[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/languages/arc/lexicon/)

[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [docs](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/) / [languages](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/languages/) / [Aramaic](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/languages/arc/) / The lexicon of Biblical Aramaic

# The lexicon of Biblical Aramaic

**On this page**

1. [1. Core vocabulary by frequency](#1-core-vocabulary-by-frequency)
2. [2. Hebrew and Aramaic: cognates and false friends](#2-hebrew-and-aramaic-cognates-and-false-friends)
3. [3. Loanwords](#3-loanwords)
4. [4. Aramaic in Hebrew](#4-aramaic-in-hebrew)
5. [5. Semantic fields of the book](#5-semantic-fields-of-the-book)
6. [Sources for this file](#sources-for-this-file)

The vocabulary of the Aramaic chapters is small: 698 distinct lemmas (647 of them nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs, proper names included) in 7 549 words (MACULA units, counted 2026-10-17). Most of it is common Aramaic; a striking share comes from **Akkadian** (via the Assyrian and Babylonian administration) and **Old Persian** (via the Achaemenid chancery), with a handful of **Greek** words in Daniel 3. This file gives the core vocabulary by frequency, the loanwords by source, the Hebrew–Aramaic cognate pairs a reader needs, and the Aramaic words that entered Hebrew.

Sources: BDB 1906, Aramaic part (Sefaria `BDB_Aramaic_Dictionary.jsonl`, public domain; cited as BDB-Aram s.v.); Kaufman 1974, *The Akkadian Influences on Aramaic*; the Iranian etymologies of Andreas and Scheftelowitz as cited inside BDB-Aram; Hinz 1975, *Altiranisches Sprachgut der Nebenüberlieferungen*; Vogt 2011, *A Lexicon of Biblical Aramaic* (English edition of *Lexicon linguae aramaicae Veteris Testamenti*, 1971); Koehler and Baumgartner, *HALOT* vol. 5 (Aramaic). Counts: MACULA, 2026-10-17.

## 1. Core vocabulary by frequency

Content words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs), summed over forms; proper names left out except to show their weight. Counted from MACULA's `lemma` and `pos` (2026-10-17).

