Kasper Siegismund (Copenhagen)
“4Q543 2 1–2 and the Verb ‘to Give’ in Qumran Aramaic”
In 4Q543 2 1–2 (Visions of Amram), the verbal form נתן occurs twice. Interpreting these forms as first person plural prefix conjugation seems like an obvious choice since the root NTN is not usually employed in the suffix conjugation (the root YHB is used instead). However, Robert Duke, in the comments on the text in his recent edition, understands the forms as third singular suffix conjugation, arguing that there are many examples of this root in the suffix conjugation in Aramaic. In this paper, I explore the verb “to give” in the various Aramaic dialects as well as all the occurrences of the roots NTN and YHB in the Aramaic Qumran texts. Furthermore, I discuss the consequences of the different ways of interpreting the verbal form for the interpretation of the wider context.