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  • From: Fred P Miller <fmoeller AT ao.net>
  • To: peter_kirk AT SIL.ORG
  • Cc: Biblical Hebrew <b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Matres Lectionis
  • Date: Fri, 30 Apr 1999 10:22:18 -0400


REPLY INSERTED BELOW

peter_kirk AT SIL.ORG wrote:

> Greg wrote:
>
> "BTW Matres Lectionis are letters waw, he and yodh placed into the
> Hebrew text to act as "semi-vowels" or at least as markers to help in
> the reading of the consonatal text. It's latin for Mothers of
> Reading."
>
> Well, it makes a big difference whether these are "semi-vowels" or
> simply markers. As I understand it these Matres Lectionis are not to
> be pronounced as any sort of consonant, semi-vowel, diphthong,
> off-glide or whatever one might call it; they merely help to indicate
> the presence of a vowel.
>
> Thus tsere-yod is pronounced exactly like tsere, full holem exactly
> like holem, and word final qamets-he exactly like qamets. None of the
> forms with matres lectionis is pronounced as a diphthong. Qamets-waw
> and qamets-yod might be considered diphthongs, for the waw and yod are
> pronounced as semi-vowels, but these are not then matres lectionis.
>
> With I and U sounds the presence of the mater is also tied up with the
> length issue. As I understand it, in the Masoretic Text hireq-yod is
> always long, but hireq alone is more commonly short, also waw-tsureq
> is almost always long, but qibbuts is usually short. (Compare Arabic
> which uses a vowel letter analogous to a mater lectionis for long
> vowels but not for short vowels). However, unpointed texts regularly
> use yod and waw for short I and U vowels respectively.
>
> Is there any disagreement with what I have written?

Peter KirkNo disagreement but aditional info on the use of waw as semi-vowel
in 1Qa.
copied from my web site

A. Waw Stands for Any Vowel
There are vowel additions in Q that are meant to help pronunciation and
identification of
forms that are peculiar to the Q scribes. Just as the Masoretes invented
pointings to
indicate vowel sounds so the Q scribes have added some semi-vowels to
the text.
The
use of yod, waw, and "he" are frequent. Insertion of aleph as a
semi-vowel is
less
frequent but not unknown. Waw is used in a very general way and a
Biblical Hebrew

reader is used to the "o" and "u" sound being attributed to waw. But the
Q
scribes are
more general with the use of waw and they employ it with great frequency
to stand
for
any vowel sound from scheva to qamets etc.. It will be found to stand
for any
vowel
sound. For a discussion of where this concept is important in
identifying a word
see the
notes on "Siniym" on Scroll page 41 in notes under line 12. Follow the
link there
to the
variations of Hezekiah's name.

B. Waw and Yod are interchanged:
The waw and yod are interchangeable. Where you would expect to find yod
a waw
will often be written and a yod where a waw is expected. This is also
frequent in
Q.

More discussions of insertion of yod, waw and he to distinguish person and
number in
noun suffixes and verbs can be found at the following address:

http://www.ao.net/~fmoeller/qum-intr.htm#waw stands

Fred



>
>
>
>
> -Fred P Miller

For Bible Study Majoring in Isaiah
Http://www.ao.net/~fmoeller





  • Re: Matres Lectionis, Fred P Miller, 04/30/1999

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