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" Verb form semantics in Qumran Hebrew texts: Tense, *aspect, and modality between the Bible and the Mishnah "
Ken Penner
Document Type
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Latin Dissertation
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Language of Document
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English
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Record Number
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53761
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Doc. No
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TL23715
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Call number
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NR28266
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Main Entry
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Ken Penner
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Title & Author
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Verb form semantics in Qumran Hebrew texts: Tense, *aspect, and modality between the Bible and the Mishnah\ Ken Penner
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College
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McMaster University (Canada)
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Date
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2006
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Degree
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Ph.D.
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student score
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2006
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Page No
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309
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Abstract
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In this dissertation I clarify the significance of verb form selection in the Qumran sectarian texts by determining the extent to which the semantic value of the Hebrew finite verb is temporal, aspectual, or modal in the selected corpus. Standard grammars claim Hebrew was aspect-prominent in the Biblical period, and tense-prominent in the Mishnaic period. But the semantic value of the verb forms in the intervening period, the period in which the Qumran texts were written, remains highly debatable. This dissertation contributes to the resolution of the question of Qumran Hebrew verb form semantics by analyzing all the verbs from the Serakhim (1QS, 1QSa, 1QSb, CD, 1QM), Pesharim, Hodayot (1QHa), MMT, and Temple Scroll, using an empirical method of statistical correlation between form and meaning. I first produced a computer database of all the verbs in this corpus, tagged for formal features such as morphology, lexis, and syntax on one hand, and functions such as time reference, aspect, and modality on the other. In case a taggable function of a verb is indeterminate from context, the tag was left out of the analysis. I then determined the strength of an association between a certain form and a certain meaning by correlating the functions with the forms and positions of the verbs. Finally, I used the patterns found in the preceding analysis to evaluate conflicting proposed interpretations, by discovering which most probably accords with the Qumran Hebrew verbal system as discerned by this analysis. The individual chapters of this document (1) introduce the problem of Hebrew tense and aspect in the Qumran period, (2) outline relevant theoretical linguistics and major methodological issues, (3) analyze the database and synthesize statistical trends into hypotheses, (4) describe the results of applying these hypotheses to specific interpretive problems in Qumran texts, and (5) summarize the analysis and application and suggest further research. The database itself is included as an appendix.
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Subject
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Language, literature and linguistics; Aspect; Bible; Hebrew; Mishnah; Modality; Qumran; Tense; Verb form semantics; Ancient languages; 0289:Ancient languages
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Added Entry
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McMaster University (Canada)
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