"title":"Epistemic Contextualism as Semantic Thesis and Knowledge-Attribution Standards in Qoheleth","authors":"J. Gericke","doi":"10.25159/2663-6573/12374","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.25159/2663-6573/12374","url":null,"abstract":"The concept of knowledge plays an important role in Qoheleth. Both linguistic and philosophical perspectives remain popular trends in current related research. Developments in the two auxiliary disciplines that remain largely ignored include those associated with “Epistemic Contextualism.” The theory has been used as both a substantive-epistemological and a descriptive-semantic thesis, both of which concern the way variable epistemic standards are seen to supervene in different contexts of knowledge attributions. Initially offered as a solution to the challenges of radical scepticism, it has recently sought to show how an utterance affirming and denying a subject “knows” that something is the case could both be meaningful in virtue of changing propositional contents expressed in response to variable contextual stakes, interests, and needs. The original contribution of this study lies in constructing the relevant data set in Qoheleth and illustrating the possibilities and problems of applying the semantic format of the theory to discrepant propositional attitude reports in the world of the text.","PeriodicalId":42047,"journal":{"name":"Journal for Semitics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47997162","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-02-17DOI: 10.25159/2663-6573/11743
P. J. Botha
Psalms 65–68 form a tight collection or “cluster” of psalms close to the conclusion of Book II of the Psalter. The implied redactors’ purpose with this cluster was to offer thanksgiving and praise to God for manifesting his eschatological rule over the entire world. This article investigates the function of spatial descriptions in defining God’s rule over the cosmos in these four psalms. After establishing harmony in the world, God is present as King in his temple in Zion. To dwell in his vicinity is the pinnacle of his people’s blessing and privilege. Further away from Jerusalem, all nations, even to the ends of the earth, worship and praise God and bring him gifts. There is a centripetal movement of joy, worship, praise, and tribute toward God from all who accept his benevolent rule over the world, but also a centrifugal movement away from him by those who oppose his rule and refuse to accept it.
{"title":"“May God Bless Us, So That All the Ends of the Earth Will Fear Him!” (Ps 67:8): The Spatial Perspective in the Eschatological Vision of God’s Universal Rule in the Cluster of Psalms 65–68","authors":"P. J. Botha","doi":"10.25159/2663-6573/11743","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.25159/2663-6573/11743","url":null,"abstract":"Psalms 65–68 form a tight collection or “cluster” of psalms close to the conclusion of Book II of the Psalter. The implied redactors’ purpose with this cluster was to offer thanksgiving and praise to God for manifesting his eschatological rule over the entire world. This article investigates the function of spatial descriptions in defining God’s rule over the cosmos in these four psalms. After establishing harmony in the world, God is present as King in his temple in Zion. To dwell in his vicinity is the pinnacle of his people’s blessing and privilege. Further away from Jerusalem, all nations, even to the ends of the earth, worship and praise God and bring him gifts. There is a centripetal movement of joy, worship, praise, and tribute toward God from all who accept his benevolent rule over the world, but also a centrifugal movement away from him by those who oppose his rule and refuse to accept it.","PeriodicalId":42047,"journal":{"name":"Journal for Semitics","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41423413","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-02-17DOI: 10.25159/2663-6573/10097
A. Evans
The pervasive ambiguity in 4QSongs of the Sabbath Sacrifice (SOSS) presents a major problem: When are the activities described in this text performed by angels and when by humans? This paper builds on research on Songs One, Seven, Twelve, Thirteen, and Knowledge in SOSS that hypothesised that as the liturgy proceeds through the thirteen songs of SOSS a gradual transition takes place in the human participants. In Song Six, seven chief princes initially bless God and then proceed to bless various other participants in the liturgy, concluding with “those who wait for Him … for a return of His gracious compassion.” Song Seven, in the middle of the liturgy, describes angelic messenger activity arising from the throne of God, based on Ezekiel’s merkebah chapters. After Song Seven, a dramatic change takes place. In Song Eight, those who do the blessing are no longer “chief” princes, but “deputy” princes. The hypothesis of this article is that these deputy princes are the “people of discernment” introduced in Song One, who, having expressed repentance and persevered in joint exaltation of God with the “holiest of holy ones,” have been transformed into “god-like” messengers of God, to convey God’s compassion to those “who wait for Him.” This paper refers to recent cognitive neuroscience insights in order to, to some extent, support Fletcher-Louis’s proposal of a fluid identity achieved by the participants in the liturgy as a “community of human priests as God’s angels.” In its focus on repentance, compassion, and messenger activity, SOSS may be a witness to the beginnings of a new way of achieving atonement.
