D.Litt. et Phil. / This thesis combines Targum studies with Judaic studies. First, secondary sources were examined and independent research was done to ascertain the historical process that took place in the compilation of extant Pentateuchal Targums (Fragment Targum [Recension P, MS Paris 110], Neofiti 1, Onqelos and Pseudo-Jonathan). Second, a framework for evaluating Jewish exegetical practices within the age of formative Judaism was established with the scrutiny of midrashic texts on Genesis 1: 26-27. Third, individual targumic renderings of Genesis 1: 26-27 were compared with the Hebrew Masoretic text and each other and then juxtaposed with midrashic literature dating from the age of formative Judaism. Last, the outcome of the second and third step was correlated with findings regarding the historical process that took place in the compilation of the Targums, as established in step one. The findings of the summative stage were also juxtaposed with the linguistic characterizations of the Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project (CAL) of Michael Sokoloff and his colleagues.The thesis can report the following findings: (1) Within the age of formative Judaism pharisaic sages and priest sages assimilated into a new group of Jewish leadership known as ‘rabbis’. Under the direction of these scholars, Pentateuchal Targums were collectively and purposefully redacted for use in liturgical, educational or halakhic contexts. This finding counters the alternative view that priestly groups remained distinct from rabbinic circles until the fourth century C.E. and that priests alone were responsible for the compilation of Targum Pseudo-Jonathan. (2) The analysis of midrashic literature revealed different modes of exegesis used by Tannaim and Amoraim, thus providing information on the time and context wherein midrashic passages were compiled. When midrashic passages were then juxtaposed with individual renderings of Genesis 1: 26-27, it became possible to obtain more specific information on the dating and purpose for which extant Pentateuchal Targums were compiled. (3) The comparison of targumic renderings of Genesis 1: 26-27 with the Hebrew Masoretic Text and each other challenges the assumption that all extant Targums were compiled for the Synagogue. In Fragment Targum and Neofiti 1, haggadic rendering goes together with the popular Aramaic dialect used in Synagogue services, while the use of Standard Literary Aramaic employed in the context of halakhic decision-making characterizes the literal rendering of Targum Onqelos. The use of different dialects in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (PJ) in conjunction with an expansive rendering of Genesis 1: 26-27, which concurs with rhetorical arguments of Palestinian Amoraim in the Palestinian Talmud and Genesis Rabbah, may be an indication that PJ was used for educational purposes.

1 SUMMARY: Magie, mystika a liturgie: židovská tradice v amuletech pozdní antiky Magic, Mysticism and Liturgy: Jewish Tradition in Amulets of Late Antiquity Marek Vinklát This dissertation thesis focuses on a phenomenon of Aramaic magic bowl, or Aramaic incantation bowls, amulets originating in Mesopotamia of Late Antiquity. It is a first Czech monograph on this topic and also a bold attempt to translate texts of these already published bowls to the Czech language. After the introduction, which elucidates the means of selection and translation of sixteen presented bowls, author discusses the history of research on these peculiar amulets. Many past and modern scholars are presented here with their theories, attitudes and publications. A special part of this second chapter is dedicated to the problem of black antiquities market and illegal trade with Aramaic magic bowls. The first chapter is dealing with a possible connection of bowls and Hekhalot literature, which is also briefly introduced and described. Author analyzes and translates five Aramaic magic bowls and compares their preciously unique content with relevant macroforms of Hekhalot literature. As was stated by another scholars, the Aramaic magic bowls were written by people, who knew the Hekhalot literature and, possibly, were cherishing it. Next...

Scholarship on the onomastics of the ancient Near East typically evaluates a single text corpus or collection of names from a specific region, with a focus on names of a variety of linguistic origins from either alphabetic or cuneiform source material. This dissertation serves as a compilation of Aramaic names from both alphabetic and cuneiform sources geographically delimited to Syria, Mesopotamia, and the Levant (excluding Egypt and Anatolia) during the first half of the first millennium BCE. The product of a methodic evaluation of ancient Near Eastern texts and inscriptions, utilizing both linguistic and conceptual criteria in its selection, this compilation of names is analyzed according to the established taxonomic systems that have been developed in the study of Hebrew, Akkadian, and other Semitic names throughout the 20th century and into the 21st century. Additional analyses in this volume include a comparative anthroponomy, a study of theophoric elements, an overview of names based on their morphological features, and various explorations of the elements found within them. Ultimately, this study serves to catalog the individuals with Aramaic names leading up to the time when Aramaic was the lingua franca of the greater ancient Near East, / 2021-09-07T00:00:00Z

The work introduces the reader into the etic definition of magic and into the Mandaean emic definition. Author chronologically and phenomenologically systematizes history of Western scholarship of Mandaic magical texts and then he deals with them phenomenologically, philologically and according to religious studies. He refers to the methods which should be used during the examination of these findings and he points out the phenomena, which are to be noted. In some cases, he reffers to non-Mandaic magical texts and he also seeks for their possible influence on the Mandaic texts. Author uses the primary texts in Mandaic and secondary literature especially in English and German.