| rank | lemma | translit. | pos | meaning | count |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | מֶלֶךְ | meleḵ | n. | king | 180 |
| 2 | אֱלָהּ | ʾĕlāh | n. | god, God | 95 |
| 3 | כֹּל | kōl | n. | all, every | 81 |
| 4 | אֲמַר | ʾămar | v. | say, command | 71 |
| 5 | הוה | hăwā | v. | be, become | 71 |
| 6 | אֱדַיִן | ʾĕḏayin | adv. | then | 57 |
| 7 | מַלְכוּ | malḵū | n. | kingdom, reign | 57 |
| 8 | יְדַע | yəḏaʿ | v. | know; haphel: make known | 47 |
| 9 | בַּיִת | bayiṯ | n. | house, temple | 44 |
| 10 | שְׁמַיִן | šəmayin | n. | heaven | 38 |
| 11 | קוּם | qūm | v. | rise, stand; haphel: set up | 35 |
| 12 | פְּשַׁר | pəšar | n. | interpretation | 31 |
| 13 | חֲזָה | ḥăzā | v. | see | 30 |
| 14 | טְעֵם | ṭəʿēm | n. | decree; taste; report | 30 |
| 15 | עֲנָה | ʿănā | v. | answer | 30 |
| 16 | יְהַב | yəhaḇ | v. | give | 28 |
| 17 | עֲבַד | ʿăḇaḏ | v. | do, make | 28 |
| 18 | בַּר | bar | n. | son | 27 |
| 19 | שׂוּם | śūm | v. | put, set | 26 |
| 20 | אֱנָשׁ | ʾĕnāš | n. | man, mankind | 25 |
| 21 | מִלָּה | millā | n. | word, matter | 24 |
| 22 | דְּהַב | dəhaḇ | n. | gold | 23 |
| 23 | רַב | raḇ | adj. | great; chief | 23 |
| 24 | בְּנָה | bənā | v. | build | 22 |
| 25 | חֵלֶם | ḥēlem | n. | dream | 22 |
| 26 | אֲרַע | ʾăraʿ | n. | earth | 21 |
| 27 | גְּבַר | gəḇar | n. | man | 21 |
| 28 | שְׁנָא | šənā | v. | change, be different | 21 |
| 29 | חֵיוָה | ḥēwā | n. | animal, beast | 20 |
| 30 | עָלַם | ʿālam | n. | eternity, age | 20 |
| 31 | פַּרְזֶל | parzel | n. | iron | 20 |
| 32 | שְׁכַח | šəḵaḥ | v. | (haphel) find; (hithpeel) be found | 18 |
| 33 | יַד | yaḏ | n. | hand | 17 |
| 34 | נוּר | nūr | n. | fire | 17 |
| 35 | צְלֵם | ṣəlēm | n. | image, statue | 17 |
| 36 | אֲתָה | ʾăṯā | v. | come; haphel: bring | 16 |
| 37 | יוֹם | yōm | n. | day | 16 |
| 38 | עַם | ʿam | n. | people | 15 |
| 39 | נְהַר | nəhar | n. | river (עֲבַר נַהֲרָה "Beyond the River") | 15 |
| 40 | דָּת | dāṯ | n. | law, decree (Persian) | 14 |
| 41 | חֲוָה | ḥăwā | v. | (pael, haphel) declare, show | 14 |
| 42 | חַכִּים | ḥakkīm | n./adj. | wise man | 14 |
| 43 | עֲלַל | ʿălal | v. | enter; haphel: bring in | 14 |
| 44 | קֶרֶן | qeren | n. | horn | 14 |
| 45 | רֵאשׁ | rēš | n. | head | 14 |
| 46 | שְׁלַח | šəlaḥ | v. | send | 14 |
| 47 | שָׁלְטָן | šolṭān | n. | dominion | 14 |
| 48 | גּוֹא | gō | n. | midst (בְּגוֹא "inside") | 13 |
| 49 | הֵיכַל | hēḵal | n. | palace, temple (Akkadian) | 13 |
| 50 | חַד | ḥaḏ | num. | one | 13 |
| 51 | כְּסַף | kəsap̄ | n. | silver | 13 |
| 52 | כְּעַן | kəʿan | adv. | now | 13 |
| 53 | קַדִּישׁ | qaddīš | adj. | holy | 13 |
| 54 | שַׂגִּיא | śaggīʾ | adj. | much, many | 13 |
| 55 | בְּעָא | bəʿā | v. | seek, ask | 12 |
| 56 | חֱזוּ | ḥĕzū | n. | vision | 12 |
| 57 | יְכִל | yəḵil | v. | be able | 12 |
| 58 | כְּתָב | kəṯāḇ | n. | writing | 12 |
| 59 | סְגִד | səḡiḏ | v. | worship, bow down | 12 |
| 60 | עִדָּן | ʿiddān | n. | time, period (Akkadian?) | 12 |

The proper names show what the texts are about: דָּנִיֵּאל 52, נְבוּכַדְנֶצַּר 31, עֲבֵד נְגוֹ 28, יְרוּשְׁלֶם 26, בָּבֶל 25, דָּרְיָוֶשׁ 15, שַׁדְרַךְ 14, מֵישַׁךְ 14.

## 2. Hebrew and Aramaic: cognates and false friends

A reader who knows Hebrew recognises about half of Biblical Aramaic through the regular sound correspondences ([Script and phonology](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/languages/arc/script-phonology/) §4). The rest is either a different word for the same thing or the same word with another meaning.

