KINSHIP TERMS IN CLASSICAL ARABIC AND BIBLICAL HEBREW: A COMPARATIVE SEMANTIC STUDY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52747/aqujall.5.01.486Keywords:
Kinship, Classical Arabic, Biblical Hebrew, Semantic Study, Linguistic Comparison, Sacred TextsAbstract
This study aims to examine kinship terms in Classical Arabic and Biblical Hebrew, highlighting similarities and differences in their semantic usage, and clarifying the role of sacred texts in preserving these terms. The research adopts a comparative semantic approach through the analysis of selected examples from the Qur’an and the Old Testament, supported by linguistic tables and comparative analysis. The study reveals that the basic kinship terms share common Semitic roots, such as: ’Ab/אָב (father), Umm/אֵם (mother), Ibn/בֵּן (son), Bint/בַּת (daughter). Differences emerge in the domains of specification and generalization: Classical Arabic distinguishes between ʿAmm (paternal uncle) and Khāl (maternal uncle), whereas Biblical Hebrew merges them under a single term (Dod). The texts also demonstrate metaphorical usages, such as spiritual fatherhood and faith-based brotherhood.The research confirms that the semantic field of kinship reflects the social and cultural worldview of ancient Arab and Hebrew societies, and that sacred texts played a decisive role in preserving these terms and enriching their meanings.
Downloads
References
al-Bukhārī, Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl. Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (The Authentic Collection of al-Bukhārī). 1st ed. Damascus/Beirut: Dār Ibn Kathīr, 2002.
al-Zabīdī, Muḥammad Murtaḍā al-Ḥusaynī. Tāj al-ʿArūs min Jawāhir al-Qāmūs (The Crown of the Bride from the Jewels of the Dictionary). 1st ed. Kuwait: Ministry of Guidance and Information, 2001.
Segiv, David. Hebrew–Arabic Dictionary of Contemporary Hebrew. Jerusalem/Tel Aviv: Schocken Publishing House, 1990.
al-Ṭabarī, Muḥammad ibn Jarīr. Jāmiʿ al-Bayān ʿan Taʾwīl Āy al-Qurʾān (Comprehensive Commentary on the Interpretation of Qurʾānic Verses). Beirut: Muʾassasat al-Risāla, 1994.
ʿAbbās, Faḍl Ḥasan. Al-Tafsīr wa al-Mufassirūn fī al-ʿAṣr al-Ḥadīth: Asāsiyyātuhu wa Ittijāhātuhu wa Manāhijuhu (Qurʾānic Exegesis and Its Scholars in the Modern Era). 1st ed. Amman: Dār al-Nafāʾis, 2016.
Ibn Fāris, Aḥmad. Maqāyīs al-Lugha (Measures of the Language). Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, 1979.
The Holy Bible: Old and New Testaments. 7th ed. Beirut: Bible Society in the Middle East, 2008.
Ibn Kathīr, Ismāʿīl ibn ʿUmar al-Qurashī al-Dimashqī. Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm (Exegesis of the Great Qurʾān). Edited by Sāmī ibn Muḥammad Salāma. 2nd ed. Riyadh: Dār Ṭība, 1999.
Ibn Manẓūr, Muḥammad ibn Mukarram. Lisān al-ʿArab (The Tongue of the Arabs). 3rd ed. Beirut: Dār Ṣādir, 1990.
Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj al-Qushayrī al-Naysābūrī. Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (The Authentic Collection of Muslim). Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, n.d.
