Overview

In this encyclopedic text, completely revised and updated in this second edition, Joshua R. Jacobson presents the history of the ancient Jewish tradition of chanting the Bible and a comprehensive explanation of cantillation practice with its grammatical rules and regional variations. His unique step-by-step system of analysis shows how chanting dramatizes and interprets the meaning of the biblical text. Jacobson also provides complete notation for performing all six musical systems, an extensive guide to pronouncing biblical Hebrew, and pedagogical tips for cantillation teachers. Chanting the Hebrew Bible, Second Edition, will be invaluable to anyone interested in chanting, from beginners to advanced readers-from haftarah readers who want to chant from the Torah, to Bible students seeking greater insight into Masoretic texts, to Torah chanters who wish to fine-tune their skills, fill gaps in their knowledge, and understand the system they have known only intuitively until now. This second edition features a week-by-week guide to Torah, haftarah, and megillot readings for Shabbat and holidays; useful new examples and exercises; a new comprehensive general subject index; a new, easy-to-read, clear Hebrew font; and a link to a new website with audio recordings and video lessons. Chanting the Hebrew Bible will continue to be the definitive work on Torah chanting-the most authoritative guide and reference on the subject. For more information on Chanting the Hebrew Bible visit chantingthehebrewbible.com.

Full Product Details

Author:   Joshua R. Jacobson
Publisher:   Jewish Publication Society
Imprint:   Jewish Publication Society
Edition:   Second Edition, Revised, Expanded Edition
Dimensions:   Width: 21.60cm , Height: 4.60cm , Length: 27.90cm
Weight:   2.286kg
ISBN:  

9780827612235

ISBN 10:   0827612230
Pages:   876
Publication Date:   01 June 2017
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

