שני עניינות בעברית של קומראן: היבטים סינכרוניים ודיאכרוניים

The study investigates the grammatical form and semantic uses of the noun מבוי) מבוא) and the verb העשה) עשה) in the Hebrew Bible, at Qumran, and in tannaitic Hebrew. The synchronic discussion is followed by a diachronic analysis. 1. מבוא/מבוי/מבואי: (a) The noun מבוא is usually spelled at Qumran with final aleph as it is in biblical Hebrew with the exception of one occurrence of מבואי (māḇōʾi), which demonstrates the shift to a III-y root. In tannaitic Hebrew one finds only מבוי (māḇōy), which has two variants: מבוי / māḇōyi, מבואי / māḇōʾi. It appears that the shift from III-ʾ (מבוא) to III-y מבוי, מבוי,) מבואי) already took place during the Second Temple period, as attested by the sole occurrence of the form at Qumran. Apparently, this is the form that was common in the spoken language, though the scribes of the Dead Sea Scrolls continued to use the biblical orthography (מבוא); (b) The plural of מבוא in biblical Hebrew is both מבואים and מבואות. One finds מבואים at Qumran and מבואות in tannaitic Hebrew (most of the reliable witnesses read מבואות with retention of the qamaṣ); (c) מבוא has two meanings in biblical Hebrew: (1) a verbal noun like ביאה meaning 'arriving' or 'entering', (2) a noun meaning 'entrance'. These meanings are also attested at Qumran, though there are several differences in biblical and Qumran usage. In biblical usage מבוא שמש designates the west, whereas at Qumran מבוא marks the arrival of time, i.e., the 'beginning'. In tannaitic Hebrew (and in amoraic Hebrew) מבוי always designates an 'alley' to a courtyard or to the main street. It is possible that there is one occurrence of מבוי meaning 'entrance' (like the biblical מבוא) as a literary loan from biblical Hebrew. 2. העשה: (a) עשה is attested in biblical Hebrew in the meaning of 'do' or 'create', and its passive is נעשה. We do not find a causative form in piʿʿel or hifʿil. Nor do we find a causative meaning in verbs that are closely related semantically (פעל, יצר, ברא), with the exception of two verbs (עבד, יגע), where some forms express causation, e.g., לא העבדתיך במנחה (Isa. 43:23). There is, however, no causative meaning attested for עשה or any verb that is closely related semantically in the biblical Heberw context of causing the performance of a divine commandment, even though we find the opposite expression, החטיא, the causative stem of חטא; (b) Alongside עשה in tannaitic Hebrew (and also in amoraic Hebrew and in the piyyuṭ) a causative form העשה is attested (or עשה in piʿel or העשיא/העסיא as a III-ʾ verb). One even finds that עשה and (העשיא) העשה are capable of designating the performer of the commandment and the one who causes someone else to perform the commandment (גדול המעשה יותר מן העושה); (c) It appears that this concept and linguistic form (hifʿil of עש"ה) are already attested at Qumran (לעשות ולהעשות את התורה). What was previously known only from tannaitic literature (and amoraic and payṭanic literature) is now attested from the Second Temple period as demonstrated by the Dead Sea Scrolls.