Benjamin Suchard
Postdoc
- Name
- Dr. B.D. Suchard
- Telephone
- 071 5272727
- b.d.suchard@hum.leidenuniv.nl
- ORCID iD
- 0000-0002-5688-4488
Benjamin Suchard is a historical linguist specialized in the languages of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament, Tanakh): Hebrew and Aramaic. His research focuses on the history of these languages and the texts that are written in them as well as the prehistory of the Semitic language family as a whole.
Fields of interest
- Aramaic
- Ancient Hebrew
- Comparative Semitics
- Hebrew Bible
Grants and awards
- 2023: Cuijpers-Opdenakker Annual Prize (Netherlands Institute for the Near East & Ex Oriente Lux), best article on the Ancient Near East written by a junior scholar in the Netherlands, for ‘The Greek in Daniel 3: code-switching, not loanwords’.
- 2019: Innovational Research Incentives Scheme Veni, Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).
- 2019: Senior postdoctoral fellowship, Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO).
- 2017: Postdoctoral grant, Stichting Studiecentrum voor Judaïca en Hebraica Dr L. Fuks.
Curriculum vitae
- 2026-present: University Lecturer in Aramaic, Leiden University.
- 2026-2030 Postdoctoral researcher on the project 'From Aleph to Alpha: The spread and development of alphabetic writing across the Mediterranean', Leiden University.
- 2026 (spring) Lecturer in Aramaic, Leiden University.
- 2025 Postdoctoral researcher on the AlUla Inscriptions Corpus Analysis Project (AICAP), Ghent University.
- 2019-2020, 2022-2025 Senior postdoctoral fellow, project: ‘But They Could Not Read the Writing: The Biblical Aramaic consonantal text, its reading tradition and their mutual interaction’, KU Leuven.
- 2019-2022 Postdoctoral researcher, project: ‘Nabataean Aramaic and Pre-Islamic Arabic’, Leiden University.
- 2017-2018 Postdoctoral researcher, project: ‘The origins of the Biblical Aramaic reading tradition’, Leiden University.
- 2016-2018 Lecturer in Linguistics and Hebrew & Aramaic, Leiden University.
- 2012-2016 PhD candidate in Linguistics, dissertation: 'The development of the Biblical Hebrew vowels', supervised by H. Gzella and A.M. Lubotsky, Leiden University.
- 2010-2012 Research MA in Linguistics, Leiden University.
- 2009-2010 Propaedeutic diploma in Philosophy, Leiden University.
- 2007-2010
- BA in Comparative Indo-European Linguistics, Leiden University.
Key publications
- 'Ordinal Numerals as a Criterion for Subclassification: The Case of Semitic'. Transactions of the Philological Society 124.1 (2026), 240-256.
- 'What can Nabataean Aramaic tell us about Pre-Islamic Arabic?' Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 34.1 (2023), 158-172.
- Aramaic Daniel: A textual reconstruction of Chapters 1-7. Studia Semitica Neerlandica 73. 2022; Leiden: Brill.
- 'The origins of the Biblical Aramaic reading tradition.' Vetus Testamentum 71 (2021), 105-119.
- The development of the Biblical Hebrew vowels. Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics 99. 2019; Leiden: Brill.
Postdoc
- Faculty of Humanities
- Leiden Institute for Area Studies
Guest researcher
- Faculty of Humanities
- Leiden University Centre for Linguistics
University Lecturer Aramaic
- Faculty of Humanities
- Leiden Institute for Area Studies
- Norbruis S., Pappa E., Suchard B.D., Waal W.J.I. & Kelder J.M. (2026), A revolution in writing: the spread of the alphabet, Ancient History Magazine 60: 34-41.
- Suchard B.D. (2025), Semitic *ʾilāh- and Hebrew אלהים: from plural ‘gods’ to singular ‘God’ [Semitic *ʾilāh- and Hebrew ʾĕlōhīm: From plural ‘gods’ to singular ‘God’], Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 49(4): 460-474.