How to Use this Book Transliterations, Translations and Text Sources Chapter 1 Cantillation The Ritual Art of Chanting the Hebrew Scriptures The Terminology of Cantillation Chironomy Why Chant? The Scroll Ambiguity in the Consonantal Text The Masoretic Text The Rhythm of Cantillation The Pitches of Cantillation Ekphonetic Notation Transcriptions of the te‘amim Inflection Resolving Ambiguity Chapter 2.1 Parallelism Corresponding Parallelism Parallel Actions Analogous Parallelism Elliptical Parallelism Chapter 2.2 The Primary Dichotomy: Siluk and Etnaḥta The Disjunctive Siluk Meteg The Disjunctive Etnaḥta Chanting Diagramming Phrases Parsing Level One: Contiguous Segments Exception: Verses without Etnaḥta The Pausal Form Word Order Chapter 2.3 Level Two: Tippeḥa The Secondary Dichotomy: Tippeḥa Three Independent Clauses The Simple Sentence The Nominal Clause Chapter 2.4 Conjunctives Recursive Dichotomy Disjunctives and Conjunctives within a Segment Merekha – The “Servant” of Siluk Merekha – The “Servant” of Tippeḥa Merekha Khefulah Munaḥ Conjunctives and Dagesh Kal The “Conjunctive Soft” Form Chapter 2.5 Substitutions Tippeḥa Substituting for a Conjunctive One-Word Clauses in Level One Two Te‘amim on a Long Word Mayela and Siluk on a Single Word Mayela and Etnaḥta on a Single Word Munaḥ and Etnaḥta on a Single Word Merekha and Tippeḥa on a Single Word Two Munaḥs: A Double Conjunctive Chapter 2.6 Level Two: Zakef Stepping Segments Stepping Segments and Nesting Segments The Four Forms of Zakef Munaḥ—The Conjunctive Serving Zakef Katon A New Model Another Upgrade Review: Three Models of Dichotomy Review Verb in Second Position The Word לֵאמרֹ The Vocative Case Chapter 2.7 Level Two: Segol When Does Segol Appear? Munaḥ—The Conjunctive Serving Segol. Shalshelet as a Substitute for Segol Pasek The Seven Occurences of Shalshelet Rabbinic Exegesis of Shalshelet Chapter 2.8 Tevir The Disjunctive Tevir Examples of Tevir Relative Cadences: Tippeḥa and Tevir Upgrading: Tevir Substituting for Merekha The Conjunctives of Tevir: Darga and Merekha A New Model Verb In Terminal Position Chapter 2.9 The Remote Conjunctives of Tevir Kadma And Munaḥ: The Secondary Conjunctives of Tevir Verb in the Middle — Part Two Secondary Accents Merekha Khefulah and Darga: Two Conjunctives before Tippeḥa More than One Remote Conjunctive Three or More Conjunctives Chapter 2.10 Revia‘ Upgrade: Tevir to Revia‘ The Dichotomy of Lists Revia‘ Analysis Three Level-Three “Stepping” Segments Darga—The Remote Conjunctive Of Revia‘ Three Conjunctives before Revia‘ Chapter 2.11 Pashta The Disjunctive Pashta Pashta and Kadma Yetiv—A Substitute for Pashta Munaḥ Upgraded to Pashta or Yetiv The Meteg as Lengthener Substitutions and the Conjunctive-Rafeh Rule Verses with No Conjunctives The Conjunctives of Pashta—Mahpakh and Merekha Derivation of the Name “Mahpakh” Mahpakh and Pashta on The Same Word Mahpakh and Yetiv The Retracted Accent—Nasog Aḥor The Remote Conjunctives of Pashta—Kadma or Munaḥ The Third and Fourth Remote Conjunctives of Pashta Revia‘—The Initial Level-Three Disjunctive before Pashta Upgrading Pashta to Revia‘ Chapter 2.12 Zarka Zarka The Conjunctives of Zarka Upgrading Munaḥ-Segol to Zarka-Segol Upgrading for Long Words The Remote Conjunctives of Zarka—Kadma or Munaḥ Munaḥ Instead of Kadma Three Conjunctives before Zarka Four Conjunctives before Zarka Two Subdivisions under Segol Three Subdivisions under Segol Chapter 2.13 Level Four: Geresh Simple Verses and Complex Verses Subdividing a Level-Three Segment Geresh and Double Geresh The Forms of Geresh Geresh without a Conjunctive Upgrading for Long Words The Conjunctives of Geresh—Kadma and Munaḥ The Remote Conjunctive of Geresh—Telishah Ketanah Munaḥ—The Conjunctive before Telishah Ketanah To Geresh or Not to Geresh? The Geresh Segment In Context Chapter 2.14 Level Four: Legarmeh The Disjunctive Legarmeh Legarmeh or Geresh? The 2+1 Division and Exceptions to the Rule Stepping Level-Four Segments The Conjunctive of Legarmeh—Merekha Three or More Stepping Segments Analysis of Complete Verses Chapter 2.15 Level Four: Pazer The Distribution of Level-Four Terminators The Disjunctive Pazer (Katan) The Conjunctive of Pazer—Munaḥ Level-Four Segments Three Stepping Segments The Pazer Segment in Context Lists Level Five Chapter 2.16 Level Four: Pazer Gadol The Disjunctive Pazer Gadol (Karney-Farah) The Conjunctive of Pazer Gadol—Galgal (Yeraḥ-Ben-Yomo) The Pazer Gadol Clause in Context Chapter 2.17 Telishah Gedolah The Disjunctive Telishah Gedolah Telishah Gedolah as a Substitute for Geresh Telishah Gedolah and Geresh on the Same Word Telishah Gedolah as a Substitute for Pazer Telishah Gedolah as a Level-Five Terminator Telishah Gedolah as a Substitute for Telishah Ketanah The Telishah Gedolah Clause in Context Chapter 3 Pronunciation The Importance of Correct Pronunciation Halakhic Evidence The Evolution of the Hebrew Language An Official Hebrew Diction The “Elevated” Style About this Guide Consonant “Voicing” The Pronunciation of א The Pronunciation of כ and ח The Pronunciation of ר Other Differences Run-on Words Vowel Length Pure Vowels Consistent Pronunciation Doubled Consonants Becoming Familiar with Dagesh Ḥazak Mappik The Function of Mappik The Sound of Mappik Shin and Sin Matres Lectionis— אִמּוֺת הַקְּרִיאָה Syllables Open Syllables Closed Syllables Dagesh Kal The Conjunctive Soft Form Consonant Endings כ Dagesh Ḥazak in בּ גּ דּ פּ תּ Vocal Sheva (Sheva Na‘) Intermediate Sheva (Sheva Meraḥef) Summary: Prefix Chart Kamats Forms Kamats before Deḥik Two Approaches to the Rules of Pronunciation Furtive Pataḥ (Pataḥ Genuvah) וּ וֹ And as Consonants Some Words Are Not Pronounced as They Are Written Syllabic Stress: Millera‘ and Mille‘el Marking the Accent The Secondary Accent Syllabic Rhythm Makkef Vowel Length Reduction in Connected Words Special Te‘amim for Contiguous Accents Retraction נָסוֹג אֲחוֹר Secondary Stress Observations on Secondary Stress The Euphonic Meteg מֶֽתֶג לְתִיקוּן הַקְּרִיאָה Meteg Summary The Pausal Form צוּרַת הַהֶפְסֵק Vowel Changes in Pausal Form Change Of Stress in the Hiatus Form Change Of Stress in Vav Conversive The Directional (or “Locative”) Suffix ה׳ הַמְּגַמָּה Suffixes and Syllabic Stress Rare Words that Begin with Dagesh Ḥazak ( דְּחיִק ) Pronunciation of the Conjunctive Dagesh The Vocalization of Prefixes The Definite Article