Temporal Adverbials in Aramaic

Abstract This study describes and compares two temporal adverbial constructions—(1) temporal subordinate clauses marked by *kaḏî and (2) the temporal, adverbial use of the infinitive in the construction preposition + infinitive—based on their usage in Old, Imperial, Biblical, Qumran Aramaic, and the Aramaic of Targum Jonathan to Kings. The latter is not common outside the Targumim, but it occurs in a few texts (mostly translations) from the first millennium BCE . There are also two occurrences in original compositions (Daniel and 4Q542). After describing these constructions in Old through Middle Aramaic, the relevant constructions in Targum Jonathan to Kings are examined to see what light might be shed on the Targum’s alternating translations of the Hebrew construction preposition + infinitive. It is concluded that these constructions differ syntactically, and a method for discerning the temporal relationship that these adverbials have to their respective main clauses is proposed.