A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO ISRAELIAN HEBREW: GRAMMAR AND LEXICON

Introduction During the past 15 years I have published a number of studies on the subject of the northern dialect of ancient Hebrew, more properly termed “Israelian Hebrew” (IH). Israelian Hebrew stands in contrast to the standard dialect in which most of the Bible was written, namely, the dialect of Judah in general or of Jerusalem in particular. This latter dialect should be called Judahite Hebrew (JH), which in turn equals Standard Biblical Hebrew (SBH). Most likely IH is an umbrella term, for within IH there probably were several main subdialects, such as Ephraimite, Galilean, and Gileadite, not to mention other local varieties (see the very end of this article for further thoughts in this direction). My publications on IH include two monographs and 14 articles. The monographs include appendices in which may be found a classified listing of the various IH features identified, but no such appendices or indices appear in the published articles (or in two forthcoming articles, items A15 and A16 listed below under references). In addition, I have supervised two doctoral dissertations on the subject, one by Yoon Jong Yoo devoted to IH features in Hosea (Yoo 1999), the other by Yiyi Chen devoted to IH features in Proverbs (Chen 2000); these works also include appendices allowing for easy reference. Furthermore, in collaboration with Scott Noegel I have completed a lengthy study of IH elements in Song of Songs, to be published in a planned volume authored by the two of us tentatively entitled rather plainly and prosaically Studies in Song of Songs (item A17 listed below). Noegel also wrote an article on dialect issues in Isaiah 24-27 (Noegel 1994). There are other IH sources in the Bible not yet treated in detailed fashion by myself or by my students (or by other scholars), such as Deuteronomy 32, the blessings to the northern tribes in Deuteronomy 33, Judges 5, and the book of Qohelet, though occasional references to these compositions may be found in the oeuvre already in print or listed as forthcoming. Other individuals, outside of my own personal scholarly orbit,