{"title":"Repentance and Compassion in 4Q400–405 Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice. Are the Deputy Princes in Song Eight Angelic or Human Beings?","authors":"A. Evans","doi":"10.25159/2663-6573/10097","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.25159/2663-6573/10097","url":null,"abstract":"The pervasive ambiguity in 4QSongs of the Sabbath Sacrifice (SOSS) presents a major problem: When are the activities described in this text performed by angels and when by humans? This paper builds on research on Songs One, Seven, Twelve, Thirteen, and Knowledge in SOSS that hypothesised that as the liturgy proceeds through the thirteen songs of SOSS a gradual transition takes place in the human participants. In Song Six, seven chief princes initially bless God and then proceed to bless various other participants in the liturgy, concluding with “those who wait for Him … for a return of His gracious compassion.” Song Seven, in the middle of the liturgy, describes angelic messenger activity arising from the throne of God, based on Ezekiel’s merkebah chapters. After Song Seven, a dramatic change takes place. In Song Eight, those who do the blessing are no longer “chief” princes, but “deputy” princes. The hypothesis of this article is that these deputy princes are the “people of discernment” introduced in Song One, who, having expressed repentance and persevered in joint exaltation of God with the “holiest of holy ones,” have been transformed into “god-like” messengers of God, to convey God’s compassion to those “who wait for Him.” This paper refers to recent cognitive neuroscience insights in order to, to some extent, support Fletcher-Louis’s proposal of a fluid identity achieved by the participants in the liturgy as a “community of human priests as God’s angels.” In its focus on repentance, compassion, and messenger activity, SOSS may be a witness to the beginnings of a new way of achieving atonement.","PeriodicalId":42047,"journal":{"name":"Journal for Semitics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43841674","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article analyses the main characteristics of verb valency types and the behaviour of verbs in morphosyntactic structures in South Ethiosemitic languages. To achieve the objective, native speaker informants, written texts, and introspection (for Amharic) were used as sources of data. The findings reveal that six valency types of verbs are in use in the languages: avalent, monovalent, bivalent, trivalent, and a valency of ambivalent verbs with one or two arguments, as well as intransitive verbs with a cognate object. Except for the type that concerns avalent verbs, the rest are highly productive. The valency types were differentiated by the required clause elements that precede the verb (e.g., direct object, indirect object, or locative adverbial). Except for the avalent type, all the rest may include obligatory subject(s) and, in some cases, optional adjunct(s).
