Benjamin Suchard
Guest researcher
- Name
- Dr. B.D. Suchard
- Telephone
- +31 71 527 2125
- b.d.suchard@hum.leidenuniv.nl
- ORCID iD
- 0000-0002-5688-4488
Benjamin Suchard is a historical linguist with a specialization in Biblical Hebrew and a background in Indo-European. His research focuses on phonological and morphological reconstruction in all branches of Semitic, as well as the (pre-)history of the reading traditions of the Hebrew Bible.
Fields of interest
- Biblical Hebrew
- Aramaic
- Hebrew Bible
Grants and awards
- 2023: Cuijpers-Opdenakker Annual Prize (Netherlands Institute for the Near East & Ex Oriente Lux), best article on the Ancient Near East written by a junior scholar in the Netherlands, for ‘The Greek in Daniel 3: code-switching, not loanwords’.
- 2019: Innovational Research Incentives Scheme Veni, Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).
- 2019: Senior postdoctoral fellowship, Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO).
- 2017: Postdoctoral grant, Stichting Studiecentrum voor Judaïca en Hebraica Dr L. Fuks.
Curriculum vitae
| 2019-2020, 2022-2025 | Senior postdoctoral fellow, project: ‘But They Could Not Read the Writing: The Biblical Aramaic consonantal text, its reading tradition and their mutual interaction’, KU Leuven. |
| 2019-2022 | Postdoctoral researcher, project: ‘Nabataean Aramaic and Pre-Islamic Arabic’, Leiden University. |
| 2017-2018 | Postdoctoral researcher, project: ‘The origins of the Biblical Aramaic reading tradition’, Leiden University. |
| 2016-2018 | Lecturer in Linguistics and Hebrew & Aramaic, Leiden University. |
| 2012-2016 | PhD candidate in Linguistics, dissertation: 'The development of the Biblical Hebrew vowels', supervised by H. Gzella and A.M. Lubotsky, Leiden University. |
| 2010-2012 | Research MA in Linguistics, Leiden University. |
| 2009-2010 | Propaedeutic diploma in Philosophy, Leiden University. |
| 2007-2010 |
BA in Comparative Indo-European Linguistics, Leiden University. |
Key publications
- 'What can Nabataean Aramaic tell us about Pre-Islamic Arabic?' Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 34.1 (2023), 158-172.
- Aramaic Daniel: A textual reconstruction of Chapters 1-7. Studia Semitica Neerlandica 73. 2022; Leiden: Brill.
- 'The origins of the Biblical Aramaic reading tradition.' Vetus Testamentum 71 (2021), 105-119.
- The development of the Biblical Hebrew vowels. Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics 99. 2019; Leiden: Brill.
Guest researcher
- Faculty of Humanities
- Leiden Univ Centre for Linguistics
- LUCL diversen
- Suchard B.D. (2023), What can Nabataean Aramaic tell us about Pre‐Islamic Arabic?, Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 34(1): 158-172.
- Suchard B.D. (2023), Proto-Semitic existentials: *yθaw and *laθθaw, Journal of Northwest Semitic Languages 49(2): 65-87.
- Suchard B.D. (2023), Two more contexts for Ge‘ez *u > u and three for *a > ǝ, Afrika und Uebersee 96: 96-110.
- Suchard B.D. (2022), The Greek in Daniel 3: code-switching, not loanwords, Journal of Biblical Literature 141(1): 121-136.
- Suchard B.D. (2022), Aramaic Daniel: a textual reconstruction of chapters 1-7. Studia Semitica Neerlandica no. 73. Leiden: Brill.
- Suchard B.D. (2022), Historical (in)accuracy and linguistic archaism in Daniel 5, Biblica 103(2): 213-226.
- Suchard B.D. (2022), Origin of the Ethiosemitic verb hlw ‘to be present’, Journal of the American Oriental Society 142(3): 699-704.
- Suchard B.D. (2021), A valediction to Moses W. Shapira's Deuteronomy document, Bibliotheca Orientalis 78(3-4): 364-387.
- Suchard B.D. (2021), The reconstruction of the Proto-Semitic genitive ending and a suggestion on its origin, Studia Orientalia Electronica 9(1): 66–82.
- Suchard B.D. (2021), Biblical Hebrew יש and Biblical Aramaic איתי followed by non-verbal clauses as markers of polarity contrast, Journal of Northwest Semitic Languages 47(1): 61-78.
- Suchard B.D. & Groen F.J. (2021), (Northwest) Semitic sg. *CVCC -, pl. *CVCaC-ū-: broken plural or regular reflex?, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 84(1): 1-17.
- Suchard B.D. (2020), The origins of the Biblical Aramaic reading tradition, Vetus Testamentum 71(1): 105-119.
- Suchard B.D. (2020), Phonological adaptation and the Biblical Aramaic and Biblical Hebrew reflexes of *i and *u. In: Hornkohl A.D. & Khan G. (Eds.), Studies in Semitic Vocalisation and Reading Traditions. Cambridge Semitic Languages and Cultures. Cambridge: Open Book. 171-189.
