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The Glory of Google Books - Printable Version

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The Glory of Google Books - Andrew Gabriel Roth - 11-29-2008

Shlama all--

I have to take a moment and tell you all that I am just having a ball with <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="htttp://googlebooks.com">htttp://googlebooks.com</a><!-- m -->. Easiest way to get there is actually to type "Google Books" into the Google search engine, and it will come up. It is not on the world wide web, but worth the effotr to find. My friends, I have just filled a CD with tons of the greatest study tools imagineable. Some of these, like full files of Jastrow's Dictionary, came from a place called "Etana", formerly known as "Abzu" . You will need to query that name too--I don't have the link.

Other stuff is from peshitta.org--like the Tri linear targums. But the rest is from Google Books, and here are some highlights of what is free, public domain and very helpful resources for studying the Peshitta:

1) Two books by John Gwynn detailing the Crawford-Philoxenian relationship on the Western 5.
2) Two books by JW Etheridge --absolutely the best English version of the Targums Onkelos, Jerusalem, Samaritan and Jonathan I have ever seen for the Torah books.
3) Two books by Agnes Lewis on Old Syriac: Palestinian Syriac Lectionary of the Gospels, which is a comparison of both Old Syriac mss and a very obscure, unimportant yet interesting version known as "Hierosymalatian". You can see Murdock mention that one briefly in the notes I have. In any case this comparison of the 3 mss is quite well done, and I like the lectionary form, which is an Aramaic kind of lesson plan of parsha readings from the NT. Ms. Lewis has followed those plans and applied them to Old Syriac. The other is her famous translation of Old Syriac Siniaticus.
4) Dr. Frederick Kenyon has a related study showing the links he sees between Old Syriac and Codex Bezae, which has long been discussed here. I have barely gotten into this essay, but I think his general methods are helpful while his conclusions might not be along what we usually think. Still, a very good read.
5) Then there's "Select Works of St. Ephrem the Syrian" by Revend JB Morris. Just skimmed it barely but really looks like a gem too.
6) Of course Murdock's translation-versions, both 1852 and the 1909 re-print with expanded notes.
7) Various Aramaic grammars, some focussing on the Eastern dialect specifically. I am really liking "Elements of Syriac Grammar by an Inductive Method" by robert Wilson, Uhleman's Syriac Grammar (translated from German into English) and most intriguing of them all is a title by Arthur Maclean: "Grammar of the Dialects of Vernacular Syriac As Spoken by the Eastern Syrians of Kurdistan, North West Persia and the Plain of Mosul. With Notices of the Vernacular of the Jews of Azerbaijan and of Zakhu Near Mosul."

All these things are FULL VIEW books, and there are many more I could comment on. For now, all you guys have to do if you want to see this treaure trove is type "Syriac" in the Google Book search engine.

Enjoy and happy hunting!