- Suchard B.D. (2025), The shape of the teen numerals in Central Semitic. In: Hornkohl A.D., Vidro N., Watson J.C.E., Coghill E., Connolly M.M. & Outhwaite B.M. (Eds.), Interconnected traditions: semitic languages, literatures, cultures: A Festschrift for Geoffrey Khan. Cambridge Semitic Languages and Cultures no. 35. Cambridge: Open Book. 611-630.
- Suchard B.D. (2025), The varying size of the Sodom coalition in Genesis 14. In: Bakker A.F.J., Brooke G.J., Hartog B., Najman H., Popović M. & Van Hecke P. (Eds.), Missing Pieces: essays in honour of Eibert J. C. Tigchelaar. Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah no. 152. Leiden: Brill. 544-559.
- Suchard B.D. (2025), Ordinal numerals as a criterion for subclassification: the case of semitic, Transactions of the Philological Society : .
- Suchard B.D. (2025), Sound change in the Hebrew reading tradition. In: Beek L. van (Ed.), Language Change in Epic Greek and Other Poetic Traditions. Leiden Studies in Indo-European no. 25. Leiden: Brill. 229-240.
- Suchard B.D. (2024), The old Aramaic “feminine” suffix -t as an accusative case ,arker, Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft 174(1): 53-76.
- Suchard B.D. (2024), Another Akkadianism in Ezekiel (and Daniel): לבש בדים = labiš kitê ‘clothed in linen", Journal of the American Oriental Society 144(1): 163-165.
- Suchard B.D. (2023), What can Nabataean Aramaic tell us about Pre‐Islamic Arabic?, Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 34(1): 158-172.
- Suchard B.D. (2023), Proto-Semitic existentials: *yθaw and *laθθaw, Journal of Northwest Semitic Languages 49(2): 65-87.
- Suchard B.D. (2023), Two more contexts for Ge‘ez *u > u and three for *a > ǝ, Afrika und Uebersee 96: 96-110.
- Suchard B.D. (2022), The Greek in Daniel 3: code-switching, not loanwords, Journal of Biblical Literature 141(1): 121-136.
- Suchard B.D. (2022), Aramaic Daniel: a textual reconstruction of chapters 1-7. Studia Semitica Neerlandica no. 73. Leiden: Brill.
- Suchard B.D. (2022), Historical (in)accuracy and linguistic archaism in Daniel 5, Biblica 103(2): 213-226.
- Suchard B.D. (2022), Origin of the Ethiosemitic verb hlw ‘to be present’, Journal of the American Oriental Society 142(3): 699-704.
- Suchard B.D. (2021), A valediction to Moses W. Shapira's Deuteronomy document, Bibliotheca Orientalis 78(3-4): 364-387.
- Suchard B.D. (2021), The reconstruction of the Proto-Semitic genitive ending and a suggestion on its origin, Studia Orientalia Electronica 9(1): 66–82.
- Suchard B.D. (2021), Biblical Hebrew יש and Biblical Aramaic איתי followed by non-verbal clauses as markers of polarity contrast, Journal of Northwest Semitic Languages 47(1): 61-78.
- Suchard B.D. & Groen F.J. (2021), (Northwest) Semitic sg. *CVCC -, pl. *CVCaC-ū-: broken plural or regular reflex?, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 84(1): 1-17.
- Suchard B.D. (2020), The origins of the Biblical Aramaic reading tradition, Vetus Testamentum 71(1): 105-119.
- Suchard B.D. (2020), Phonological adaptation and the Biblical Aramaic and Biblical Hebrew reflexes of *i and *u. In: Hornkohl A.D. & Khan G. (Eds.), Studies in Semitic Vocalisation and Reading Traditions. Cambridge Semitic Languages and Cultures. Cambridge: Open Book. 171-189.
- Suchard B.D. (2020), Review of: Edzard L., Sartori M. & Cassuto P. (eds.) (2018) Case and Mood Endings in Semitic - Myth or Reality? Désinences casuelles et modales dans les langues sémitiques - mythe ou réalité?, Abhandlungen für die Kunde des Morgenlandes, Journal of Semitic Studies 65(2): 641–645.
- Suchard B.D. (2019), The development of the Biblical Hebrew vowels. Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics no. 99. Leiden: Brill.