- Suchard B.D. (2020), Review of: Edzard L., Sartori M. & Cassuto P. (eds.) (2018) Case and Mood Endings in Semitic - Myth or Reality? Désinences casuelles et modales dans les langues sémitiques - mythe ou réalité?, Abhandlungen für die Kunde des Morgenlandes, Journal of Semitic Studies 65(2): 641–645.
- Suchard B.D. (2019), The development of the Biblical Hebrew vowels. Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics no. 99. Leiden: Brill.
- Suchard B.D. (2019), Sound Changes in the (Pre-)Masoretic Reading Tradition and the Original Pronunciation of Biblical Aramaic, Studia Orientalia Electronica 7: 52-65.
- Suchard B.D. (2019) Review of P.H. Kelley, Biblical Hebrew. An Introductory Grammar. Review of: Kelley P.H. (2018), Biblical Hebrew. An Introductory Grammar. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. Bibliotheca Orientalis 76(1-2): 145-150.
- Suchard B.D. (2018), The vocalic phonemes of Tiberian Hebrew, Hebrew Studies 59: 193-207.
- Suchard B.D. (2018), Review of: G. Del Olmo Lete (2015), Studies in Common and Comparative Semitics. Selected Papers. Semitica Antiqva no. 2. Cordoba: Cordoba Near Eastern Research Unit, Cordoba. Bibliotheca Orientalis 75(3-4): 366-370.
- Suchard B.D. (2018) Review of G. Goldenberg, Further Studies in Semitic Linguistics. Review of: G. Goldenberg (2013), Further Studies in Semitic Linguistics. Alter Orient und Altes Testament no. 405. Ugarit-Verlag: Münster. Bibliotheca Orientalis 75(3-4): 359-362.
- Suchard B.D. (2018), Review of: L. Edzard & J. Huehnergard (eds) (2014), Proceedings of the Oslo–Austin Workshop in Semitic Linguistics. Abha no. 88. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. Bibliotheca Orientalis 75(1-2): 149-153.
- Suchard B.D. (2018), Review of: Butts A.M. (ed.) (2015), Semitic Languages in Contact. Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics no. 82. Leiden: Brill. Bibliotheca Orientalis 75(1-2): 144-149.
- Kossmann M.G. & Suchard B.D. (2018), A reconstruction of the system of verb aspects in proto-Berbero-Semitic, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 81(1): 41-56.
- Suchard B.D. (2017), The Origin of *s3 in the Ḥaḍramitic and Modern South Arabian Third Person Feminine Personal Pronouns, Journal of Semitic Studies 62(1): 69-76.
- Suchard B.D. (2017), Review of: Edzard L. (ed.) (2014), The Morpho-Syntactic and Lexical Encoding of Tense and Aspect in Semitic. Abhandlungen für die Kunde des Morgenlandes no. 104. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. Bibliotheca Orientalis 74(5-6): 621-625.
- Suchard B.D. (2017), Wet of Willekeur? De ontwikkeling van de Bijbels Hebreeuwse klinkers, Alef Beet : tijdschrift van de Vereniging tot Bevordering van de Kennis van Hebreeuws 26(2): 3-10.
- Suchard B.D. (2017), A triconsonantal derivation of the lamed-he paradigm, Kleine Untersuchungen zur Sprache des Alten Testaments und seiner Umwelt 22: 205-221.
- Suchard B.D. (2016), The Hebrew Verbal Paradigm of Hollow Roots: a Triconsonantal Account, Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft 166(2): 317-332.
- Suchard B.D. (21 September 2016), The development of the Biblical Hebrew vowels (Dissertatie. Leiden University Centre for Linguistics (LUCL), Faculty of Humanities, Leiden University). Supervisor(s): Gzella H. & Lubotsky A.M.
- Suchard B.D. (2015), Review of: Kouwenberg N.J.C. (2010), The Akkadian Verb and Its Semitic Background. Languages of the Ancient Near East no. 2. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns. Bibliotheca Orientalis 72(5-6): 712-719.
- Suchard B.D. (2014), Review of: Vernet i Pons E. (2011), Origen etimològic dels verbs làmed-he de l'hebreu masorètic. Barcelona: Societat Catalana d'Estudis Hebraics. Bibliotheca Orientalis 71(3-4): 516-518.
- Suchard B.D. (2014), Review of: Pardee D. (2012), The Ugaritic Texts and the Origin of West-Semitic Literary Composition. New York: Oxford University Press. Bibliotheca Orientalis 71(3-4): 514-515.
- Suchard B.D. (2014), Review of: Huehnergard J. (2012), An Introduction to Ugaritic. Edinburgh: Alban Books Ltd.. Bibliotheca Orientalis 71(5-6): 803-806.
- Postdoctoral Researcher