### 2.1 Same root, regular correspondence

| Hebrew | Aramaic | meaning | correspondence |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| זָהָב | דְּהַב | gold | z ~ d |
| זְמָן | זְמַן | time | (loan in both) |
| שְׁלֹשָׁה | תְּלָתָה | three | š ~ t |
| יָשַׁב | יְתִב | sit, dwell | š ~ t |
| שָׁבַר | תְּבַר | break | š ~ t |
| שָׁקַל | תְּקַל | weigh | š ~ t |
| אֶרֶץ | אֲרַע, אֲרַק | earth | ṣ ~ ʿ, q |
| צֶלֶם | צְלֵם | image | (same) |
| נָצַר | נְטַר | guard | ṣ ~ ṭ |
| צוּר | טוּר | rock, mountain | ṣ ~ ṭ |
| עֶשֶׂר | עֲשַׂר | ten | (same) |
| בֵּן | בַּר (pl. בְּנִין) | son | (different singular) |
| מֶלֶךְ | מֶלֶךְ, מַלְכָּא | king | (same) |
| שֵׁם | שֻׁם | name |  |
| יוֹם | יוֹם | day |  |

### 2.2 Different word, same meaning

| meaning | Hebrew | Aramaic (BA) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| go | הָלַךְ (perfect) | אֲזַל (perfect); הֲלַךְ only in the imperfect and infinitive |
| see | רָאָה | חֲזָה |
| do, make | עָשָׂה | עֲבַד |
| give | נָתַן | יְהַב (perfect, imperative, participle), נְתַן (imperfect, infinitive) |
| come | בּוֹא | אֲתָה |
| go up | עָלָה | סְלִק |
| go out | יָצָא | נְפַק |
| enter | בּוֹא | עֲלַל |
| find | מָצָא | שְׁכַח (haphel) |
| ask, seek | בִּקֵּשׁ, שָׁאַל | בְּעָא, שְׁאֵל |
| answer | עָנָה | עֲנָה (same) |
| fear | יָרֵא | דְּחֵל |
| serve, worship | עָבַד | פְּלַח |
| man | אִישׁ, אָדָם | גְּבַר, אֱנָשׁ |
| word, thing | דָּבָר | מִלָּה, פִּתְגָם |
| good | טוֹב | טָב |
| much | רַב | שַׂגִּיא |
| now | עַתָּה | כְּעַן |
| then | אָז | אֱדַיִן, בֵּאדַיִן |
| there is | יֵשׁ | אִיתַי |
| this | זֶה | דְּנָה |
| what | מָה | מָה |
| who (relative) | אֲשֶׁר | דִּי |
| from | מִן | מִן |
| before | לִפְנֵי | קֳדָם |
| behold | הִנֵּה | אֲרוּ, אֲלוּ, הָא |

### 2.3 False friends

| word | Hebrew meaning | Aramaic meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| בַּר | pure, grain; (poetic) son | son; also "field" (בַּר "open country", Dan 2:38; 4:9) |
| שְׁכַח | forget | (haphel) find |
| טְעֵם | taste, discretion | taste; **decree, command**; report |
| מִלָּה | word (poetic) | word, matter, thing (common) |
| עֲבַד | serve, work | **make, do** |
| פְּלַח | split, cleave | serve, worship |
| רָז | (none) | secret, mystery (Persian) |
| עִדָּן | (none; late Hebrew עִידָּן from Aramaic) | time, year |

## 3. Loanwords

### 3.1 From Akkadian

Akkadian, the language of Assyria and Babylonia, gave Aramaic administrative, architectural and religious words in the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian periods. The standard study is Kaufman 1974; BDB-Aram marks most of these as "loan-word from Assyrian".

