Karel Jongeling Libros

This monograph presents all the neo-Punic texts which have been published up to now. The author also mentions those texts which are difficult or even unreadable. The intention of the work is to give an overview of these texts, which in many instances were published in less accessible journals or other editions, for everyone working in this or adjacent fields: Northwest-Semitic epigraphy, North-African society in the Roman period and also Old Testament studies. The short commentary on each text gives information about the reading adhered to by the editor and also about readings proposed by others in order to give the reader the chance to judge for himself. In several instances, the author proposes new readings. As the readings and the meaning of the texts form the basis of this edition, it will also be useful for scholars working on Semitic linguistics in general.

Karel Jongeling and Robert Kerr present a selection of those late Punic texts in both neo-Punic and Latin script which are relatively easy to understand, making them accessible to non-experts in the field of Northwest Semitic epigraphy. The brief but thorough commentary provided for each text explains the readings, the idiosyncrasies of later Punic and the underlying scribal conventions. In some cases, the authors give new readings and dispense with the old ones. The book will be of interest not only to specialists in the field but also to comparative Semitists and to some extent those with an interest in the Hebrew language and its history.