{"title":"Valency Types in South Ethiosemitic Languages","authors":"Tsige Yohannes Zeleke, Desalaegn Hagos Asfawwesen, Shimels Mazengia","doi":"10.25159/2663-6573/10465","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.25159/2663-6573/10465","url":null,"abstract":"This article analyses the main characteristics of verb valency types and the behaviour of verbs in morphosyntactic structures in South Ethiosemitic languages. To achieve the objective, native speaker informants, written texts, and introspection (for Amharic) were used as sources of data. The findings reveal that six valency types of verbs are in use in the languages: avalent, monovalent, bivalent, trivalent, and a valency of ambivalent verbs with one or two arguments, as well as intransitive verbs with a cognate object. Except for the type that concerns avalent verbs, the rest are highly productive. The valency types were differentiated by the required clause elements that precede the verb (e.g., direct object, indirect object, or locative adverbial). Except for the avalent type, all the rest may include obligatory subject(s) and, in some cases, optional adjunct(s).","PeriodicalId":42047,"journal":{"name":"Journal for Semitics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44229648","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-12-14DOI: 10.25159/2663-6573/11647
Robert D. Holmstedt
It is well known that Gen 1:1–3 contains considerably more linguistic complexity than readers may initially notice. As the first verses in the Hebrew Bible, they have engendered significant theological and scholarly analysis and been caught up in the modern “creation-science” debate. Yet, for all this attention, the linguistic details are often overlooked or, in some cases, disregarded in favour of ideologically-bound analyses that preference tradition over plain grammatical sense. In this essay, I address two basic linguistic issues methodically: (1) the grammar of the first orthographic word, bereshit, and its implications for the syntactic analysis of verse 1, and (2) the syntactic analysis of verse 2. I conclude that there are only two linguistically plausible analyses of Gen 1:1–3, neither of which matches the traditional rendering “In the beginning, God created ... ”.
{"title":"The Syntax of Genesis 1:1–3","authors":"Robert D. Holmstedt","doi":"10.25159/2663-6573/11647","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.25159/2663-6573/11647","url":null,"abstract":"It is well known that Gen 1:1–3 contains considerably more linguistic complexity than readers may initially notice. As the first verses in the Hebrew Bible, they have engendered significant theological and scholarly analysis and been caught up in the modern “creation-science” debate. Yet, for all this attention, the linguistic details are often overlooked or, in some cases, disregarded in favour of ideologically-bound analyses that preference tradition over plain grammatical sense. In this essay, I address two basic linguistic issues methodically: (1) the grammar of the first orthographic word, bereshit, and its implications for the syntactic analysis of verse 1, and (2) the syntactic analysis of verse 2. I conclude that there are only two linguistically plausible analyses of Gen 1:1–3, neither of which matches the traditional rendering “In the beginning, God created ... ”.","PeriodicalId":42047,"journal":{"name":"Journal for Semitics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47093955","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-12-14DOI: 10.25159/2663-6573/10552
M. Michael
Bathsheba’s role in the story of the house of David bears an often-overlooked intertextual connection to the story of the Witch of Endor. In the books of Samuel, the two women triggered a chain of events that later led to the fall of the houses of David and Saul, respectively. While past scholarship has independently studied the importance of the stories of these two women, the present paper describes the intertextual connections and the significance of these two stories in the matrix of 1 and 2 Samuel and the Deuteronomistic History (DtrH). The two royal houses in the stories of these two women are subtly indicted for adulterous affairs against Yahweh. Consequently, the story of Saul at Endor and the story of David’s adultery with Bathsheba are not only intertextually connected to each other but also fulfil a subversive agenda.
{"title":"Bathsheba and the Witch of Endor: The Fall of the Two Royal Houses and its Polemics in 1 and 2 Samuel","authors":"M. Michael","doi":"10.25159/2663-6573/10552","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.25159/2663-6573/10552","url":null,"abstract":"Bathsheba’s role in the story of the house of David bears an often-overlooked intertextual connection to the story of the Witch of Endor. In the books of Samuel, the two women triggered a chain of events that later led to the fall of the houses of David and Saul, respectively. While past scholarship has independently studied the importance of the stories of these two women, the present paper describes the intertextual connections and the significance of these two stories in the matrix of 1 and 2 Samuel and the Deuteronomistic History (DtrH). The two royal houses in the stories of these two women are subtly indicted for adulterous affairs against Yahweh. Consequently, the story of Saul at Endor and the story of David’s adultery with Bathsheba are not only intertextually connected to each other but also fulfil a subversive agenda.","PeriodicalId":42047,"journal":{"name":"Journal for Semitics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42330763","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This paper contributes to the ongoing conversation on ecology by contributing an African perspective derived from the theanthropocosmic perspective. African indigenous knowledge and practices have been successfully passed on from one generation to the next without documentation. This is because of the inherent nature of responsibility within the African worldview where God, mankind, and nature exist in a (un)conscious community. The homogenous environmental ethic created within the African context provides scope for rereading the ecological mandate of Genesis 2:15 perhaps as a hermeneutical strategy toward responsibility for the physical environment.
