Richard C Steiner
Encyclopedia
Richard C. Steiner is a Semitist and a scholar of Northwest Semitic languages
, Jewish Studies
, and Near Eastern texts. His work has focused on texts from as early as the Egyptian Pyramid texts
to as late as medieval biblical interpretation. He is a professor of Semitics at the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Yeshiva University
in New York City
.
Steiner received his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania
, where he studied Bible
, Semitics, and Jewish Studies (under Moshe Greenberg
, later of the Hebrew University) and linguistics
(under Henry M. Hoenigswald
and William Labov
). He collaborated with Labov on an important study of sound changes in spoken languages.
Steiner's early work focused on the phonology
of Semitic languages
, especially Hebrew. In one book he argued that the letter known as Hebrew sin was pronounced as a fricative-lateral and in another he argued that the pronunciation of the letter tsade
as an affricate, /ts/, is very old and widespread, against others who had doubted this. These books have convinced most specialists.
In 2007 Steiner gave a lecture at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
, in which he announced that he had deciphered linguistically Semitic spells in Egyptian hieroglyphic texts from the mid-third millennium BC. This discovery was reported on by National Geographic, Science Daily
, and others. In July 2010 he was invited to give the plenary address at the annual conference of the National Association of Professors of Hebrew.
Northwest Semitic languages
The Northwest Semitic languages form a medium-level division of the Semitic language family. The languages of this group are spoken by approximately eight million people today. The group is generally divided into three branches: Ugaritic , Canaanite and Aramaic...
, Jewish Studies
Jewish studies
Jewish studies is an academic discipline centered on the study of Jews and Judaism. Jewish studies is interdisciplinary and combines aspects of history , religious studies, archeology, sociology, languages , political science, area studies, women's studies, and ethnic studies...
, and Near Eastern texts. His work has focused on texts from as early as the Egyptian Pyramid texts
Pyramid Texts
The Pyramid Texts are a collection of ancient Egyptian religious texts from the time of the Old Kingdom. The pyramid texts are possibly the oldest known religious texts in the world. Written in Old Egyptian, the pyramid texts were carved on the walls and sarcophagi of the pyramids at Saqqara during...
to as late as medieval biblical interpretation. He is a professor of Semitics at the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a private university in New York City, with six campuses in New York and one in Israel. Founded in 1886, it is a research university ranked as 45th in the US among national universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2012...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Steiner received his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, where he studied Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, Semitics, and Jewish Studies (under Moshe Greenberg
Moshe Greenberg
Moshe Greenberg was an American Jewish rabbi, Bible scholar, and professor emeritus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.-Biography:...
, later of the Hebrew University) and linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
(under Henry M. Hoenigswald
Henry M. Hoenigswald
Henry Max Hoenigswald was born 17 April 1915 in Breslau, Germany ; Professor of Linguistics, University of Pennsylvania 1948-85 ; married 1944 Gabriele Schoepflich ; died Haverford, Pennsylvania 16 June 2003.He was educated in the German Gymnasium, where he learned the classical languages, and...
and William Labov
William Labov
William Labov born December 4, 1927) is an American linguist, widely regarded as the founder of the discipline of variationist sociolinguistics. He has been described as "an enormously original and influential figure who has created much of the methodology" of sociolinguistics...
). He collaborated with Labov on an important study of sound changes in spoken languages.
Steiner's early work focused on the phonology
Phonology
Phonology is, broadly speaking, the subdiscipline of linguistics concerned with the sounds of language. That is, it is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning in any spoken human language, or the field of linguistics studying this use...
of Semitic languages
Semitic languages
The Semitic languages are a group of related languages whose living representatives are spoken by more than 270 million people across much of the Middle East, North Africa and the Horn of Africa...
, especially Hebrew. In one book he argued that the letter known as Hebrew sin was pronounced as a fricative-lateral and in another he argued that the pronunciation of the letter tsade
Tsade
' is the eighteenth letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew ' and Arabic ' . Its oldest sound value is probably , although there is a variety of pronunciation in different modern Semitic languages and their dialects...
as an affricate, /ts/, is very old and widespread, against others who had doubted this. These books have convinced most specialists.
In 2007 Steiner gave a lecture at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
, in which he announced that he had deciphered linguistically Semitic spells in Egyptian hieroglyphic texts from the mid-third millennium BC. This discovery was reported on by National Geographic, Science Daily
Science Daily
Science Daily is a news website for topical science articles. It features articles on a wide variety of science topics including: astronomy, exoplanets, computer science, nanotechnology, medicine, psychology, sociology, anthropology, biology, geology, climate, space, physics, mathematics,...
, and others. In July 2010 he was invited to give the plenary address at the annual conference of the National Association of Professors of Hebrew.
Books
- A Quantitative Study of Sound Change in Progress (Report on National Science Foundation Contract NSF-GS-3287). 2 vols. Philadelphia, 1972 (William Labov, Malcah Yaeger, and Richard Steiner).
- The Case for Fricative-Laterals in Proto-Semitic (American Oriental Series, 59),New Haven, 1977.
- Affricated Sade in the Semitic Languages (American Academy for Jewish Research Monograph Series, 3), New York, 1982.
- Stockmen from Tekoa, Sycomores from Sheba: A Study of Amos’ Occupations (CBQ Monograph Series, 36), Washington DC, 2003.
- A Biblical Translation in the Making: The Evolution and Impact of Saadia Gaon’s Tafsīr (Harvard Judaic Monographs, 2011)
- Early Northwest Semitic Serpent Spells in the Pyramid Texts (Harvard Semitic Series; to appear)
Articles
- “On the Origin of the חֶדֶר-חֲדַר Alternation in Hebrew,” Afroasiatic Linguistics 3(1976) 85-102.
- “From Proto-Hebrew to Mishnaic Hebrew: The History of כְָ- and הָּ-,” Hebrew Annual Review 3 (1979) 157-174.
- “Yuqat.t.il, Yaqat.t.il, Yiqat.t.il: D-Stem Prefix-Vowels and a Constraint on Reduction in Hebrew and Aramaic,” Journal of the American Oriental Society 100 (1980) 513-518.
- “A Paganized Version of Ps 20:2-6 from the Aramaic Text in Demotic Script,” Journal of the American Oriental Society 103 (1983) 261-74 (with C. F. Nims). (Cf. Charles Austin, “Ancient Papyrus a Riddle No More,” The New York Times, October 11, 1982, B1 ff.)
- “You Can’t Offer Your Sacrifice and Eat It Too: A Polemical Poem from the Aramaic Text in Demotic Script,” Journal of Near Eastern Studies 43 (1984) 89-114 (with C. F. Nims).
- “Ashurbanipal and Shamash-shum-ukin: A Tale of Two Brothers from the Aramaic Text in Demotic Script,” Revue Biblique 92 (1985) 60-81 (with C.F. Nims).
- “*Lulav versus *lu/law: A Note on the Conditioning of *aw > *ū in Hebrew and Aramaic,” Journal of the American Oriental Society 107 (1987) 121-122.
- “New Light on the Biblical Millo from Hatran Inscriptions,” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 276 (1989) 15-23.
- “A Syriac Church Inscription from 504 CE,” Journal of Semitic Studies 35 (1990) 99-108.
- “The Aramaic Text in Demotic Script: The Liturgy of a New Year’s Festival Imported from Bethel to Syene by Exiles from Rash,” Journal of the American Oriental Society 111 (1991) 362-363.
- “The Mountains of Ararat, Mount Lubar and הר הקדם,” Journal of Jewish Studies 42 (1991) 247-249