ה׳ הַיְדִיעָה כ Prepositional Prefixes בַּ לַ The Word מה The Interrogative Prefix ה׳ הַשְּׁאֵלָה Vav Conjunctive ו׳ הַחִבּוּר Vav Conversive ו׳ הַהִפּוּךְ The Prepositional Prefixes ב כ ל The Prepositional Prefix מ Formal Classical Pronunciation versus Colloquial Modern Pronunciation General Pronunciation Exercises Chapter 4 Canon And Masorah A History of the Scrolls The Aniquity of Cantillation Where Do the Melodies Come From? The Chanting of Scripture Did Tiberian Notation Represent an Ancient Tradition? The Septuagint Other Ancient Greek Manuscripts Evidence in the Talmud Other Systems of Punctuation The Musical Realization of the Tiberian System The Notation Systems The Tiberian Codices The Aleppo Codex Other Ancient Codices Chapter and Verse Printed Bibles The Soferim and the Consonantal Text Masoretic Annotations and Lists Chapter 5.1 The Te‘amim Disjunctives Conjunctives Other Signs Remote Conjunctives Invariables Upgrading in a Two-Word Domain Upgrading in the Presence of Long Words Substitutions for Musical Considerations Frequency Chart Repeating Te‘amim The Hierarchy of the Te‛amim The Twenty-One Books and the Three Books The Poetic Books: Psalms, Proverbs and Job Chapter 5.2 Two Te‘amim on a Single Word Primary and Secondary Accents Meteg The Euphonic Meteg Double Conjunctives Double Disjunctives Doubled Invariables Postpositives Prepositives High and Low Accents: Two Traditions The Decalogue The Saga Of Reuben Chapter 5.3 Troubleshooting Commonly Confused Te‘amim Errors in Rhythm Commonly Mispronounced Consonants Commonly Mispronounced Vowels Incorrect Syllabic Stress Biblical Hebrew and Contemporary Hebrew The Last Word Chapter 5.4 Parsing The Hebrew Bible Some Definitions Overview—The Steps Involved in Parsing Identify the Verbs Parallelism—Pairs of Clauses The Verbless (Nominal) Clause Coordinated Verbs More than Two Independent Clauses The Subordinate Clause Downgrading the Time Stamp Inverted Downgrade Quotations Linked Word Pairs Inconsistency of Style Construct ( סְמִיכוּת ) Followed by a Linked Pair Particles Other Words The Word לֵאמרֹ Lists Emphatic Words The Verb and its Complements Puzzling Punctuation The Limits of Predictability Chapter 5.5 The Pedagogy of Cantillation The Cantillation Class Applying the Paradigm to the Student’s Portion Flash Cards Dictation Listening Activities Teaching Inflection Applying the Melodies to Familiar Words Reinforcing the Patterns Suggestions for Self-Study Preparing to Read from a Scroll Chapter 6.1 Interpreting the Te‘amim Music of the People The Liquid Tradition Becomes Frozen One Tradition among Many Music Serves the Text Transcription of the Te‘amim Rhythmic Notation Pitch Notation The Names of the Te‘amim Syllabic Stress Improvisation Smoothing Redistribution Compensation Pick-Up Pitch Adjustment The Rhythm of Cantillation Reading Complete Phrases High and Low Te‘amim Chapter 6.2 Torah Historical Development of the Public Reading Contemporary Practices in Traditional Synagogues The Cycle of Readings The Combined Pericope פרשה מחוברת The Division of the Pericope Extra Aliyot The Number of Olim The Number of Verses The Maftir Simḥat Torah Customs Procedures Related to the Torah Reading The Correct Reading of the Torah Qualifications for the Ba‘al Keri’ah Correcting An Error In The Reading A Defect in the Scroll Tokheḥot Remembering Amalek Ta‘amey Ha-‘Elyon Other Special Customs The Melodies of the Cantillation Motifs The Siluk and Etnaḥta Segments The Zakef Segment The Tevir Segment The Pashta/Yetiv Segment The Segol/Shalshelet Segment The Revia‘ Segment The Legarmeh Segment The Geresh Segment Telishah Gedolah Pazer Munaḥ Galgal Pazer-Gadol The Final Cadence Special Melodies Akdamut Millin Chanting the Torah Blessings The Kaddish Summary of the Te‘amim The Scale of the Torah Cantillation The Te‘amim according to Abraham Binder Chapter 6.3 Haftarah Contemporary Traditional Practice Historical Development of the Haftarah Customs Etymology Haftarah Chart The Melodies of the Cantillation Motifs The Siluk and Etnaḥta Segments The Zakef Segment The Tevir Segment The Pashta/Yetiv Segment The Segol Segment The Revia‘ Segment The Legarmeh Segment The Geresh Segment Other Segments The Final Cadence Modulations to the Lamentation Mode Blessings Yatsiv Pitgam Summary of the Te‘amim Chapter 6.4 The Festival Megillot: Song Of Songs, Ruth, and Ecclesiastes The Contemporary Practicea nd its Roots The Song of Songs Ruth Ecclesiastes The Siluk and Etnaḥta Segments Merekha Siluk Etnaḥta Tippeḥa The Tevir Segment The Zakef Segment The Pashta/Yetiv Segment The Segol Segment The Revia‘ Segment The Legarmeh Segment The Geresh Segment Gereshayim Telishah Gedolah Pazer The Final Cadence Blessings Summary of the Te‘amim Chapter 6.5 Esther The Contemporary Practice and its Roots The Siluk and Etnaḥta Segments Tippeḥa The Tevir Segment The Zakef Segment The Pashta/Yetiv Segment The Segol Segment The Revia‘ Segment The Legarmeh Segment The Geresh Segment Telishah Gedolah Pazer Munaḥ Galgal Pazer-Gadol The Final Cadence The Invitational Cadence Lamentation Verses Exceptional Verses Blessings Shoshannat Ya‘akov Summary of the Te’amim The Scale of the Te‘amim The Axes of the Te‘amim Chapter 6.6 Lamentations (Ekhah) Structure Liturgical Use Lamentations Motifs in other Readings Chanting Chapter Three The Siluk and Etnaḥta Segments Tippeḥa The Tevir Segment The Zakef Segment The Pashta/Yetiv Segment The Segol Segment The Revia‘ Segment The Legarmeh Segment The Geresh Segment Other Final Cadences Summary of the Te‘amim The Scale of the Cantillation Chapter 6.7 Torah for the High Holiday Morning Service The Siluk and Etnaḥta Segments Tippeḥa The Tevir Segment The Zakef Segment The Pashta/Yetiv Segment The Segol Segment The Revia‘ Segment The Legarmeh Segment The Geresh Segment Telishah Gedolah Pazer The Final Cadence Chanting the Blessings Kaddish Summary of the Te‘amim The Scale of the Te‘amim Chapter 7.1 Comparison Chart Chapter 7.2 The Ideal Reader Chapter 7.3 Guide to the Readings Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Special Torah Readings Simḥat Torah Public Fast Days Rosh Ḥodesh Shavuot High Holidays Haftarot Genesis — Haftarot Exodus — Haftarot Leviticus — Haftarot Numbers — Haftarot Deuteronomy — Haftarot Special Haftarot Ruth Song of Songs Ecclesiastes (Kohelet) Lamentations Esther Chapter 7.4 Glossary Bibliography Index  