| Aramaic | meaning | Akkadian | source (BDB-Aram s.v.; Kaufman 1974) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| אִגְּרָה | letter | *egirtu* | BDB-Aram s.v.; Kaufman 1974 |
| אַתּוּן | furnace | *utūnu* | BDB-Aram: "prob. loan-word from Assyrian utûnu" |
| הֵיכַל | palace, temple | *ekallu* (from Sumerian É.GAL "big house") | BDB-Aram: "Assyrian loan-word" |
| פֶּחָה | governor | *bēl pīḫati* | BDB-Aram: "Assyrian loan-word" |
| סְגַן | prefect | *šaknu* | BDB-Aram: "Assyrian loan-word" |
| מִנְדָּה, מִדָּה | tribute | *mandattu* | BDB-Aram: "Assyrian loan-word" |
| בְּלוֹ | tribute, tax | *biltu* | BDB-Aram: "from Assyrian biltu, according to most" |
| הֲלָךְ | toll, a tax | *ilku* (feudal duty) | Kaufman 1974 |
| אֹשׁ | foundation | *uššu* | BDB-Aram: "prob. loan-word from Assyrian uššû" |
| אָשַׁף | conjurer | *āšipu* | BDB-Aram: "prob. Bab. loan-word" |
| זִיו | brightness (of face) | *zīmu* | BDB-Aram: "perhaps" |
| כַּרְבְּלָא | cap, helmet | *karballatu* | BDB-Aram s.v. |
| נִדְבָּךְ | course (of stones) | *nadbāku* | BDB-Aram s.v. |
| פֶּחָר | potter | *paḫāru* | BDB-Aram s.v. |
| שֵׁיזִב | deliver (shaphel) | *šūzubu* | BDB-Aram s.v.; [The verb in Biblical Aramaic](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/languages/arc/verbs/) §3.2 |
| שַׁכְלֵל | complete (shaphel) | *šuklulu* | BDB-Aram s.v. כלל |
| שֵׁיצִיא | finish (shaphel) | *šūṣû* | BDB-Aram s.v. |
| נְוָלוּ | dunghill, ruin | *namālu* (?) | BDB-Aram: "perhaps" |
| עִדָּן | time | *adannu* "appointed time" | BDB-Aram: "perhaps" |
| כְּנָת | colleague | *kinattu* | Kaufman 1974 (BDB-Aram is undecided) |
| סְפַר | scribe, secretary | *šāpiru*? (disputed) | Kaufman 1974 |

Checked 2026-10-18 (second pass) against Marti 1896, whose glossary carries the Iranian notes of F. C. Andreas (from p. 51*): סְגַן is Assyrian *šaknu* (p. 73*) and כַּרְבְּלָא is linked to Assyrian *karballatu* (glossary s.v.); the month name אֲדָר is Assyrian (p. 51*). Disagreement: Marti derives אִגְּרָה from Middle Iranian *hangert* "report" (with Greek ἄγγαρος "courier"; p. 51*), not from Akkadian *egirtu*; and he explains סָפְרָא in Ezra 4:8 as a rendering of the Persian title *dipīr* "scribe" (p. 74*), not as a loan of Akkadian *šāpiru*. The other Akkadian etymologies rest on BDB-Aram and Kaufman 1974 and were not found in a grammar on disk (unchecked).

### 3.2 From Old Persian

The Achaemenid chancery left titles of officials, legal terms and administrative adverbs. Many are explained in BDB-Aram after Andreas, Scheftelowitz and Nöldeke; the modern reference is Hinz 1975.

