The patterns of the nouns vary - aprinciple and its usage in Ibn Ezra's commentary on the Bible
In this study we examine one of the linguistic rules/principles used by Ibn Ezra in his commentary on the Bible, namely "the patterns of the nouns vary." In many places in his books on Hebrew grammar, Ibn Ezra points out that the noun, in contrast to the verb, may appear in different patte...
| Published in: | Hebrew Union College annual / Jewish Institute of Religion |
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| Subtitles: | ,משקלי השמות משתנים' — עיקרון ושימושיו בפרשנות ראב"ע למקרא |
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Print Article |
| Language: | Hebrew |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
College
1994
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| In: |
Hebrew Union College annual / Jewish Institute of Religion
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| RelBib Classification: | BH Judaism HB Old Testament |
| Further subjects: | B
Hebrew language
B Ibn-ʿEzra, Avraham Ben-Meʾir (1092-1167) B Morphology Linguistics |
| Summary: | In this study we examine one of the linguistic rules/principles used by Ibn Ezra in his commentary on the Bible, namely "the patterns of the nouns vary." In many places in his books on Hebrew grammar, Ibn Ezra points out that the noun, in contrast to the verb, may appear in different patterns, i.e., from one root a number of different nouns with the same meaning may be formed. In this context, he frequently uses the rule/principle: "the patterns of the nouns vary." Our study indicates that the above principle is used by Ibn Ezra mainly for two purposes: to account for morphological irregularities of biblical words, and to explain words of unique/hapax formation. In addition, this principle enables him to select the proper meaning from a series of homonyms, to attribute to different homophonous words sharing the same consonants a common meaning, to determine the etymology of certain words, and so on. Ibn Ezra was not the first grammarian to observe the variation of nominal patterns in Hebrew and, as we demonstrate, he even borrowed from his predecessors in this respect. However, the introduction of the linguistic principle of "the patterns of the nouns vary" as a regular tool in interpreting biblical words, and its multi-faceted use for this purpose are certainly Ibn Ezra's contribution to biblical exegesis. |
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| ISSN: | 0360-9049 |
| Contains: | In: Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Hebrew Union College annual / Jewish Institute of Religion
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