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Classical Syriac for Hebraists is intended for people who already have a basic knowledge of Biblical Hebrew and want to study Syriac, an important ancient Semitic language, a dialect of Aramaic. Syriac is the official language of the Syriac-speaking churches and has a vast amount of literature representing diverse areas of human knowledge: ancient translations of the Bible and related early documents, biblical commentaries, theological treatises, ecclesiastical histories, legends about saints, scientific texts covering philosophy, natural sciences, grammar, translations from Greek documents and many others. With previous knowledge of Hebrew assumed and related phenomenon in Hebrew frequently mentioned, the student can be expected to acquire reading knowledge of Syriac with reasonable ease and speed.The chrestomathy presents a selection of eleven documents including not only passages of the Bible, but also biblical commentaries and theological discussions, humorous fables and a grammatical treatise, all original Syriac compositions. The texts are fully or partly vocalised, provided with grammatical annotations with constant cross referencing to the appropriate sections of the grammar. A glossary to facilitate studying of these texts is appended.

This book has been written for beginners studying on their own and assumes no prior knowledge of the subject. It begins with the history of the language and its discovery and decipherment up to the present day. It contains a clearly structured concise grammar which offers much original material on Luwian syntax. Twelve reading exercises introduce the basic grammatical principles and are carefully graded to allow the reader to build up a knowledge of common signs and vocabulary as well as giving a broad introduction to Hieroglyphic Luwian literature. Grammatical analysis, commentary, vocabulary notes and a revision section accompany each text. Additionally, the book includes the most extensive up-to-date vocabulary available and a complete sign list. Both will serve the reader as invaluable tools for any further study of the subject.