An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax

example of Arabic grammars, and (5) the ongoing literary use of Hebrew,
especially in devotional poetry. Let us consider each of these factors in detail.
c The first Jewish grammarians defended their activity with the philosophical and
theological argument that proper knowledge of the Hebrew Scriptures depends on
grammar; it is the basic exegetical tool. David Tene has observed:
Around the end of the first millennium C.E. writing about linguistic issues was a new
phenomenon in Jewish literature, considered by many important people as a vain,
senseless activity. Therefore, in their introductions, the authors [of grammatical
works] discuss the motivating factors which stimulated them to write their linguistic
works. They seek to prove to their readers that it is incumbent upon Jews to take up
the investigation of their language and their arguments include the following points:
(1) language is the means for all discernment and linguistics is the means for all
investigation and wisdom; (2) the fulfillment of the commandments depends upon the
understanding of the written word, and in turn, the proper knowledge of the language
is impossible without the aid of linguistics. 4
Such arguments are still cogent and inescapable for any community that builds
its faith on scripture. 5
[Page 33] d The Qaraite sect, which appeared toward the end of the eighth century,
rejected rabbinic traditions and insisted on the diligent study of the Scriptures
themselves as the only basis for Judaism. This movement, which made serious
inroads into the academies of Babylonian Jewry, spurred both friends and foes to a
more searching study of the biblical text and its language. Saadia, as head of one
of those academies, was directly involved and led the rabbinite counterattack.
More specifically, Qaraism prompted him to write Kitāb al-Sab˓īn Lafẓa al-
Mufrada (The Book of the Seventy Isolated Words), a brief lexicographical essay
in Arabic which treats some of the hapax legomena of the Bible. 6
4 Tene, “Literature,” 1360–61. Hebrew was also regarded as the primordial language.
5 The medieval Jewish grammarians, like most grammarians of Hebrew since,
concentrated on the language of the Bible and neglected later developments; cf. Tene,
“Literature,” 1361–62.
6 On the role of the Qaraites, see Chomsky, Mikhlol, xiii. On the Book of the Seventy,
see Tene, “Literature,” 1356, 1362. The Qaraite (Karaite) sect has an uncertain early
history. Some scholars link the canonization of Masoretic study to the earliest stages
of the movement, suggesting that the Masoretes were either arch-anti-Qaraites or
Qaraites themselves. The Qaraite sect survives in modern times as a tiny remnant
located in both the Soviet Union and Israel. In late medieval and Renaissance times,
Jewish controversy with Christians played a role in the development of linguistic
science.