Aron Dotan – The Dawn of Hebrew Linguistics (2 Volumes)

The Book of Elegance of the Hebrew Language is Saadia Gaon’s (892-942) Judeo-Arabic work on Hebrew linguistics. It is the first Hebrew grammar book, describing for the first time the Hebrew language, its letters, the vowels and the shewa, the dageshs, the influence of the gutturals, the inflections etc. The edition comprises of two volumes: the first is the introduction describing the work and its date, its structure and relationship to other works, with an analysis of the linguistic theory and the various grammatical issues as well as a comprehensive vocabulary of terminology, a complete survey of the chapters, a description of the manuscripts and method of editing and finally an extensive bibliography. The second volume hold the original Arabic text with a Hebrew translation by the editor, and apparatus of various readings and numerous commenting notes and indices.