| Aramaic | meaning | Old Iranian | source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| דָּת | law, decree | *dāta-* | BDB-Aram: "Pers. loan-word" |
| פִּתְגָם | word, command, answer | *patigāma-* "message" | BDB-Aram: "Pers." |
| רָז | secret, mystery | *rāza-* (Middle Persian *rāz*) | BDB-Aram: "Pers. loan-word" |
| אַזְדָּא | certain, publicly known | *azdā* | BDB-Aram s.v. (confirmed by Egyptian Aramaic) |
| אָסְפַּרְנָא | thoroughly, diligently | *usprna-* "complete" | BDB-Aram s.v. |
| אַדְרַזְדָּא | diligently, exactly | *drazdā* | BDB-Aram s.v. |
| גִּזְבָּר, גְּדָבַר | treasurer | *ganzabara-* | BDB-Aram s.vv. |
| גְּנַז | treasure (בֵּית גִּנְזַיָּא "treasury") | *ganza-* | BDB-Aram s.v. |
| דְּתָבָר | judge ("law-bearer") | *dātabara-* | BDB-Aram s.v. |
| אֲדַרְגָּזַר | counsellor | *handarzakara-* | BDB-Aram s.v. |
| הַדָּבַר | minister, counsellor | uncertain Persian | BDB-Aram s.v. |
| אֲחַשְׁדַּרְפַּן | satrap | *xšaçapāvan-* "protector of the realm" | standard; 9× in MACULA |
| תִּפְתָּי | an official (meaning unknown) | Iranian | BDB-Aram s.v. |
| הַדָּם | limb (הַדָּמִין תִּתְעַבְדוּן "you will be torn limb from limb") | *handāma-* | BDB-Aram s.v.; Dan 2:5 |
| נִשְׁתְּוָן | letter | Iranian | BDB-Aram: "prob. Pers." |
| פַּרְשֶׁגֶן | copy | Iranian | BDB-Aram s.v. |
| נְבִזְבָּה | reward, gift | Iranian (uncertain) | BDB-Aram s.v. |
| סָרַךְ | chief official | Iranian *sāra-* "head" | BDB-Aram s.v. |
| זְמַן | time | Old Persian *zrvan-*? | BDB-Aram: "prob. loan-word" |
| סַרְבָּל | trousers or mantle | Iranian | BDB-Aram s.v. |
| נִדְנֶה | sheath | Persian | BDB-Aram s.v. |
| אַפַּדְנָא | palace (in Hebrew Dan 11:45) | *apadāna-* | Jastrow 1903 s.v. אַפַּדְנָא (in later Aramaic too) |

Checked 2026-10-18 (second pass): Marti 1896 §88, p. 92, names as Persian אֲחַשְׁדַּרְפְּנַיָּא, אֲדַרְזְדָּא, גְּדָבְרַיָּא, גִּזְבְּרַיָּא, גִּנְזַיָּא, הַדָּמִין, דְּתָבְרַיָּא, אַפְּתֹם, הַמְנִיכָא, נִשְׁתְּוָנָא, פַּרְשֶׁגֶן, פִּתְגָם and רָז; his glossary adds דָּת from Old Persian *dāta-* and דְּתָבָר "law-bearer" (p. 59*), אֲדַרְגָּזַר from *handarza-kara* "counsel-maker" and אַזְדָּא from Middle Persian *azd* "news, knowledge" (p. 51*), and נְבִזְבָּה from Iranian *nivāz* "gift to the king" (p. 71*). Bauer and Leander 1927 §68y, p. 256, list אָסְפַּרְנָא and אַדְרַזְדָּא as Persian adverbs. Disagreement on סַרְבָּל: Andreas in Marti (p. 74*) rejects New Persian *šalvār* "trousers" and posits an old *saravāra*, at first a head covering; Krauss 1898 (I, p. 6) counts סַרְבָּל among the words that reached Daniel through Greek (σαράβαρα). Not found in these grammars: הַדָּבַר, תִּפְתָּי, סָרַךְ, זְמַן, נִדְנֶה, אַפַּדְנָא (unchecked).

### 3.3 From Greek

Only in Daniel 3, the list of musical instruments played before the golden image (Dan 3:5, 7, 10, 15). These are among the arguments for a Hellenistic date of the tale (Collins 1993; Rosenthal 1961).

| Aramaic | meaning | Greek | source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| קַתְרוֹס (Ketiv קיתרוס) | lyre, zither | κίθαρις | BDB-Aram s.v. |
| פְּסַנְתֵּרִין | harp, psaltery | ψαλτήριον | BDB-Aram s.v. |
| סוּמְפֹּנְיָה | bagpipe, double pipe (or "in unison") | συμφωνία | BDB-Aram s.v. |
| כָּרוֹז | herald | κήρυξ (some derive it from Old Persian) | BDB-Aram s.v. (with doubt) |

Two other instrument names are Semitic: קַרְנָא "horn" and מַשְׁרוֹקִיתָא "pipe, whistle" (√ שׁרק "whistle"); שַׂבְּכָא "trigon" may itself have given Greek σαμβύκη (BDB-Aram s.v.). The WLC writes it with ס in Dan 3:5 (סַבְּכָא) and with שׂ in 3:7, 10, 15.