Reviews

Monumental in scope and richly detailed, this revised edition of Chanting the Hebrew Bible-enriched by a week-by-week guide to the Torah, haftarah and megillot readings, and a comprehensive index-is an invaluable contribution to the study and practice of biblical cantillation. Jacobson's work of impressive scholarship is simultaneously an accessible and engaging practical resource. - Rabbi Jeffrey A. Summit, author of Singing God's Words: The Performance of Biblical Chant in Contemporary Judaism Jacobson has delivered an indispensable teaching tool that, quite unusually, is a genuinely fascinating read... Even those who consider themselves experts will learn a lot from this book... Jacobson consistently provides a wealth of interesting historical material to make this a great reference book. - Susan Miron, The Forward This encyclopedic volume is a 'must have' for all serious students of cantillation-and for anyone who wants to learn how to chant Hebrew texts and understand the whys of the cantillation systems. - Nancy Abramson, cantor and director of the H. L. Miller Cantorial School at Jewish Theological Seminary An authoritative, exhaustively detailed survey of the history, structure, performance, and inculcation of the trop. - Stuart Schoffman, Jerusalem Report The cantillation of Hebrew scripture is an indispensable portal to its authentic interpretation, and Jacobson has extraordinary command of this material. Students and scholars, beginners and experts-everyone who treasures this foundational form of biblical learning has much cause for celebration. - Richard Cohn, cantor and director of the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion

