The extraordinary story of the Hebrew language is the subject of this book. Dr. Chomsky takes his readers on an intellectual journey from man's early attempts at communication, through the biblical and post-biblical literature, the Middle Ages, the 19th century Enlightenment and into the era of the return to Palestine.

While the rabbinic literature is often seen as a collection of miscellaneous responses to questions arising from study of the Hebrew Bible and its application to contemporary life, Neusner sees a system behind and embodied in the various writings. He discusses the ways in which the divine thought, and the human thinking that sought faithfully to interpret it, actually came to expression and treats what he calls the grammar of the divine self-expression in order to help us see the theological structure that it implies. Then he shows how this implicit system is expressed in the rules for the life of the people that God has chosen as his own. --from publisher description.

This work is the first complete description of the language of the golden Heian period (794-1185) to be published in English. It presents an innovative morphological analysis arranged so as to facilitate reference usage and at long last provides a comprehensive reference work for learners and advanced students of classical Japanese. Each linguistic aspect and function, from particles to verb forms, is described in full and illustrated with copious examples. Free of linguistic jargon, the book is accessible not only to students of the language, but also to specialists in literature, history and culture. It features introductory sections on the historical and literary background, and on writing and phonology, a cross-referenced appendix of classical Japanese verb forms, and a detailed index.

This concise grammar and reader provides a foundational introduction to Old Irish, addressing a gap in existing literature by offering a beginner-friendly approach to a language typically approached through more advanced manuals. The author meticulously details Old Irish phonology, covering orthography, sounds, aspiration, eclipses, and consonant changes resulting from syncope. The grammatical section systematically explores the intricacies of Old Irish accidence, including articles, nouns, adjectives, pronouns, verbs, and prepositions, with clear explanations of tense formation and paradigms. This book includes a reader section featuring representative examples of various literary genres—saga, religious texts, and legal documents—in both prose and verse, accompanied by thorough notes directly referencing the grammar sections. The inclusion of a short text with an extensive commentary caters specifically to self-learners. The author acknowledges the influence of previous grammatical works while highlighting the book's unique approach to complex issues like palatalization, making it an invaluable resource for students and scholars of Old Irish language and literature.