Premodern Philosophic and Scientific Hebrew Terminology: Studies on its Emergence and the Creation of an Internet-Based Historical Lexicon

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Giuseppe Veltri
• Subject Area: Religious Studies and Jewish Studies
• Term: from 2009 to 2013
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 92513110

The creation of the pre-modern Hebrew scientific and philosophical terminology began at the end of the first millennium C.E. and lasted until the 16th century, We wish to study systematically and create a lexicon of this pre-modern specialized Hebrew vocabulary in the disciplines of philosophy (including the natural sciences), mathematical sciences, astrology and linguistics.Presented here is a three-part research project:(i) The constitution of a historical lexicon of pre-modern Philosophic and Scientific Hebrew Terminology (PESHAT);(ii) The construction of a website for PESHAT, equipped with advanced search functions; DFG-ANR Application: PESHAT(iii) Studies on the constitution of the pre-modern philosophic and scientific Hebrew terminology, leading up to a Handbook of the History of Philosophic and Scientific Hebrew Terminology.(i) We seek to create a lexicon of Philosophic and Scientific Hebrew Terminology (PESHAT). We will draw on the relevant original writings, as well as on the existing but incomplete lexica, in order to establish a large terminological corpus. Each main entry will offer; a headword in Hebrew, English, French, and German; medieval equivalents in Arabic, Latin and Greek; a definition; large selection of text extracts in which the term occurs; where legally possible, hyperlinks to the full texts.(ii) PESHAT will be put on an on-line freely accessible data-base, equipped with Morfix™, a particularly advanced search engine, capable to identify morphologically different forms of lexemes. The website will be of a wiki type, allowing its continued evolution through the (controlled) input of the scholarly community. As the first enterprise of its kind, it may serve as a model for similar projects in other languages, especially Arabic.(iii) Concomitantly, we will launch a research program on the historical development of the premodern Hebrew terminology. In due course it will result in a printed volume: Handbook of the History of Philosophic and Scientific Hebrew Terminology.Despite its innovative and ambitious character, this project presents a low risk factor, for it is based on established scholarly methods and on existing Internet technology. A demo version of our site can already be seen at: httrx//demo.cpmmugeji.com (user name: PESHAT; password: DFG-ANR). Funders can be confident that our project will yield a tangible, publicly visible and highly useful outcome. The means to ensure the long-term existence of PESHAT as a continually evolving site are described below (3.25).The Israel Academy of the Hebrew Language kindly offered its scientific cooperation in this project.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: France
• Participating Person: Professor Dr. Gad Freudenthal