Edward Lipiński

The first comparative grammar of the Semitic languages, by H. Zimmern, was published a hundred years ago and the last original work of this kind was issued in Russian in 1972 by B.M. Grande. The present grammar, designed to come out in the centenary of the completion of Zimmern's work, fills thus a gap. Besides, it is based on both classical and modern Semitic languages, it takes new material of these last decades into account, and situates the Semitic languages in the wider context of Afro-Asiatic. The introduction briefly presents the languages in question. The main parts of the work are devoted to phonology, morphology, and syntax, with elaborate charts and diagrams. Then follows a discussion of fundamental questions related to lexicographical analysis. The study is supplemented by a glossary of linguistic terms used in Semitics, by a selective bibliography, by a general index, and by an index of words and forms. The book is the result of twenty-five years of research and teaching in comparative Semitic grammar.

Outline of a Comparative Grammar

Semitic Languages

The description, location, chronology, and nature of the bilingual archive from Ma'lana, called Ma'allanate by Assyriologists, is followed by the up-dated analysis of all the Aramaic texts and epigraphs, as well as of the proper names, occurring there or related to them. This material, so far scattered in a dozen of different publications, is now collected and reorganized in four chapters. All the texts dealt with date to ca. 700-620 B.C., from the office tenure of Hadddiy, the palace prefect of Queen Naqi'a/Zakutu, to the time of Sehr-nuri under the reign of Sîn-sarra-iskun. These chapters are followed by a palaeographic study of the inscriptions, presented with facsimiles, a detailed grammatical analysis, and a study of the legal contents of the deeds in light of parallel documents. There follow indices of proper names, subjects treated, sources used, and modern authors. A list of illustrations completes the volume.

Studies in Aramaic Inscriptions and Onomastics

The land and sea routes of the Phoenicians in their homeland and their trading Empire are examined in the present volume on the ground of Neo-Assyrian military itineraries (Chapters I and II), and of information provided by epigraphy, literary sources, and archaeological findings on Cyprus, in Anatolia, and in the Aegean (Chapters III, IV and V). Chapters VI and VII examine the problems of Ophir and Tarshish, developing fresh insights, while Chapters VIII and IX analyse the Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax 104 and 110-111. The voyage of Hanno the Carthaginian to the Sebou basin (Morocco) and the Canary Islands is re-examined in Chapter X. Finally, Chapters XI and XII are devoted to Byrsa (Carthage) and to Jerusalem, with special attention to traces of Phoenician presence and activity in this city. Detailed indices complete the volume.

Itineraria Phoenicia

A large number of Aramaic inscriptions from the 9th century B.C. to the 3rd century A.D. are revisited in this fourth volume of Studies. After the stele of Tel Dan, the epitaph of Kuttamuwa from Zincirli, and the inscription found at Tepe Qalaichi, Aramaic dockets from Dur-Katlimmu are re-examined, distinguishing a court ruling concerning theft, agreements regarding mortgage, guarantee, indemnity, barley and silver loans, and the particular nsk-loan. Next are examined "cadastral" reports from Idumaea, some inscriptions from Hellenistic times, a divorce bill from the Roman period, several Palmyrene dedications, epitaphs, and honorific inscriptions, as well as some Hatraean texts, mainly related to Adiabene. Finally, Mercionism is considered as background of a saying on "two gods," ascribed to Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba. Like in the preceding volumes of Studies, detailed indexes list the inscriptions, the personal names and the place-names examined, as well as other subjects.

These proceedings of the conference held in Leuven from the 14th to the 16th of November 1985 contain thirty studies dealing with various aspects of the Phoenician civilization and its expansion around the Eastern Mediterranean in the first millenium B.C. Contributions referring to a geographic area, like Anatolia, the Aramaic world, the trade between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, Cyprus, Greece, alternate with studies referring to the cult of Phoenician deities in the region concerned: Tanit, Resheph, Baal Saphon, Heracles. Other papers deal with Phoenician artefacts, institutions, or economic activities, as well as with Phoenician history according to Greek classical or Hellenistic authors. On the whole, the volume constitutes an up-to-date description of the Phoenician culture spreading in the East Mediterranean world from the beginning of the first millenium B.C. and having a lasting impact on the civilization of the countries involved.

Edward Lipiński

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