ניצנים ראשונים בחכמת המילים: מן המסורה אל ראשית המילונאות העברית (The Awakening of Word Lore: From the Masora to the Beginnings of Hebrew Lexicography) (review)

Hebrew Studies 47 (2006) 460 Reviews The book is likely to be most useful for non-native speakers who study Hebrew, joining Bolozky’s 501 Hebrew Verbs as a staple work. Careful editing in preparation for a new printing with such users in mind could serve to maximize consistency in the presentation and linearity in the introduction of concepts, and minimize ambiguity in statements and reliance on users’ corrective intuition. Thus tightening the presentation, the authors could reissue a work that will undoubtedly appeal to and benefit a broad audience, and advance the field of Hebrew language instruction. Esther Raizen The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX 78712 raizen@mail.utexas.edu twanwlymh tyCar la hrwsmh Nm :Mylymh tmkjb MynwCar Mynxyn tyrboh (The Awakening of Word Lore: From the Masora to the Beginnings of Hebrew Lexicography). By Aron Dotan. Sources and Studies 7. Pp. xvi + 223 + *viii. Jerusalem: The Academy of the Hebrew Language, 2005. Cloth. For nearly four decades, Aron Dotan has been the leading scholar in the field of Masoretic studies and in the sister field of Medieval Hebrew grammar and lexicography. He has produced high quality editions of Ben Asher’s Diqduqei ha-Te’amim (Jerusalem: Academy of the Hebrew Language , 1967) and, more recently, of Sa’adiah’s Sefer S . ah . ut Leshon ha-Ivrim (2 vols.; Jerusalem: World Union of Jewish Studies, 1997), in addition to several other notable books and a great many significant articles. In 2005, he was awarded the prestigious Israel Prize for his scholarly work. His latest book, under review here, is in many ways the product of his great experience , since in it he searches for the ultimate origins of the Hebrew lexicographic tradition that he has been studying for so many years. The basic thesis and overall conclusions of the book are, in general, not presented here for the first time; that is, Dotan has dealt with several of the relevant issues in a number of earlier articles. However, this book is broader and far more extensive than any previous work. Dotan makes his objective clear from the very first page of the introduction . The tradition of Hebrew lexicography—which cannot be separated from that of Hebrew grammar—is conventionally thought to have arisen in the wake of (and in imitation of) the Arabic grammatical tradition. Dotan, while in no way diminishing the importance of the Arabic tradition, aims to Hebrew Studies 47 (2006) 461 Reviews show that the real beginnings of Hebrew lexicography can be found among the work of the early Masoretes, and thus pre-dates Arabic influence. The first chapter begins with a pithy and somewhat philosophical discussion of why humans have turned to the study of words. First noting that lists of words were kept already by ancient peoples like the Sumerians, Babylonians, and Indians, he then gives a very brief summary of the lexicographic tradition of the Greeks (pp. 3–4), followed by a more detailed discussion of the Arabic tradition (pp. 4–8), a basic understanding of which is essential if one is seeking to find out if this was the source of the Hebrew tradition. The second chapter, which could also be considered introductory, shifts the focus to Hebrew lexicography. Much of the chapter is devoted to Sa’adiah Gaon (whose Sefer ha-Egron is considered the first work in the field) and to examining how much Sa’adiah’s work was influenced by the Arabs. Chapter 3 moves on to the core theme of the book, looking specifically at the method and techniques of the Masorah. Probably most interesting in this chapter is the discussion (and many examples) of the different ways in which the Masoretes organized their lists. The number of variations on alphabetical and reverse alphabetical ordering is surprising. Chapter 4 moves on to some of the more linguistic issues found in the Masorah, specifically, the understanding of the vowel system and the nature of the root. The discussion on the nature of the vowel system, particularly as found in the Sefer Ochlah ve-Ochlah, is one Dotan has also published (with less detail) elsewhere (e.g., Journal Asiatique 278 [1990]: 20–22), but it remains one of...