Research master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (research) (MA)
open access
This study describes the realization of Tense, Aspect and Modality (TAM) in Jewish Palestinian Aramaic, a specific variety of Western Aramaic, roughly attested during the first 1,500 years of the...Show moreThis study describes the realization of Tense, Aspect and Modality (TAM) in Jewish Palestinian Aramaic, a specific variety of Western Aramaic, roughly attested during the first 1,500 years of the common era. It compares it to the realization of TAM in both Biblical Hebrew (with which JPA was in contact through the legacy of the Bible) and Achaemenid Official Aramaic (which is more closely related in a genealogical sense).Show less
Research master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (research) (MA)
open access
The conditional clause is one of the most common and important clause types in Biblical Hebrew, yet no consensus has been reached as to how its various forms correspond to the expression of...Show moreThe conditional clause is one of the most common and important clause types in Biblical Hebrew, yet no consensus has been reached as to how its various forms correspond to the expression of modality, most notably whether a condition is realizable or not. In this paper, it is analyzed how the two main factors of conditional sentences, particles and verbal forms, combine to add modal nuances to the conditional clause. It becomes clear that not a single factor is responsible for those nuances, but many factors combined. By applying modern linguistic insights in particles and the verbal forms, a new model is proposed.Show less
Research master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (research) (MA)
closed access
The present thesis centres on languages and linguistic features encountered in the documentary texts from the Dead Sea region, focussing on the documentary texts from Wadi Murabba’at and Nahal...Show moreThe present thesis centres on languages and linguistic features encountered in the documentary texts from the Dead Sea region, focussing on the documentary texts from Wadi Murabba’at and Nahal Hever. Especially those features that might tell something about the identity of the people responsible for the production of these documents will be examined in detail. The overall aim is to detect these features and to explain them in light of their cultural background: to what extent do the formal and linguistic features visible in the documentary texts convey elements of conscious choices and unconscious linguistic patterns relating to the identity of the people who wrote these texts and how can these features be explained? It will be attempted to answer this general question through two key-objectives: 1. Through determining linguistic features and patterns of language choice in selected case studies. 2. Through explaining these features in light of their cultural-historical background.Show less
Research master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (research) (MA)
under embargo until 2026-06-01
2026-06-01T00:00:00Z
This thesis examines the causative stem (C-stem) in two Aramaic translations of Genesis, Targum Neofiti (TgN) and Targum Onqelos (TgO). More specifically, it is focused on how this morphological...Show moreThis thesis examines the causative stem (C-stem) in two Aramaic translations of Genesis, Targum Neofiti (TgN) and Targum Onqelos (TgO). More specifically, it is focused on how this morphological causative is employed to translate different Hebrew verbs and stem forms as well as the situation aspect and transitivity of individual verbs. The survey and synthesis show (1) that the vast majority of C-stem verbs in these corpora have an intransitive basic stem (G-stem) and (2) that the C-stem adds an external agent to G-stem constructions, thereby increasing their valency. (3) It illustrates how the addition of an external agent changes the role of the causee (original subject). For example, the subject of an intransitive G-stem construction becomes the direct object of a causative construction: ‘He went out’ becomes ‘They brought him out’. Likewise, the subject of a transitive construction (e.g. ‘He drank wine’) becomes a second direct object, making certain C-stem constructions bitransitive. (4) It outlines how the addition of an external agent affects the situation aspect of three different verb types, stative verbs, process verbs, and action verbs. (5) Lastly, it shows that the ancient translators attempted to imitate the Hebrew text whenever possible by using the same verb and stem.Show less
Research master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (research) (MA)
closed access
A comprehensive and concise poetics of biblical Hebrew poetry—its poiesis or active making, the aesthetics of its genesis, the principles of its composition—is the goal of the present work. A...Show moreA comprehensive and concise poetics of biblical Hebrew poetry—its poiesis or active making, the aesthetics of its genesis, the principles of its composition—is the goal of the present work. A survey of the scholarship, past and present, is undertaken, before a cognitive approach is applied to the problem of biblical Hebrew 'metrics'.Show less
