Lexical Commonalities between Arabic and the Languages of the Southern Levant before Islam

In Lexical Cognates Between Arabic and the Languages of Southern Levant Before Islam, Prof. Dr. Omar Al-Ghul delivers an exhaustive philological and epigraphic inquiry into the historical roots of Classical Arabic vocabulary. The book investigates inscription materials and textual records across Palestine, Sinai, Jordan, Southern Syria, and Northern Arabia, covering nearly a millennium (4th century BCE – 6th century CE).

Al-Ghul systematically compares Arabic lexical roots with Safaitic, Hismaic, Nabataean, Dead Sea Scrolls Aramaic, and Palestinian Aramaic. Across four detailed chapters, the author demonstrates that these languages share a substantial core vocabulary with Classical Arabic. By tracing semantic shifts and etymological developments, the study challenges conventional Western Eurocentric paradigms that artificially separated these Northwest and North Arabian linguistic varieties, reinforcing their tight evolutionary bond.

Because it provides an empirical epigraphic and philological bridge connecting Classical Arabic vocabulary to ancient Levantine and North Arabian inscriptions.

Comparative linguists, Semitic language scholars, epigraphers, archaeologists, and postgraduate students in Arabic historical linguistics.