Checked 2026-10-18 (second pass): Krauss 1898–1899 has the three Greek instruments and the herald: קַתְרוֹס = κίθαρις, "already Dan 3:5, 7, 10", Qere קַתְרוֹס, Ketiv קיתרוס (II, p. 573); פְּסַנְתֵּרִין = ψαλτήριον, with the spelling פְּסַנְטֵרִין of Dan 3:7 (II, p. 473); סוּמְפֹּנְיָה = συμφωνία "bagpipe", Dan 3:5, 10, 15 (II, p. 376); כָּרוֹזָא = κῆρυξ, "already Dan 3:4" (II, p. 296, where a bracketed note records Hoffmann's doubt about the Greek origin). Marti 1896 §88, p. 92, gives the same four as Greek, with the variants סוּפֹּנְיָה and סיפניה (the Ketiv of Dan 3:10). Disagreement on שַׂבְּכָא: Marti (§88 and glossary: = σαμβύκη, a kind of harp) and Krauss (I, p. 6) count it as a Greek loan, where BDB-Aram takes the Greek word to come from the Semitic one.

```
Aramaic:   קָל קַרְנָא מַשְׁרוֹקִיתָא קַתְרוֹס סַבְּכָא פְּסַנְתֵּרִין סוּמְפֹּנְיָה וְכֹל זְנֵי זְמָרָא
Translit.: qāl qarnā mašrōqīṯā qaṯrōs sabbəḵā pəsantērīn sūmpōnyā wə-ḵōl zənē zəmārā
Gloss:     sound.CST horn.DET pipe.DET lyre trigon harp bagpipe and-all kind.PL.CST music.DET
English:   the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe and every kind of music
Source:    Dan 3:5 (WLC, public domain; Ketiv קיתרוס)
```

### 3.4 Hebrew words in Biblical Aramaic

Some words are Hebrew rather than Aramaic, by origin or by Masoretic vocalisation: מַלְכִים (Ezra 4:13, Hebrew plural), נְבִיָּא "prophet" (Ezra 5:1), כָּהֲנַיָּא "the priests" (Ezra 7:24), לֵוָיֵא "the Levites", נְתִינַיָּא "the temple servants" (Ezra 7:24, from Hebrew נְתִינִים; BDB-Aram s.v.), אֵלֶּה "these" (Jer 10:11), and religious terms like קָרְבָּן, עֲלָוָן "burnt offerings" (Ezra 6:9).

## 4. Aramaic in Hebrew

The influence also went the other way. Late Biblical Hebrew (Esther, Chronicles, Ezra–Nehemiah, Daniel's Hebrew, Ecclesiastes) and Mishnaic Hebrew took many Aramaic words and forms (Kautzsch 1902, *Die Aramaismen im Alten Testament*; Wagner 1966, *Die lexikalischen und grammatikalischen Aramaismen im alttestamentlichen Hebräisch*):

| Hebrew | from Aramaic | meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| שֶׁ־ (relative) | (parallel to) דִּי | that, which — not a loan, but it spreads with the Aramaic model |
| אִגֶּרֶת | אִגְּרָה | letter |
| זְמָן | זְמַן | appointed time |
| פִּתְגָם | פִּתְגָם | decree, sentence |
| קִבֵּל | קַבֵּל (pael) | receive |
| סוֹף | סוֹף | end |
| מַלְכוּת | מַלְכוּ | kingdom |
| -וּת abstracts | -וּ, -וּת | abstract nouns |
| רָז | רָז | secret (Mishnaic and modern Hebrew) |
| אַבָּא, אִמָּא | determined forms | father, mother (Mishnaic, modern) |
| סְלִק → סָלַק | סְלִק | go up, remove |
| טַעַם (Jon 3:7, "decree") | טְעֵם | reason, decree |