- Suchard B.D. (2019), Sound Changes in the (Pre-)Masoretic Reading Tradition and the Original Pronunciation of Biblical Aramaic, Studia Orientalia Electronica 7: 52-65.
- Suchard B.D. (2019) Review of P.H. Kelley, Biblical Hebrew. An Introductory Grammar. Review of: Kelley P.H. (2018), Biblical Hebrew. An Introductory Grammar. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. Bibliotheca Orientalis 76(1-2): 145-150.
- Suchard B.D. (2018), The vocalic phonemes of Tiberian Hebrew, Hebrew Studies 59: 193-207.
- Suchard B.D. (2018), Review of: G. Del Olmo Lete (2015), Studies in Common and Comparative Semitics. Selected Papers. Semitica Antiqva no. 2. Cordoba: Cordoba Near Eastern Research Unit, Cordoba. Bibliotheca Orientalis 75(3-4): 366-370.
- Suchard B.D. (2018) Review of G. Goldenberg, Further Studies in Semitic Linguistics. Review of: G. Goldenberg (2013), Further Studies in Semitic Linguistics. Alter Orient und Altes Testament no. 405. Ugarit-Verlag: Münster. Bibliotheca Orientalis 75(3-4): 359-362.
- Suchard B.D. (2018), Review of: L. Edzard & J. Huehnergard (eds) (2014), Proceedings of the Oslo–Austin Workshop in Semitic Linguistics. Abha no. 88. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. Bibliotheca Orientalis 75(1-2): 149-153.
- Suchard B.D. (2018), Review of: Butts A.M. (ed.) (2015), Semitic Languages in Contact. Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics no. 82. Leiden: Brill. Bibliotheca Orientalis 75(1-2): 144-149.
- Kossmann M.G. & Suchard B.D. (2018), A reconstruction of the system of verb aspects in proto-Berbero-Semitic, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 81(1): 41-56.
- Suchard B.D. (2017), The Origin of *s3 in the Ḥaḍramitic and Modern South Arabian Third Person Feminine Personal Pronouns, Journal of Semitic Studies 62(1): 69-76.
- Suchard B.D. (2017), Review of: Edzard L. (ed.) (2014), The Morpho-Syntactic and Lexical Encoding of Tense and Aspect in Semitic. Abhandlungen für die Kunde des Morgenlandes no. 104. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. Bibliotheca Orientalis 74(5-6): 621-625.
- Suchard B.D. (2017), Wet of Willekeur? De ontwikkeling van de Bijbels Hebreeuwse klinkers, Alef Beet : tijdschrift van de Vereniging tot Bevordering van de Kennis van Hebreeuws 26(2): 3-10.
- Suchard B.D. (2017), A triconsonantal derivation of the lamed-he paradigm, Kleine Untersuchungen zur Sprache des Alten Testaments und seiner Umwelt 22: 205-221.
- Suchard B.D. (2016), The Hebrew Verbal Paradigm of Hollow Roots: a Triconsonantal Account, Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft 166(2): 317-332.
- Suchard B.D. (21 September 2016), The development of the Biblical Hebrew vowels (Dissertatie. Leiden University Centre for Linguistics (LUCL), Faculty of Humanities, Leiden University). Supervisor(s): Gzella H. & Lubotsky A.M.
- Suchard B.D. (2015), Review of: Kouwenberg N.J.C. (2010), The Akkadian Verb and Its Semitic Background. Languages of the Ancient Near East no. 2. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns. Bibliotheca Orientalis 72(5-6): 712-719.
- Suchard B.D. (2014), Review of: Vernet i Pons E. (2011), Origen etimològic dels verbs làmed-he de l'hebreu masorètic. Barcelona: Societat Catalana d'Estudis Hebraics. Bibliotheca Orientalis 71(3-4): 516-518.
- Suchard B.D. (2014), Review of: Pardee D. (2012), The Ugaritic Texts and the Origin of West-Semitic Literary Composition. New York: Oxford University Press. Bibliotheca Orientalis 71(3-4): 514-515.
- Suchard B.D. (2014), Review of: Huehnergard J. (2012), An Introduction to Ugaritic. Edinburgh: Alban Books Ltd.. Bibliotheca Orientalis 71(5-6): 803-806.