Introduction

Despite the suitability of the standard division of Biblical Hebrew (BH) into pre-exilic Classical Biblical Hebrew (CBH) and post-Restoration Late Biblical Hebrew, which presupposes the linguistic unity of the classical phase in which most of the Hebrew Bible is written, there is some evidence pointing to diachronic diversity within CBH, according to which the Torah presents an earlier chronolect than the pre-exilic Prophets and Writings. The implications are significant, not just as they demand greater nuance in the accepted, fundamentally dichotomous theory of BH periodisation, but challenge entrenched theories of the Bible’s literary composition.
This introductory chapter surveys challenges presented by the data, emphasises the need for external controls and a robust methodology, responds to oft-raised objections to diachronic linguistic approaches, and previews the structure of the monograph.