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The Biblical Hebrew “Store Cities” and an Amarna Gloss

In: Vetus Testamentum
Author:
Krzysztof J. Baranowski Uppsala University Sweden

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Online Publication Date:
13 Oct 2017
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Abstract

The word מסכנות used in the phrase ערי מסכנות “store cities” is commonly considered a loanword from the Neo-Assyrian word maškattu, “account, deposit, storehouse.” The current loan hypothesis does not account for the difficulties of the Akkadian evidence and does not take into consideration a gloss in Amarna letter no. 306. This gloss shows that the Canaanite scribes of the Late Bronze Age were familiar with the Akkadian plural form maškanātu and used it with the meaning “granaries, storage areas.” This technical term was borrowed into a Canaanite dialect and was subsequently transmitted to Biblical Hebrew as מסכנות.

Title:
The Biblical Hebrew “Store Cities” and an Amarna Gloss
Article Type:
Research Article
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1163/15685330-12341287
Language:
English
Pages:
519–527
Keywords:
Biblical Hebrew; lexicography; Amarna letters
In:
Vetus Testamentum
In:
Volume 67: Issue 4
Publisher:
Brill
E-ISSN:
1568-5330
Print ISSN:
0042-4935
Subjects:
Hebrew Bible, Biblical Studies, General, Jewish Studies

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