ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews recent research on synchronic variation in Biblical Hebrew (BH) under two headings: 'diglossia', used to refer to social stratification of the same language at the same time and place; and 'dialects', used to refer to the use of different varieties of language in different, but contemporary, localities. The topic of 'diglossia' in relation to BH was firmly put on the agenda of modem scholarship by the publication of Rendsburg's book Diglossia in Ancient Hebrew. The chapter discusses regional dialects in ancient Hebrew. In linguistics the term 'dialect' is much debated, a major question being whether one can distinguish between a 'language' and a 'dialect'. Linguistic variety is not only a function of geography, but also, as we have seen with diglossia, social circumstances. Linguistic dating is easiest when development can be shown to have progressed in a straight line.
