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AB2208 BIBLICAL ARAMAIC (A.Y. 2025/2026)
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Accademic Unit
Faculty of Ancient Near Eastern Studies
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Course
Licenza Orientalistica
Description
This course offers an introduction to the grammar of Biblical Aramaic through an examination of pertinent passages in the Books of Ezra and Daniel.
Objectives
The course has the following objectives:
- introduce the basic vocabulary, morphology, and syntax of Biblical Aramaic in the Books of Ezra (4:6-6:18; 7:12-26), Daniel (2:4-7:28), Jeremiah (10:11), and Genesis (31:47);
- help students deepen their knowledge of Semitic languages by understanding the historical developments that gave rise to Aramaic.
Mode of Instruction
The course meets twice a week for one hour and will consist of lectures and exercises with the instructor that introduce the grammatical elements of Biblical Aramaic. Students are expected to come prepared for class by doing the reading and homework and by participating actively.
Students who take this course should have passed the Hebrew qualifying exam or successfully completed Hebrew I-IV.
Grading
Evaluation for the course consists of weekly quizzes (40%), an in-class mid-term exam (30%), and a final take-home exam (30%). The quizzes will focus on grammar and vocabulary introduced in the weekly lessons and exercises. The in-class mid-term exam will consist of questions related to grammar and biblical texts analyzed during the lessons. The final take-home exam will involve gram‧matical analysis of a text that has not been discussed in class.
Contact Information
Please feel free to contact the professor at apsoohoo@biblico.it if you have any questions about the course.
Information
- Semester: 2° Semestre
- ECTS: 5
Teachers
Anthony Peter SOO HOO
Lesson schedule/Room
Lessons schedule not available
Bibliography
In addition to the required Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS), the following reference books may be helpful to students:
Geiger , Gregor, Introduzione all’aramaico biblico (Milano: Edizioni Terra Santa, 2018).
Greenspahn , Frederick, An Introduction to Aramaic . 2nd ed. (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2007).
Gzella , Holger, Tempus, Aspekt und Modalität im Reichsaramäischen (Ver‧‧öffentlichungen der Orientalischen Kommission 48; Wies‧baden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2004).
Id ., A Cultural History of Aramaic: From the Beginnings to the Advent of Islam (Handbook of Oriental Studies 111; Leiden: Brill, 2015).
Johns , Alger F., A Short Grammar of Biblical Aramaic , Rev. ed. (Andrews University Monographs 1; Berrien Springs: Andrews University Press, 1972).
Magnanini , Pietro – Nava , Paolo, Grammatica di aramaico biblico (Bologna: Edizioni Studio Domenicano, 2005).
Muraoka , Takamitsu, A Biblical Aramaic Reader: With an Outline Grammar (Leuven: Peeters, 2015).
Palacios , Ludovicus, Grammatica aramaico-biblica ad usum scho‧larum: exercitiis, textibus et vocabulario ornata (Mont‧serrat: Abadia de Montserrat, 1980).
Rosenthal , Franz, A Grammar of Biblical Aramaic . 7th ed. (Wiesbaden: Har‧rassowitz, 2006).
Schuele , Andreas, An Introduction to Biblical Aramaic (Louisville: West‧minster John Knox Press, 2012).
Shepherd , Michael B., The Verbal System of Biblical Aramaic: A Distributional Approach (Studies in Biblical Literature 116; New York: Peter Lang, 2008).
Vogt , Ernst, Lexicon of Biblical Aramaic: Clarified by Ancient Documents (transl. - ed. Joseph A. Fitzmyer ) (Subsidia Biblica 42; Rome: G&B Press, 2011).
Wilson , G.H., «An Index to the Biblical Passages Cited in Franz Rosenthal, A Grammar of Biblical Aramaic », Journal of Semitic Studies 24 (1979) 21-24.
A detailed bibliography and assigned readings will be provided on the syllabus distributed during the first session of the course. All other course materials will be distributed by the instructor or will be available in the library.