All aspects of the ancient site of Ras Shamra (Ugarit) are treated in this compendium: discovery, decipherment of script, interpretation of literary, diplomatic and legal texts, as well as analysis of languages, history, religion and iconography. Cyrus Gordon called its archives 'the foremost literary discovery of the twentieth century' and they have undoubtedly revolutionized our knowledge of the background to Greek, Phoenician and Israelite culture.
Over the past seven decades, the scores of publications on Ugarit in Northern Syria (15th to 11th centuries BCE) are so scattered that a good overall view of the subject is virtually impossible. Wilfred Watson and Nicolas Wyatt, the editors of the present Handbook in the series Handbook of Oriental Studies, have brought together and made accessible this accumulated knowledge on the archives from Ugarit, called 'the foremost literary discovery of the twentieth century' by Cyrus Gordon. In 16 chapters a careful selection of specialists in the field deal with all important aspects of Ugarit, such as the discovery and decipherment of a previously unknown script (alphabetic cuneiform) used to write both the local language (Ugaritic) and Hurrian and its grammar, vocabulary and style; documents in other languages (including Akkadian and Hittite), as well as the literature and letters, culture, economy, social life, religion, history and iconography of the ancient kingdom of Ugarit. A chapter on computer analysis of these documents concludes the work. This first such wide-ranging survey, which includes recent scholarship, an extensive up-to-date bibliography, illustrations and maps, will be of particular use to those studying the history, religion, cultures and languages of the ancient Near East, and also of the Bible and to all those interested in the background to Greek and Phoenician cultures.
This book traces the history of Ugaritic studies and their impact on the study of the Bible. From the first discoveries in the late 1920s through the end of the millennium, Ugaritic studies have revolutionized the modern understanding of the Bible. The stories told in this book combine analysis of the major trends and intellectual approaches taken in various periods with firsthand accounts of the major Ugaritic and biblical scholars drawn from personal interviews and letters, including previously unknown sources from several archival collections.
Ugaritic, discovered in 1929, is a North-West Semitic language, documented on clay tablets (about 1250 texts) and dated from the period between the 14th and the 12th centuries B.C.E. The documents are of various types: literary, administrative, lexicological. Numerous Ugaritic tablets contain portions of a poetic cycle pertaining to the Ugaritic pantheon. Another part, the administrative documents shed light on the organization of Ugarit, thus contributing greatly to our understanding of the history and culture of the biblical and North-West Semitic world. This important reference work, a revised and translated edition of the author's Hebrew publication (Beer Sheva, 1993), deals with the phonology, morphology and syntax of Ugaritic. The book contains also an appendix with text selections.
Pierre Bordreuil and Dennis Pardee are two of the best-known scholars doing research on the language and texts of the ancient city of Ugarit (modern Tell Ras Shamra). This grammar was first published in French in 2004 in two volumes; and Eisenbrauns is pleased to make it available now in a corrected and updated version, in one volume, with significant enhancements. In addition to including all of the information present in the French edition, this English edition includes a CD with a complete, hyperlinked PDF version of the grammar. The book includes a historical introduction to the texts and language, the book includes a sketch of the grammar of Ugaritic, a bibliography, facsimiles (hand-copies) of a number of texts, and a glossary and text concordance—in short, everything that a student needs for entrée into the language. On the CD, in addition to the PDF, color photos of all of the texts included in the book are provided. The hyperlinks to the PDF enable the reader to move easily from the discussion in the grammar to a copy of a text to the color photo of the text and back again, making the material much more accessible and usable for students and researchers. Pierre Bordreuil inaugurated a chair in Ugaritic at the écoles des langues et civilisations orientales at the Institut catholique de Paris. Dennis Pardee teaches in the Dept. of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.
A Primer on Ugaritic is an introduction to the language of the ancient city of Ugarit, a city that flourished in the second millennium BCE on the Lebanese coast, placed in the context of the culture, literature, and religion of this ancient Semitic culture. The Ugaritic language and literature was a precursor to Canaanite and serves as one of our most important resources for understanding the Old Testament and the Hebrew language. Special emphasis is placed on contextualization of the Ugaritic language and comparison to ancient Hebrew as well as Akkadian. The book begins with a general introduction to ancient Ugarit, and the introduction to the various genres of Ugaritic literature is placed in the context of this introduction. The language is introduced by genre, beginning with prose and letters, proceeding to administrative, and finally introducing the classic examples of Ugaritic epic. A summary of the grammar, a glossary, and a bibliography round out the volume.
Highly respected linguist John Huehnergard brings his command of and vast knowledge in the field of comparative Semitic linguistics to this introductory grammar. Every aspect of the grammar is enriched by his broad understanding, while maintaining an unexcelled directness and order to the learning of the fundamental grammar of Ugaritic. Designed for students already familiar with Biblical Hebrew, this grammar contains the information necessary to help them become proficient in Ugaritic, and includes exercises to assist in learning basic grammar before commencing work with the actual Ugaritic texts. It is set apart from other gram¬mar books by its immense understanding of comparative Semitic grammar, and the concise and accurate manner in which Huehnergard presents the information. Special Features: - A glossary of all Ugaritic words used in the grammar - An appendix by Ugaritologist John Ellison on the scribal formation of the Ugaritic abecedaries - A number of full-color photographs of Ugaritic tablets - Keys to the exercises - Bibliographic information and indexes
"There has been considerable progress in the field of Ugaritic studies since the mid-twentieth century, largely because the increased number of texts now available has led to significant advances in epigraphy, grammatical analysis and lexicography." "However, it is difficult to access the proposals made in lexicography because they are scattered in various publications (and because scholars follow different criteria). This dictionary sets out the results obtained so far in a systematic way and provides answers to unresolved problems by applying recent techniques of lexicographical analysis and the conclusions reached in other branches of Semitic philology. It lists all independent morphemes ("words") and attached morphemes ("affixes") and the proper names of people (PN), places (TN), deities (DN) and months (MN). Each lexical definition is followed by a set of isolexemes, bibliographical references and translations in context. The work is an updated and considerably augmented English language version - prepared by W.G.E. Watson - of G. Del Olmo Lete and J. Sanmartin, Diccionario de la lengua ugaritica, vols. I and II." --Book Jacket.
