Semitic languages at the Rand Afrikaans University?

Inaugural lecture--Department of Semitic Languages, Rand Afrikaans University, 28 May 1970The main theme of this inaugural lecture is that classical (biblical) Hebrew cannot be studied without taking due cognisance of the other Semitic languages (Accadian or Babylonian-Assyrian, Arabic, Aramic, Ugaritic, Syriac and, to a lesser extent, also Ethiopic). The mutual connection between these languages is by far more intimate than between the different Germanic languages. Many obscure words in the Old Testament have become intel1igible only through our knowledge of these languages. The culture and history of the ancient Semitic peoples are also so intertwined that it is academically just as unjustifiable to separate one from the rest of them as in the case of the languages. Even here we can learn a great deal about the O.T. form its environment. The close connection between these cultures is, however, not without dangers as shown inter alia by the "Babel und Bibel" controversy during the first decade of the twentieth century. On the other hand a department of Semitic languages cannot ignore the revival of Hebrew as modern spoken language. Modern Hebrew is essentially the same language as classical Hebrew. It has just been adapted to the needs of our scientific and technological era -the same as Afrikaans, English or, for that matter, any modern civilised language. In many fields of study, not just those related to the Old Testament, books and treatises of superb academical standards are being published daily in modern Hebrew. Only to their own detriment can academicians, and definitely not just theologians and semitists, ignore these