Semitic Words in Egyptian Texts of the New Kingdom and Third Intermediate Period.

• Author: Rendsburg, Gary A.

I open this review with the plain statement that James E. Hoch's work is a masterpiece; it deserves to be on the bookshelf of everyone laboring in the related fields of Egyptian and Semitic. But because many Semitists lack even basic training in Egyptology and in the Egyptian language, I begin with a few paragraphs about the historical picture and the scholarly scene before proceeding to a discussion of the book under review.

During the period of the Egyptian New Kingdom, there was large scale interaction between the Egyptians of the Nile Valley and the Semites of the Levant and beyond. Such contacts existed earlier (note the story of Sinuhe from the Middle Kingdom, the Hyksos rule over large portions of Egypt, and so on), but it was during the New Kingdom that the intensity of this interaction increased dramatically. The contact was in two directions. For the first time in its history Egypt ruled over large areas of Canaan in an imperial manner, with garrisons of troops and administrators stationed throughout the region; and Semites in increasing numbers made their way to Egypt, where their occupations ranged from slaves performing menial tasks to high officials serving the pharaoh. Furthermore, as the Amarna letters attest, Akkadian had become the lingua franca of the Near East, so that the language could be read and written by scribes at the court of Akhenaten.

In light of this historical picture, it is no surprise that Semitic words and names appear in unprecedented numbers in Egyptian texts of the New Kingdom (and in the Third Intermediate Period thereafter). These words and names are presented in the traditional Egyptian hieroglyphic script, specifically in a variation called "group writing" or "syllabic orthography." This system was developed to transcribe foreign words and names, with an attempt to render the vowels accompanying the consonants.

The three classic studies of group writing and the Semitic words expressed thereby are M. Burchardt, Die altkanaanaischen Fremdworte und Eigennamen im Aegypten (Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs, 1909-10); W. F. Albright, The Vocalization of the Egyptian Syllabic Orthography (New Haven: American Oriental Society, 1934); and W. Helck, Die Beziehungen Agyptens zu Vorderasien im 3. und 2. Jahrtausend v. Chr. (Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1962; 2nd ed., 1971). It is probably not coincidental that each successive work on the subject appeared about thirty years after the previous one, and that Hoch's volume appears now as the latest in the cycle. Each generation dutifully and rightfully needs to rework the problems addressed by earlier scholars, in addition to presenting new data that come to light.

Thus, notwithstanding the aforementioned pioneering studies, many issues still are unclear. Moreover, in the three decades that have passed since Helck's volume, much new material has become available. The need for a new synthesis has been keenly felt, so it was with great excitement and expectation that I opened Hoch's book. I can report that my excitement never lessened, and that my expectations were not only met but were surpassed. This book is so rich in material, both for Egyptologists and for Semitists, that my recommendation to those who cannot labor in the other's field is to disencumber themselves of this deficiency. I direct these words to Semitists in particular, for the rewards of studying the material on the Egyptian side are great. Let me turn now to some of the book's specifics to defend these statements.

Hoch presents 595 different Semitic words appearing in Egyptian transcription. Each entry provides all attestations of the word, including all variant writings, in both hieroglyphic script and in transliteration; a reconstruction of the Semitic form; identification of the part of speech; translation; Demotic and Coptic forms of the word, if they are attested; discussion of the literary context of the word, with the full Egyptian passage cited; etymology; discussions of phonology, morphology, semantics, and syntax; and a bibliographical note (limited to citations of the three aforementioned works and to A. Erman and H. Grapow, Worterbuch der agyptischen Sprache, 6 vols. [Leipzig: J...