Rodriguez Daniel L. מ/לפני ,אחר, and תחת: a cognitive linguistic approach to the Biblical Hebrew prepositions

Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University, 2017. — 290 p.This dissertation addresses the problem of the polysemic meaning of three Biblical Hebrew (=BH) words that are used as prepositions: ʾahṛ , pn(h), and thṭ . Addressing this problem not only profiles the poly- and heterosemies of these words, but also establishes how usage-based methods can be applied to analyze and describe relational words in BH. Frame semantics and and grammaticalization theory are primarily used for these purposes. Using these methods in conjunction with one another, lexical semantic categories are established for each preposition. All instances of each preposition in BH are grouped into these categories. Using usage-based methods, these categories are plotted onto a semantic network that accounts for 1) the historic development of each preposition, and 2) the relationship between each semantic category. Each category is further described semantically with visual tools of cognitive linguistics, namely trajectory-landmark diagrams. Seven lexical semantic categories are established for ʾahṛ : posterior anatomy, posterior space, alternative posterior, static posterior verb, posterior locative, posterior time, and causation. Six lexical semantic categories are established for the forms of pn(h) in question: anterior anatomy, anterior locative, comparative, dominance agent/object marker, anterior time, and causation. Finally, five semantic categories are established for thṭ : inferior anatomy, inferior space, substitution, inferior locative, and causation. In addition to the lexical semantic categories established as a conclusion for each preposition in question, this dissertation also shows the relevance that verbal forms of the same root can have on the study of prepositional usages of such heterosemic roots.