The function of 'atmāhā in genesis Rabbah

The meaning and use of the Jewish Palestinian Aramaic word ('astonishment') have been discussed only briefly in scholarly literature. The present article examines its use and seeks to demonstrate that most of its occurrences mark two specific types of questions: (1) rhetorical questions and (2) conducive questions. In these functions it is similar to the Zawgā 'elāyā in New Testament Peshitta manuscripts. We conclude that was not intended to be pronounced, nor did it function as a standard punctuation mark, but rather was a marker for a specific pragmatic feature, i.e. questions that are not requests for information. Additionally, it may have developed a secondary asseverative usage.