להוא and Related Verbal Forms in Biblical and Qumran Aramaic in the Light of Aramaic Dialectology

להוא and related forms in Biblical and Qumranic Aramaic were reexamined reaffirming that להוא is a Jewish literary form that reflects a Standard Jewish Literary Aramaic. Several forms with yodh (e.g., יהוא) at Qumran, however, reflect a Palestinian Aramaic feature that has penetrated the literary style. Two explanations for the origin of the lamedh were reviewed: (1) a taboo on uttering or writing the Tetragrammaton, and (2) the jussive particle. It was suggested in the light of other Aramaic dialects that the prefixing of lamedh to להוא possibly reflects an innovation that took place initially with the verb הוי and then later spread to other III-y verbs and eventually to all verb classes in Late Eastern Aramaic dialects.