Les Araméens sont une population qui apparait dans le territoire de la Syrie et de la Mésopotamie actuelle au début du premier millénaire avant J.-C. A partir du Xe siècle, ils se transforment de population nomade à population sédentaire, en créant des États territoriaux qui prennent le nom de byt, suivi par le nom du fondateur de chaque dynastie locale. Le présent travail, en partant de l’épineuse question ethnique, cherche à déterminer les caractéristiques des Araméens en particulier en Syrie du Sud aux IXe-VIIIe siècles, pendant la montée du royaume de Damas, et ses relations avec les populations voisines, parmi lesquelles les Israëlites qui se sont confrontés avec eux plusieurs fois pendant des périodes alternées de guerres et de paix. Il s’agit d’une étude détaillée de la région méridionale de la Syrie qui s’appuie sur l’analyse des sources épigraphiques (inscriptions araméennes, annales assyriennes et passages bibliques) et sur les données archéologiques des sites de “possible” occupation araméenne au Sud de Damas, en Palestine et en Jordanie du Nord. A travers la comparaison des ces données, j’ai cherché à fournir une reconstruction vraisemblable du contexte historique du royaume de Damas aux IXe-VIIIe siècles av. J.-C., de la figure du souverain Hazael et de l’ expansion politique de son royaume jusqu’à la soumission par les Assyriens. / The Arameans are a population settled in the territory of modern Syria and Mesopotamia in the first millennium BC. Starting from the tenth century, they gradually leave their nomadic lifestyle to turn into a sedentary population by creating territorial states under the name of “Byt”, after the name of the founder of each local dynasty. In this work, starting from the controversial question about ethnics, we seek to determine the representative characteristics of Aramaeans, especially for those settled in southern Syria in the ninth-eighth centuries, during the rise of the Damascus kingdom. We investigate this latter relationships with neighboring populations, especially the Israelites who were confronted with them several times during alternate periods of war and peace. This is a detailed study of the southern part of Syria based on the analysis of epigraphic sources (Aramaic inscriptions, Assyrian annals and Bible) and archaeological data coming from some sites (south of Damascus, Palestine and North Jordan ) known to be occupated by Arameans. Through the comparison of these data, we try to provide a plausible reconstruction of the historical context of the kingdom of Damascus in the ninth-eighth centuries BC., the figure of the king Hazael, its political expansion till its falling due to the Assyrians domination.

This thesis examines three genres of the oral heritage of the Neo-Aramaic-speaking Jewish community of Zakho, Kurdistan: the proverb, the enriched biblical narrative, and the folktale. During the past three decades, there has been a renewed interest in research on Neo-Aramaic, and a substantial growth of research in the field has been seen. However, the contemporary study of Neo-Aramaic has been focused almost exclusively on linguistic description and analysis. Content-based aspects of the study of the language and its cultures have received very little attention. This thesis is a first step towards filling this gap. The introduction to the thesis provides background information about the Jewish community of Zakho and about the Neo-Aramaic subgroup to which the Jewish Zakho dialect belongs, North-Eastern Neo-Aramaic (NENA). It then gives a brief review of relevant aspects of the study of folklore, before providing a description of the database of audio recordings upon which this thesis is based. The first chapter presents several approaches to the study of the proverb (paremiology). It is argued that an important component for the understanding and analysis of proverbs, one that is often overlooked, is the context of each proverb. The second chapter analyses an example of the genre of enriched biblical narrative through the lens of a concept taken from the field of thematology: the motifeme - a small meaning-bearing contextual-structural unit of the narrative. It demonstrates the non-linear historical development of the sequence of motifemes in the narrative analysed here, a feature which is particularly typical of Jewish narratives. The folktale is a genre central to the formation and maintenance of the Jewish Zakho communal identity, and the third chapter contains a detailed analysis of one particular folktale. The folktale chosen for analysis in this chapter features a cross-culturally uncommon motif: the motif of magical gender transformation. The NENA materials contained in this thesis are transcribed and translated into English. They are drawn from a database of recordings of members of the Zakho community living now mainly in Jerusalem, and were collected in the course of fieldwork undertaken by the author.

Text in Hebrew with English Summary / This research describes nominal patterns with prefixes m and t as appearing in Parma A in comparison with other traditions viz. Kaufinan, Paris and Y emenite manuscripts. This research has 3 aims: 1. To describe all relevant evidence in Parma A 2. To compare evidence with data in other traditions, including the Bible and Mishnaic Hebrew and Aramaic sources 3. To elaborate on those unique forms in manuscripts which represent genuine Mishnaic Hebrew / Classics and Modern European Languages / D. Litt et Phil. (Semitic Languages)