{"title":"ʿbd and šmr in Genesis 2:15 as the Ecological Mandate: An African Theanthropocosmic Perspective","authors":"S. Ndoga","doi":"10.25159/2663-6573/9255","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.25159/2663-6573/9255","url":null,"abstract":"This paper contributes to the ongoing conversation on ecology by contributing an African perspective derived from the theanthropocosmic perspective. African indigenous knowledge and practices have been successfully passed on from one generation to the next without documentation. This is because of the inherent nature of responsibility within the African worldview where God, mankind, and nature exist in a (un)conscious community. The homogenous environmental ethic created within the African context provides scope for rereading the ecological mandate of Genesis 2:15 perhaps as a hermeneutical strategy toward responsibility for the physical environment.","PeriodicalId":42047,"journal":{"name":"Journal for Semitics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43055906","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-08-30DOI: 10.25159/2663-6573/10770
W. Wessels
Jeremiah 22:20–23 forms part of a cycle of oracles regarding the Judean kings in the period before and during the Babylonian exile. This poetic section addresses a second person female subject without identifying who it may be. The general view is that it is addressed to Jerusalem personified. This article explores the possibility that the female subject is the queen mother, acting in a time between the reigns of King Jehoiakim and King Jehoiachin. On the basis of the available data, whether or not the section refers to the queen mother remains inconclusive. In addition to this question, the meaning and the placement of this poem in the cycle of oracles is discussed in terms of Jeremiah’s ideological views. The poem is both a lament and a judgement announcement due to failed leadership.
{"title":"The Meaning and Function of Jeremiah 22:20–23","authors":"W. Wessels","doi":"10.25159/2663-6573/10770","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.25159/2663-6573/10770","url":null,"abstract":"Jeremiah 22:20–23 forms part of a cycle of oracles regarding the Judean kings in the period before and during the Babylonian exile. This poetic section addresses a second person female subject without identifying who it may be. The general view is that it is addressed to Jerusalem personified. This article explores the possibility that the female subject is the queen mother, acting in a time between the reigns of King Jehoiakim and King Jehoiachin. On the basis of the available data, whether or not the section refers to the queen mother remains inconclusive. In addition to this question, the meaning and the placement of this poem in the cycle of oracles is discussed in terms of Jeremiah’s ideological views. The poem is both a lament and a judgement announcement due to failed leadership.","PeriodicalId":42047,"journal":{"name":"Journal for Semitics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45694337","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-08-30DOI: 10.25159/2663-6573/10624
Yonas Yilma Menda
This paper demonstrates the intertextual aspects of the hagiography and chronicle of an Ethiopian king, aṣe Iyasu I (r.1682–1706). To achieve this, lexical features of both texts are examined. These texts were written in the late seventeenth century. The chronicle of aṣe Iyasu I was written during the king’s reign by his own three chroniclers (Hawarya Krəstos, Zäwäldä Maryam, and Sinoda), while the hagiography of aṣe Iyasu I was written two years after the king’s death by azaž Sinoda. This study is based on textual methods of analysis, in particular content analysis. This method makes it possible to distinguish the lexical relationships between the two texts. For this purpose, the words and phrases that describe the royal courage and sacred personality of the king are identified. Although both the hagiography and the chronicle of aṣe Iyasu I are composed to the same king and address the subject of the same historical milieu, there is no remarkable lexical parallel between the two texts in the area of words and phrases. Unlike the chronicle of aṣe Iyasu I, the hagiography of aṣe Iyasu I uses carefully selected metaphoric words and phrases to describe the king’s bravery and sacred personality. It is thus reasonable to conclude that each author composed their text in a different literary setting rather than that one influenced the other. In other words, the two texts are interconnected but each developed its own textual features as a response to the method and approach of Ethiopian Gǝʿǝz literature.
