The study of Hebrew synonyms in the early Haskalah period

Abstract

One of the most prominent trends among Jewish scholars during the Haskalah (Jewish Enlightenment) era was the aspiration to find and determine differences in the meanings and uses of Hebrew synonyms. This trend developed parallel to German scholars’ occupation with discriminating synonymy – differentiating German synonyms – which had reached its apogee at that time and was most likely the main source of inspiration for the Jewish trend. This inspiration is clearly reflected in R. Solomon Pappenheim’s lexicon of Hebrew synonyms, Yeri̔oth Shlomo, which shows several rather strong affinities with the main German dictionary of synonyms of its time, Johann Ernst Stosch’s lexicon. Pappenheim’s familiarity with German linguistics is probably reflected also in his original theory of Hebrew roots, which underlies the etymological-semantic discussions in Yeri̔oth Shlomo. The Jewish occupation with synonyms during the Haskalah era in general, and Pappenheim’s linguistic methodology in particular, are therefore manifestations of German cultural influence on contemporaneous Jewish scholars.