Master’s Thesis Defense at the College of Languages Examines Interrogative Sentences in Biblical Hebrew
The Department of Hebrew at the College of Languages, University of Baghdad, held the defense session for the master’s thesis submitted by student Esraa Ahmed Wali, titled “The Interrogative Sentence in Biblical Hebrew: A Syntactic–Pragmatic Study of the Book of Genesis.” The thesis aimed to examine interrogative sentences in the Book of Genesis, classify their syntactic patterns, analyze their interrogative markers, and explore the relationship between syntactic structure and pragmatic context. The first chapter presented the theoretical framework, including concepts related to interrogative sentences and Speech Act Theory.
The second chapter addressed the applied aspect through analyzing syntactic structures and interrogative tools in the texts of Genesis. The third chapter focused on the pragmatic analysis of speech acts and their illocutionary force. The findings revealed that interrogative sentences in the Book of Genesis perform intertwined syntactic and pragmatic functions. The study showed a clear divergence between structural form and pragmatic function, with indirect rhetorical functions prevailing across various interrogative patterns—reflecting their role in achieving expressive and semantic purposes within the biblical narrative. At the conclusion of the defense, the committee decided to accept the thesis with minor revisions. The examination committee consisted of:
Asst. Prof. Dr. Amer Mohammed Saleem – Chair
Asst. Prof. Dr. Omar Yaseen Naddah – Member
Asst. Prof. Dr. Zina Iyad Qasim – Member
Asst. Prof. Dr. Hamed Marhoon Hamad – Supervisor