The cantillation of Hebrew scripture is an indispensable portal to its authentic interpretation, and Jacobson has extraordinary command of this material. Students and scholars, beginners and experts-everyone who treasures this foundational form of biblical learning has much cause for celebration. -Richard Cohn, cantor and director of the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion -- Richard Cohn This encyclopedic volume is a `must-have' for all serious students of cantillation-and for anyone who wants to learn how to chant Hebrew texts and understand the whys of the cantillation systems. -Nancy Abramson, cantor and director of the H. L. Miller Cantorial School at Jewish Theological Seminary -- Nancy Abramson Monumental in scope and richly detailed, this revised edition of Chanting the Hebrew Bible-enriched by a week-by-week guide to the Torah, haftarah, and megillot readings, and a comprehensive index-is an invaluable contribution to the study and practice of biblical cantillation. Jacobson's work of impressive scholarship is simultaneously an accessible and engaging practical resource. -Rabbi Jeffrey A. Summit, author of Singing God's Words: The Performance of Biblical Chant in Contemporary Judaism -- Rabbi Jeffrey A. Summit An authoritative, exhaustively detailed survey of the history, structure, performance, and inculcation of the trope. -Stuart Schoffman, Jerusalem Report -- Stuart Schoffman * Jerusalem Report * Jacobson has delivered an indispensable teaching tool that, quite unusually, is a genuinely fascinating read. . . . Even those who consider themselves experts will learn a lot from this book. . . . Jacobson consistently provides a wealth of interesting historical material to make this a great reference book. -Susan Miron, The Forward -- Susan Miron * The Forward * The improvements and additions to the text, the new Index and enlarged Bibliography, the clear fonts and visual presentation, and the added charts make this book a 'must-have' for the regular use of everyone who chants and teaches trop. -Neil Schwartz, Journal of Synagogue Music -- Neil Schwartz * Journal of Synagogue Music *

Monumental in scope and richly detailed, this revised edition of Chanting the Hebrew Bible-enriched by a week-by-week guide to the Torah, haftarah and megillot readings, and a comprehensive index-is an invaluable contribution to the study and practice of biblical cantillation. Jacobson's work of impressive scholarship is simultaneously an accessible and engaging practical resource. -Rabbi Jeffrey A. Summit, author of Singing God's Words: The Performance of Biblical Chant in Contemporary Judaism -- Rabbi Jeffrey A. Summit Jacobson has delivered an indispensable teaching tool that, quite unusually, is a genuinely fascinating read... Even those who consider themselves experts will learn a lot from this book... Jacobson consistently provides a wealth of interesting historical material to make this a great reference book. -Susan Miron, The Forward -- Susan Miron The Forward This encyclopedic volume is a 'must have' for all serious students of cantillation-and for anyone who wants to learn how to chant Hebrew texts and understand the whys of the cantillation systems. -Nancy Abramson, cantor and director of the H. L. Miller Cantorial School at Jewish Theological Seminary -- Nancy Abramson An authoritative, exhaustively detailed survey of the history, structure, performance, and inculcation of the trop. -Stuart Schoffman, Jerusalem Report -- Stuart Schoffman Jerusalem Report The cantillation of Hebrew scripture is an indispensable portal to its authentic interpretation, and Jacobson has extraordinary command of this material. Students and scholars, beginners and experts-everyone who treasures this foundational form of biblical learning has much cause for celebration. -Richard Cohn, cantor and director of the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion -- Richard Cohn

Author Information

Joshua R. Jacobson is a professor of music and director of choral activities at Northeastern University, the founder and director of the Zamir Chorale of Boston, and a visiting professor and senior consultant in the School of Jewish Music at Hebrew College. He has guest-conducted and lectured throughout the United States, Europe, Israel, and Australia. Jacobson is the coauthor of Translations and Annotations of Choral Repertoire, vol. 4: Hebrew Texts.   

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