CHALDEE GRAMMAR.

PART I.

ORTHOGRAPHY AND ORTHOEPY.

1. Consonants.

THE Chaldee is written with the same characters as are employed in Hebrew; and, so far as we can trace its ancient history, was never expressed by any others. With much more certainty has it been decided, after unprejudiced critical investigation, that the square character, now termed Hebrew by way of distinction, belonged originally to the Chaldeans [Babylonians,] and first took the place of the old Hebrew character among the Jews in the age succeeding the Babylonish exile.

For a full account of the age and origin of the square character, see Gesenius Gesch. d. Heb. Spr. u. Schr. (Leipzig. 1815. 8vo) p. 140 seq. Eichhorn (Einl. ins A. T. 4th Ed. Pt. I. p. 204 seq.) exhibits a result somewhat different.

2. Punctuation.

1. The vowel-points, which are employed in Hebrew, have been transferred to the Chaldee, and appear in many manuscripts, and most editions of the Chaldee text.

Since it is evident that these points are the work of the Jews, and were invented several centuries after Christ, it is plain that the Chaldee must originally have been written without vowel-points. Thus the Palmyrene inscriptions exhibit no vowel-marks. [matres lectionis] were earlier employed, in doubtful cases, as a guide in reading.

יו א But the letters

The last mentioned fact is clear from such orthographical phenomena as N,N, N, Dan. 2: 35, etc. and from the abundant use of the scriptio plena throughout.

2. The transfer of the Hebrew vowel-points to the Chaldee took place in an age when the vowel system of the Jews was yet in an imperfect state; and in later times, the pointing of the Chaldee text, especially that of the Targums, did not receive the same attention which was devoted to the Hebrew. These circumstances exhibit clearly the reason why the punctuation of the Chaldee writings appears, at present, far less regular than that of the Hebrew. This irregularity is indeed so great that not only do different copies and editions, (especially those of London and Venice,) differ widely from each other, but there prevails throughout an extreme variableness in the use of the long and short vowels.

On the variable punctuation of the Targums, see Eichhorn Einl. ins A. T. Part 2. p. 24 seq.

3. Long vowels sometimes occur in a mixed syllable without the tone, and vice versa, short vowels in a simple syllable. (Especially are and employed altogether promiscuously, to which usage only a slight tendency is noticeable in Hebrew. See Gesenius Lehrgebäude p. 60.)

T

.Jer אַיְתִינוּן .16 :23 .Deut תּוֹנִינֵהּ .For examples of the former comp

49: 19. 7 [allin] Dan. 4: 4.; of the latter er.

4. The violation of the rule of Qamets Hhateph, in such cases as is only apparent. The is only a superfluous mater lectionis and is by no means to be regarded as quiescing in Qamets Hhateph, or as a consonant [Hhavchma] since it is written without Sheva. In general however Qamets Hhateph seldom occurs in Chaldee words.

DAGESH.

5. Dagesh lene is subject to the same general rules as

in Hebrew.

a. The pron. suff. 7i5

b. In some editions,

and 75 never receive it.

in the middle of a word is treated as a diphthong, and the next letter does not receive Dagesh lene; as "na baithî. Generally however is regarded as a proper consonant, and we find "

a băy-ti, gelǎy-tā.

c. Nouns of the form 72 (Heb. 72) are treated as though the ground-form was, and Dagesh is inserted in the where a mixed

מַלְכִּי, מַלְכָּא syllable precedes; as

6. Dagesh forte compensative

a. Is inserted in the first radical of verbs ; e. g. PIN for PRN,

דְּקֵק Aphel from

b. In n of the passive prefix n it compensates for the omission of the characteristic prefix of Aphel, e. g. bupny for bupana.

