This volume continues the series Textbook of Aramaic Documents (TAD) begun with vol. 1, Letters (1986), vol. 2, Contracts (1989), and vol.3 Literature, Accounts, Lists. The standard set by previous volumes is maintained here, and the authors are to be congratulated for producing an edition that, without exaggeration, deserves to be called definitive. Published in 1999, vol. 4 is subtitled Ostraca and Assorted Inscriptions. It is the biggest of the four volumes with 24 chapters, divided as follows: D1-5 Papyrus fragments; D6 Leather fragments; D7-11 Ceramic Inscriptions; D8 Accounts; D9 Lists; D10 Abecedaries; D11 Jars; D12 Stone Plaques; D13 Wooden Plaques; D14 Seals, Bullae, Stamps; D15 Libation Bowls; D16 Statuettes; D17 Dedication stone; D18-21 Funerary Inscriptions; D22 Graffiti; D23 Sheikh Fadl Cave inscription; D24 Aramaica Dubiosa.There are, of course, indices, bibliography and a map along with all the features described in the notice on volume 3.

The nuclear family in the Ancient Near East and in Israel generally included a father, a mother and children. The whole family was subject to the authority of the father. The father had extensive legal capacities - despite certain restrictions - that had a decisive impact on the fate and economic situation of the whole family. This book investigates the nature of the legal relationship between parents and children and the nature of the patriarchal regime in the Bible and the Ancient Near East. The main questions discussed in the book are: What gives a child legal status? What was the infrastructure and the nature of the legal relationship between parents and children? Did parents have to provide for their children? What was the legal authority of parents to punish their children in respect of unlawful conduct towards them? The book makes an important contribution to understanding the basic issues of character and personality of society in ancient times.

This collection of papers in Hebrew and Semitic linguistics is the English pendant to the Hebrew volume. The nucleus of this collection is formed by researches into the history of Biblical Hebrew. They deal with details, yet the introduction, entitled "On the History and Structure of Hebrew", especially written for this publication, fits them into the general frame. It is to be hoped that this collection will convey to scholars, something more than the mere sum of the various publications, and that the indices will enable the reader to find his wish more easily. Sample pages A digital version of this book is available here

Martin Heidegger is one of the most important thinkers of the twentieth century. His influence is very significant in many areas: Western culture, modern philosophy, existentialism, postmodernism, cultural criticism, literary theory, aesthetics, theology and psychotherapy. The book introduces his main philosophy. There is discussion of the major issues that concerned him in his numerous writings, such as: man, language, art, being, history, technology and humanism. The information is introduced from a critical point of view in order to allow readers who are not familiar with his doctrine to connect to it and understand it. The readers who do know the doctrine will be able to examine it from a different angle, which emphasizes the thematic unity and its program. Heidegger's connections with the Nazi regime is a subject that requires detailed attention in a book that introduces the main points of his philosophy in Hebrew. Heidegger's contact with the Nazi regime and the historical-philosophical ideology that guided his actions are described in an appendix.

Collected in this volume are articles published over the last three decades, which deal with various aspects of Semitic languages in general, the structure of Hebrew, history of Arab grammatical tradition, Aramaic and Neo-Aramaic, Syriac syntax, and particularly with Ethiopian languages (Amharic and Old Amharic Gurage, Harari and Comparative Ethiopian). While discussing general, language-specific and comparative issues, special attention is devoted in these studies to syntax, to the examination of linguistic methodology and to the contribution of Semitics to the Science of language.

The Indian language of Sanskrit is one the of oldest Indo-European languages. The Vedas, Upanishads, Mahabharata and Ramayana epics, religion and philosophy works, poetry, plays, mythology and legends were all written in this language. Sanskrit is the basis for any research on traditional Indian culture and Indo-European linguistics. This book presents the foundations of Sanskrit and all grammatical topics, accompanied by examples and poetry verses. The story of the עם Krishna is told along the book. The book is aimed at linguistics and students, who will be able to deal with literary, religious and philosophical texts upon completing the book. Illustrations by Dganit Greier.

The Book of Elegance of the Hebrew Language is Saadia Gaon's (892-942) Judeo-Arabic work on Hebrew linguistics. It is the first Hebrew grammar book, describing for the first time the Hebrew language, its letters, the vowels and the shewa, the dageshs, the influence of the gutturals, the inflections etc. The edition comprises of two volumes: the first is the introduction describing the work and its date, its structure and relationship to other works, with an analysis of the linguistic theory and the various grammatical issues as well as a comprehensive vocabulary of terminology, a complete survey of the chapters, a description of the manuscripts and method of editing and finally an extensive bibliography. The second volumes holds the original Arabic text with a Hebrew translation by the editor, and apparatus of various readings and numerous commenting notes and indices.