The quest for the historical Jesus can be advanced by a consideration of disagreement scenarios recorded in the gospels. Such “conflicts” afford the opportunity not only to analyse the positions of the protagonists, but by comparing them, to better appreciate their relative stances. ¶ One area of disagreement that has remained largely unexplored is that between Jesus and the Pharisees over the “kingdom of God”. Indeed, “kingdom of God” formed the very foundation of Jesus’ preaching and thus ought to be the place where fundamental disagreements are to be found. As Luke 17:20-21 represents the only passage in the Gospels where the Pharisees show any interest in the kingdom of God, it forms the central hub of the thesis around which an account of the disparate beliefs of Jesus and the Pharisees on the kingdom of God is constructed. ¶ The main thesis is this. Luke 17:20-21 can best be explained, at the level of the Pharisees and Jesus, as betraying a fundamental disagreement, not in the identity of the kingdom of God, which they both regarded as primarily the Divine Royal Presence, i.e. God himself as king, but in the location of that kingdom. The Pharisees located the kingdom in the here-and-now, Jesus located it in heaven. Conversely, at later stages in the formation of the pericope, the pre-Lukan community identified the kingdom as the Holy Spirit located in individuals with faith in Jesus and the redactor identified the kingdom as Jesus, located both in the Historical Jesus and the Jesus now in heaven. ¶ Chapter 1, after the usual preliminary remarks, presents an analysis of Luke 17:20-21 as a chreia, a literary form ideally suited as the basis on which to compare the beliefs of the Pharisees and Jesus. The work of three scholars vital to the development of the main thesis is then reviewed and evaluated. By way of background, a portrait of the Pharisees is then presented, highlighting in particular, issues that will be of importance in later chapters. Finally, a section on the Aramaic Targums suggests that some targum traditions may be traced back prior to AD 70 and that these reflect the influence and beliefs of first century Palestinian Pharisees. ¶ Chapters 2 and 3 are a consideration of every instance of the explicit mention of God as king (or his kingship) and the Divine Kingdom respectively, in contemporary and earlier Jewish Palestinian literature and in Luke-Acts. A model of the kingdom of God is developed in these chapters that will be applied to Luke 17:20-21 in the next chapter. ¶ Chapter 4 presents a detailed exegesis of Luke 17:20-21, taking into account scholarship on the pericope since the last monograph (an unpublished dissertation of 1962) on the chreia. It offers a composition history of the pericope and measures previous exegesis against the view of the kingdom of God as developed in chapters 2 and 3. ¶ Chapter 5 presents a summary of the work that relates directly to Luke 17:20-21, some implications arising from the findings and, several possible avenues for future research.

The thesis discusses the life and work of the leading Czech biblicist, the orientalists and the pedagogue of the Czech Theological Faculty of Charles-Ferdinand University in Prague, Jaroslav Sedláček (1860-1925). The thesis is divided into two main parts. The first part is contained in Chapter 1 and presents a critical biography of Jaroslav Sedláček in five time segments: 1.1. Childhood and Studies (1860-1889), 1.2. Work in the Spiritual Administration (1881-1925), 1.3. Pedagogical Activity at the Czech Theological Faculty (1891-1924), 1.4. Travels Abroad and Foreign Conferences (1888-1904), 1.5. Final Stages of Life (1924- 1925). The second part is contained in Chapter 2 entitled The Work of Jaroslav Sedláček which is divided into two subchapters: 2.1. introduces Sedláček's bibliography as a whole and 2.2. divides Sedláček's work by thematic perspective in chronological order. The final part contains the list of Sedláček's bibliography. The thesis tries to present a basis for valorization of the work and to evaluate its contribution to the Czech Old Testament biblical theology.

The purpose of this essay is to describe the perception of four medieval Syriac Christians Chroniclers, i.e. Pseudo-Dionysios of Tel-Mahre, Mikhael Rabbo, the anonymous Chronicler of The Chronicle of the year 1234 and BarcEbroyo, on the emergence of Islam with regard to religion, economic and social issues in the region of Syria and Iraq, here called Aramea, where Syriac speaking communities lived. The period of the study covers the time from the Prophet Muhammad to the end of the Umayyad dynasty.   Early passages in Syriac documents give positive accounts about the Prophet Muhammad, Abu Bakr, cUmar ibn al-Khattab and Mucawiya. And indeed, the Syriac speaking community received the coming of the Arabs as a liberation from the Byzantines´ yoke, i.e. persecution and humiliation. When the Arabs conquered the region, they made a dhimmi-deal with subjugated Christians, i.e. ahl al-dhimma “people of covenant”, and gave them protection in exchange for jizya, the protection tax. Indeed, they achieved some independence, had their own civil laws, and the Syriac church ruled very freely.   But the presence of the Muslim Arabs transformed the region in terms of religion, language, demographic and political circumstances. The jizya became a heavy burden and some Caliphs treated Christians unfairly.  The Arabs showed superiority and a political power over all subjugated.   Within this change there began also a cultural interaction between the Muslims and the Christians. The Church was challenged, the Syriac language was repressed, and the Church fathers had to act to protect their communities. First, documentation of historical events of the region became a very important and central issue. Second, the chronicles were authored in order to present a disparity between Islam and Christianity to indicate distinction in religion and moral laws. Third, the Syriac church was challenged and had to act by forbidding marriage with Muslims by constituting Church Law, as many Christians chose to convert to Islam because of interactions, heavy taxes and unfair treatment.