Checked 2026-10-18 against Kautzsch 1902, *Übersicht* of the certain Aramaisms (pp. 93–98) and the list of doubtful ones (pp. 105–111): זְמָן (p. 94: Koh 3:1; Est 9:27, 31; Neh 2:6), טַעַם "decree" (p. 94: Jon 3:7), קִבֵּל (p. 97: Prov 19:20; Job 2:10; Est 4:4 and more), סוֹף (p. 96: Joel 2:20; Koh 3:11 and more) and סָלַק (p. 96: Ps 139:8) are among the certain Aramaisms; Kautzsch also lists the relative שֶׁ only for particular constructions (p. 98). Corrected: the טַעַם row had the Hebrew and Aramaic forms swapped. אִגֶּרֶת, פִּתְגָם, מַלְכוּת and the ־וּת abstracts are in neither list of Kautzsch 1902 (unchecked: their status as Aramaisms rests on Wagner 1966, not on disk; no work of the second pass covers Hebrew Aramaisms); רָז, אַבָּא, אִמָּא are Mishnaic and outside his scope.

Through Mishnaic Hebrew many of these words are part of Modern Hebrew (`he`), which is why a Hebrew model will meet Aramaic forms (אַבָּא, סַבָּא, אֲגַב, בְּדִיעֲבַד, הֶקֵּשׁ) in ordinary modern text ([The lexicon of Jewish Babylonian Aramaic](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/languages/tmr/lexicon/) §6).

## 5. Semantic fields of the book

| field | words |
| --- | --- |
| kingship and court | מֶלֶךְ, מַלְכוּ, שָׁלְטָן, הֵיכַל, כָּרְסֵא "throne", רַבְרְבָנִין "nobles", אֲחַשְׁדַּרְפְּנַיָּא, סִגְנַיָּא, פַּחֲוָתָא, הַדָּבְרִין |
| law and decree | טְעֵם, דָּת, פִּתְגָם, כְּתָב, רְשַׁם "sign", אֱסָר "interdict" |
| wisdom and divination | חַכִּים, חָכְמָה, חַרְטֹם "magician", אָשַׁף, כַּשְׂדָּי, גָּזְרִין "astrologers", פְּשַׁר, רָז, חֵלֶם, חֱזוּ |
| religion | אֱלָהּ, עִלָּאָה "the Most High", סְגִד, פְּלַח, צְלָא "pray" (pael), בְּרַךְ "kneel, bless", קַדִּישׁ, עִירִין "watchers" |
| metals (the statue of Dan 2) | דְּהַב, כְּסַף, נְחָשׁ, פַּרְזֶל, חֲסַף "clay" |
| animals (the visions of Dan 7) | אַרְיֵה "lion", דֹּב "bear", נְמַר "leopard", נְשַׁר "eagle", חֵיוָה "beast", קֶרֶן "horn" |
| building (Ezra) | בְּנָה, שׁוּר "wall", אֹשׁ "foundation", אֻשַּׁרְנָא "structure", נִדְבָּךְ "course", אֶבֶן גְּלָל "dressed stone", אָע "wood" |

## Sources for this file

BDB-Aram (Sefaria JSONL, PD; path in [Sources](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/languages/arc/sources/)); Kaufman 1974; Hinz 1975; Vogt 2011; HALOT vol. 5; Kautzsch 1902; Wagner 1966; Collins 1993; Rosenthal 1961; Jastrow 1903; MACULA (counts, 2026-10-17).

The Elamur team

- [← previous The Aramaic family and the Jewish varieties](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/languages/arc/family/)
- [next → Aramaic in Mova: what it would need](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/languages/arc/mova/)
- [↑ back to Aramaic](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/languages/arc/)