On Monday 3 February 2014, at 10 am, in “Padre Bellarmino Bagatti Hall” at the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum in Jerusalem, Fr. Joseph Ciappara sat for his final examination in order to acquire the Licentiate in Sacred Scripture in the Faculty of Biblical Sciences and Archaeology that the Franciscans of the Custody of the Holy Land have in Jerusalem, as part of the Pontifical University Antonianum of the same Order.
Fr. Joseph presented his thesis with the title: “Il Sistema Verbale del Fenicio: Analisi di Iscrizioni Scelte.” As Moderator of his thesis he had Fr. Gregor Geiger, Professor of Biblical Hebrew. The thesis was also examined by Fr. Rosario Pierri, Professor of Biblical Greek in the same Faculty. The exam session was presided by the Dean of the Faculty, Fr. Massimo Pazzini. Many students and lecturers of the same academic institution were present, together with some representatives of the Maltese religious female communities in Jerusalem, and with Fr. Noel Muscat, who came to congratulate Fr. Joseph on this important day.
The choice of the theme was truly original. Fr. Joseph found courage to face this difficult subject with the help of Fr. Gregor Geiger who followed him all through his work. The Phoenician language was a regional language of Tyre, Sidon and was to be found from Biblos to Acre on the coast of Lebanon. As a dialect it spread in the Mediterranean basin, particularly at Carthage and also in Malta, which was a Phoenician colony. In these regions the language was known as Punic. In Malta an important Phoenician inscription was found and it was instrumental in deciphering this ancient language. Fr. Joseph had to confront the difficulty of making an interpretation of the verbal system of Phoenician and comparing it to Biblical Hebrew, when the Phoenician language is only to be found on inscriptions, not all of which are complete.
We wish all success to Fr. Joseph, who was praised by the professors for the academic seriousness of his scientific research on such a difficult topic, and which resulted in the production of a thesis which is a preparation for a doctoral dissertation. The academic authorities of the SBF augured to Fr. Joseph that he would continue his research in the future in order to present a doctoral thesis by which he would become an authority in the study of Phoenician and its link with Biblical Hebrew.
Fr. Joseph thanked all the academic authorities as well as the Maltese Franciscan Province for the support that he received in order to conclude this first phase of his studies of specialization in Sacred Scripture. We give our best wishes to Fr. Joseph and wish him courage in order to proceed in his future studies for the benefit of the Franciscan Order and its academic institutions, particularly the SBF in Jerusalem.
In the photos Fr. Joseph presents his thesis and is seen with the Dean of the Faculty Fr. Massimo Pazzini, with his Moderator Fr. Gregor Geiger, and with Professor Fr. Rosario Pierri.
