Hebrew in Medieval Spain: Aspecls' oj Evolulion and Transmission

Abstract

The paper offers an overall view of the development of the Hebrew philology and the Hebrew language in Spain in the tenth century, as a part of the intellectual history of the Jewish communities of the country. Emphasis is being put on the socio-linguistic aspects.

The paper deals primarily with the following themes: (a) form and meaning -the study of the biblical word: Menahem and Dunash; (b) the Arabic model -relying on Arabic for the study of the biblical vocabulary and for prosody: negative and positive attitudes; (c) absorbing Arabic influence, at the same time avoiding the assimilation into the framework of Arabic culture: the emergence of Sephardi - Hebrew linguistic and literary entities; (d) poetry and the vocabulary of the Bible; (e) poetry and grammatical consciousness; (1) some main lines in the formation of Sephardi-Hebrew prose; (g) the great revolution: the emergence of the concept of 'concealed quiescent' (nah nistar), and, consequently, that of the triliteral roots; and (h) the formation of the Sephardi pronunciation.