{"title":"Intertextuality in Ethiopian Gǝ’ǝz Literature: The Lexical Relationships between the Hagiography and the Chronicle of King Iyasu I","authors":"Yonas Yilma Menda","doi":"10.25159/2663-6573/10624","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.25159/2663-6573/10624","url":null,"abstract":"This paper demonstrates the intertextual aspects of the hagiography and chronicle of an Ethiopian king, aṣe Iyasu I (r.1682–1706). To achieve this, lexical features of both texts are examined. These texts were written in the late seventeenth century. The chronicle of aṣe Iyasu I was written during the king’s reign by his own three chroniclers (Hawarya Krəstos, Zäwäldä Maryam, and Sinoda), while the hagiography of aṣe Iyasu I was written two years after the king’s death by azaž Sinoda. This study is based on textual methods of analysis, in particular content analysis. This method makes it possible to distinguish the lexical relationships between the two texts. For this purpose, the words and phrases that describe the royal courage and sacred personality of the king are identified. Although both the hagiography and the chronicle of aṣe Iyasu I are composed to the same king and address the subject of the same historical milieu, there is no remarkable lexical parallel between the two texts in the area of words and phrases. Unlike the chronicle of aṣe Iyasu I, the hagiography of aṣe Iyasu I uses carefully selected metaphoric words and phrases to describe the king’s bravery and sacred personality. It is thus reasonable to conclude that each author composed their text in a different literary setting rather than that one influenced the other. In other words, the two texts are interconnected but each developed its own textual features as a response to the method and approach of Ethiopian Gǝʿǝz literature.","PeriodicalId":42047,"journal":{"name":"Journal for Semitics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47997327","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In this paper, I analysed around 57 relatively clear cases of the Gpass forms through a painstaking examination of their formal and functional characteristics. The collected data point at the following characteristics of Gpass usage in Ugaritic: the Ugaritic Gpass sentences do not allow agent-phrases; the Agent is demoted from the position of the subject without any syntactic traces. In semantic view, passive sentences regularly imply a concrete Agent or the information about a definite and referential Agent is recoverable from the close context, in contrast to the active impersonal usage. The promoted Patient/Theme is commonly fronted and topicalised in passive sentences. Most Gpass usages are promotional, derived from transitive verbs. I identified approximately eight cases of the impersonal passive. The language of poetry and the language of prose demonstrate a very proportional distribution of the Gpass forms. It is claimed in this paper that Gpass forms are not derived from G stative verbs, at least not on a regular basis, and are not used in middle voice functions. The contrast between the Gpass-stem and the N-stem has syntactic and semantic marking, and has diachronic implications.
{"title":"Passive, Stative, and Impersonal in Ugaritic: The G-stem Internal Passive Reconsidered","authors":"Tania Notarius","doi":"10.25159/2663-6573/9435","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.25159/2663-6573/9435","url":null,"abstract":"In this paper, I analysed around 57 relatively clear cases of the Gpass forms through a painstaking examination of their formal and functional characteristics. The collected data point at the following characteristics of Gpass usage in Ugaritic: the Ugaritic Gpass sentences do not allow agent-phrases; the Agent is demoted from the position of the subject without any syntactic traces. In semantic view, passive sentences regularly imply a concrete Agent or the information about a definite and referential Agent is recoverable from the close context, in contrast to the active impersonal usage. The promoted Patient/Theme is commonly fronted and topicalised in passive sentences. Most Gpass usages are promotional, derived from transitive verbs. I identified approximately eight cases of the impersonal passive. The language of poetry and the language of prose demonstrate a very proportional distribution of the Gpass forms. It is claimed in this paper that Gpass forms are not derived from G stative verbs, at least not on a regular basis, and are not used in middle voice functions. The contrast between the Gpass-stem and the N-stem has syntactic and semantic marking, and has diachronic implications.","PeriodicalId":42047,"journal":{"name":"Journal for Semitics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46977817","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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