Hoffner and Melchert’s still-warm Hittite grammar just arrived on my doorstep.  I’ve never formally studied Hittite so I’m looking forward to looking through it when I get the chance.  One thing really struck me though.  I was reading through the preface and I came across this statement:

Our own efforts to procure or produce teaching materials for the classroom led us to conclude that the time had come for a more comprehensive reference grammar of Hittite, along the lines of Wolfram von Soden’s Grundriss der akkadischen Grammatik… (xv)

Wow!   Did they just compare their grammar to von Soden’s?  That is quite a comparison.  However, let me also say that I’ve had breakfast with Harry Hoffner and he is a very humble and gracious man and I’m sure that he didn’t mean this statement in a cocky way, he was referring the to inclusive aim of the grammar.  Also, if anyone could produce the Hittite version of GAG, Hoffner and Melchert are the ones to do it.

Still, I’m not planning on writing any grammars, but if I did I won’t be making comparisons.  It will just be Charles’ little project.

A Grammar of the Hittite Language, 1: Reference Grammar
Part I: Reference Grammar
Languages of the Ancient Near East – LANE 1/1
by Harry A. Hoffner Jr. and H. Craig Melchert
Eisenbrauns, 2008
Pp. xxii + 467; CD, English
Cloth
ISBN: 1575061198
List Price: $59.50
Your Price: $53.55
www.eisenbrauns.com/wconnect/wc.dll?ebGate~EIS~~I~HOFGRAMMA

The Oriental Institute blog lists all the documents that they have digitized and are available for free download as of April 9, 2008.  This will fill up your summer reading schedule.

Names in the Study of Biblical History
David, YHWH Names, and the Role of Personal Names
Buried History Monographs – BHM 2
by Francis I. Andersen and Richard S. Hess
Australian Institute of Archaeology, 2007
iv + 20 pages, English
Paper, 8 x 12
ISBN: 9780980374704
Your Price: $19.00
www.eisenbrauns.com/wconnect/wc.dll?ebGate~EIS~~I~ANDNAMESI

While I was looking around the Eisenbrauns booth at SBL James Spinti alerted me to a new monograph produced by the Australian Institute of Archaeology: Francis I. Andersen and Richard S. Hess, Names in the Study of Biblical History: David, YHWH Names, and the Role of Personal Names (Buried History Monograph 2; Melbourne: Australian Institute of Archaeology, 2007). It is a grand total of 20 pages but it is packed with information and very valuable bibliography–they provide extensive bibliography for personal names in the languages/geographic areas Akkadian, Ammonite, Amurrite, Aramaic, Ebla, Emar, Hebrew, Hittite, Hurrian, Phoenician, 2nd Millennium names from Palestine and vicinity, Ugaritic, and other West Semitic names.

In this monograph Andersen and Hess survey the historical and literary distribution of the spellings of YHWH elements in names as well as the spelling of David.  For instance, here are a couple of charts:

Although there are supporting supplementary comments, here is their conclusion:

The books of the Old Testament present accurately the changing fashions in Hebrew names.  The long forms of names ending with the name of God (-yhw) were prominent during the monarchy, and were completely replaced by -yh forms after the Exile.  The short spelling of David was in vogue before the Exile, the longer form after.  The Bible and the archaeological evidence are the same.  If the material in Genesis-Kings was largely concocted after the Exile, as some scholars now claim, and the invented characters were given the names current in their own day, we would expect the popular -yh names to be used throughout.  Genesis-Kings accurately preserves the changes in Hebrew names corresponding to linguistic and cultural changes in the Israelite communities.  The authenticity of the Bible in this specific matter is established by external evidence.

What do you think of evidence of this kind when used to date the composition of biblical books?  How should we view spelling conventions with respect to literary provenance?

According to Chuck Jones, the Oriental Institute, the publisher of the Chicago Assyrian Dictionary and the Chicago Hittite Dictionary among other works, will offer their publications in pdf format free of charge.  Currently only a few of the latest publications are available but eventually all are scheduled for open access.  Here is the link to the electronic publications catalog.

On my previous post concerning upcoming classes from the Oriental Institute Harry Hoffner pointed out another great class:

Don’t neglect the course entitled “Tales of Gods and Men: Myths from Ancient Turkey and Northern Syria”, taught by Ph.D. candidate Dennis Campbell. It will cover among other things the most important mythological texts of the Hittites (big cheer!). The textbook, I’m told, will be “Hittite Myths” (SBL WAW series no. 2) authored by yours truly.

This looks like a great opportunity that you won’t want to miss.  To sign up, click here.