Preposition¶
Summary¶
A preposition introduces a phrase that describes another word/concept within a sentence, usually a noun or a verb. However, like adverbs and particles, sometimes a prepositional phrase can describe the sentence as a whole.
Article¶
Biblical Aramaic has four main prepositions: the prefix בְּ (in, at, by); the prefix לְ (to, for); the prefix כְּ (as, like); and the prefix מִ (which is a shortened form of the independent preposition מִן, meaning “from”). However, there is also a family of other prepositions in Biblical Aramaic. It is common in Biblical Aramaic for prepositions to be combined together or with a noun to form new words that have their own range of meanings (similar to compound conjunctions) that may or may not overlap with the meaning of the individual component terms.
Note
Of all the different kinds of words, prepositions are perhaps the most flexible in their meaning and are often translated in a variety of ways, or sometimes even left untranslated. For this reason, prepositions must always be translated with great sensitivity to the context of each use. A dictionary or lexicon will describe the various possible meanings of each preposition, but generally will not include a complete list of individual uses.
Form¶
Parsing |
Aramaic |
Transliteration |
Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|
normal noun |
כֹּל |
kol |
all |
preposition + noun |
בְּכָל |
bekhal |
in all |
preposition + pronominal suffix |
בַּהּ |
bah |
in her |
Types¶
In Biblical Aramaic, there are 11 general types of prepositions: indirect object; spatial; locative; temporal; instrumental; correlative; comparative; directional; causal; explanatory; and direct object. However, this are also other types of prepositions in Biblical Aramaic. The specific meanings of individual prepositions can be found in a dictionary or lexicon.
Indirect Object¶
A common use of the preposition לְ (also אֶל, with verbs of speaking) is to indicate the indirect object or recipient of the verbal action. When used in this way, the preposition is usually transated into English with “to” or “for”, or it can be left untranslated.
Spatial¶
Spatial prepositions are translated into English with terms such as “in”, “on”, “under”, “with”, “beside”, etc. This is a common use of the preposition בְּ.
Locative¶
Locative prepositions are translated into English with terms such as “to” or “from”, etc. This is a common use of the prepositions אֶל and מִן.
Temporal¶
Temporal prepositions are translated into English with terms such as “in”, “at”, “until”, “before”, “after”, etc. This is a common use of the preposition בְּ.
Instrumental¶
Instrumental prepositions are translated into English with terms such as “by”, “with”, “by means of”, etc. This is a common use of the preposition בְּ.
Correlative¶
Correlative prepositions are translated into English with terms such as “like”, “as”, “according to”, etc. This is the primary use of the preposition כְּ.
Comparative¶
Comparative prepositions are translated into English with terms such as “more than” or “greater than”, etc. This is a common use of the preposition מִן.
Directional¶
Directional prepositions are translated into English with terms such as “to”, “toward”, etc. This is a common use of the preposition לְ.
Causal¶
Causal prepositions are translated into English with terms such as “for” or “because”, etc. This is a secondary use of the prepositions לְ and עַל.
Explanatory¶
Explanatory prepositions are often translated into English with terms such as “as”, “for”, “to”, or it can be left untranslated. This is a common use of the preposition לְ.
Direct Object¶
A rare use of the preposition לְ is to indicate the direct object of the verb. When used in this way, the preposition is almost always left untranslated in English.