Note. The peculiarity of the Chaldee in both these cases is, that the letter for which compensation is made would, if the word were fully written, have succeeded the letter in which Dagesh forte is inserted. In Hebrew this is unusual, and where it occurs might perhaps be denominated Chaldaism. Comp. Heb. Gr.* § 261.

c. Sometimes, especially in the later Chaldee, it compensates for the omission of quiescents and consequent shortening of the vowel preceding the letter in which Dagesh forte is inserted; as N instead of N Gen. 3: 2. Pseud. Jon. The converse of this also takes place; § 7. a. (2).

7. Forms which regularly exhibit Dagesh forte, but sometimes appear with a different orthography.

a. The letter 】 sometimes takes the place of Dagesh forte, even where the radical form does not exhibit a 2; e. g. Dan. 2: 25, instead of or from. This may have arisen from an imperfect acquaintance with Chaldee. A Jew, on perceiving that was expressed in Chaldee in many cases where his own language required Dagesh forte or a long vowel compensating for it, would perhaps be liable to employ it even where it was not required by good Chaldee usage. See below 6. a. note. Gesenius, Lehrg. § 33. 3.

b. Very frequently no compensation is made for the exclusion of Dagesh forte from gutturals; e. g. 7 Gen. 3: 3. : 2 K. 21: 6.

c. As in Hebrew, Dagesh forte is sometimes dropped when the letter in which it would regularly be inserted has Sheva. Heb. Gram. §73. note 3. The Hebrew Grammar referred to throughout this work, is that of Prof. Stuart, 4th edit.

MAPPIQ.

8. Mappiq is inserted, as in Hebrew, in where it is

not quiescent..

a. In the Pronominal suffixes and , comp. § 8.

b. In when it occurs as the last radical of a verb or noun and is not quiescent; e. g. Ps. 131: 1. MEN Dan. 2: 28.

ACCENTS.

9. a. In the Chaldee portions of the original Scriptures, the same accents are employed, and subject to the same rules, as in Hebrew, only that the half-accent Metheg is much less regularly and less frequently inserted than in Hebrew.

b. In the Targum of Onkelos, the train of accents is substantially the same as in the original text. See Chrestomathy Part I. Note on No. 1.

c. To the text of the other Targums no accents have been appended.

$ 3. Tone-syllable.

The tone falls in Chaldee, (as in Hebrew,) usually on the last syllable. The following forms are exceptions, and are accented on the penultimate.

1. Segolate nouns which follow the Hebrew form; as

-which however occur almost exclu ,בְּנַיִן, טַעַם, מְלֶךְ

sively in the biblical Chaldee.

as

2. Verbal forms terminating in" and ";

mbop, n'sôp, nibup, "Sup, bup.

3. The suffixes "7_ N N

17; e.g. Nibby,

The German and Polish Jews place the tone in Chaldee (as they also do in Hebrew) on the penult. Whether this was the ancient

Babylonish accentuation, cannot be decided from the accentuation prevalent in Syriac; since two closely related dialects may differ widely in this respect. Were the vowels of the Chaldee, as we have them, entirely conformed to the old Babylonish pronunciation, we should have, in them, a clew to the ancient accentuation.

$ 4. Of reading unpointed text.

As points have not been attached to all the Chaldee text, and since the unpointed, (besides the use of the matres lectionis §, 1, ", which obtains likewise in Heb.) presents some peculiarities, it may be well here to notice, as an assistance in reading without vowels, one usage at least, which obtains in the Targums, viz. that a double or is sometimes employed.

(a) In the middle of a word: these letters are moveable;

either to indicate that

, מצותא .i. e מצוות as or that they are to be pronounced ; תְּנִינָא .i. e תניינא חַיָּבִין .e. חייבין אִתְדַּנְחַת .i. e אתדווחת double ; as

(b) In the end of a word, especially when it is necessary to distinguish between the pronouns "— and "—; as

רַגְלַי .i. e רגליי

Note. Only one abbreviation occurs in the Targums, viz. " for "17". The Talmud abounds with them. See J. Buxtorf De Abbreviat. Hebr. Basil. 1640. 8vo.