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b-hebrew - Re: YHWH vs. Yahweh

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  • From: peter_kirk AT SIL.ORG
  • To: b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu, gs02wmr AT panther.Gsu.EDU
  • Subject: Re: YHWH vs. Yahweh
  • Date: Wed, 28 Apr 1999 11:47:21 -0400


Dear Yahua'sef (?),

I fear that whoever "always taught you" was one of the far too many
people out there (especially pastors?) who have learned a little
Hebrew and think they know everything when in fact they know almost
nothing (the result of taking a typical seminary course?).

Well, what I have been taught from reliable sources is that the
incorrect Anglicised pronunciation of YHWH is JEHOVAH, but YAHWEH is
the most likely pronunciation of the original. As far as I know all
reconstructions of ancient Hebrew include a "W" sound as the regular
sound for the letter waw. The letters originally all reflected
consonants, not vowels. The "H" found at the end of the name YHWH, but
not in the names of prophets (and others) ending in -YAHU, probably
indicates a final E or A vowel, and that the waw is a consonant not a
vowel - whereas a word final waw generally indicates a long U sound
(though it could also be -AW, pronounced like English "how"). The
final H in YHWH is probably silent, whereas the first H is sounded,
and it would be better to write YAHWE rather than YAHWEH (in English
we would never try to pronounce a final H, but other languages would).
By the way, in the Masoretic text the short form YAH has a mappiq in
the final H to indicate that this H should be pronounced.

Very few Hebrew words are compounds of two words put together. (The
names starting and ending in YAHU are exceptions.) So you should not
look to divide YHWH into YAH + WH but rather see it as a single form.

Peter Kirk


______________________________ Reply Separator
_________________________________
Subject: YHWH vs. Yahweh
Author: gs02wmr AT panther.Gsu.EDU at internet
Date: 27/04/1999 19:42


Shalom Alaikhem,
<snip>





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