Biblical Hebrew Forum

[George Athas <gathas AT mail.usyd.edu.au>]

Tony Costa wrote:

> Dear Friends,
>
>   Can anyone comment on the fact that the name "David" is variously written
> as(DVD) 'daleth', 'vav(waw)', 'daleth' and/or (DVYD) 'daleth', 'vav', 'yod',
> 'daleth'.

The difference has to do with the way Hebrew spells words. In the name 
"David", the yodh
is a 'mater lectionis' (lit: 'mother of language). It's a consonant which 
marks the
presence of a vowel. Since Hebrew had no written vowels, scribes eventually 
resorted to
using some consonants to stand for vowels. In the case of _DWYD_, the yodh 
stands for an
"i" vowel. This is a later, rather than earlier, phenomenon. If you compare 
the spelling
of David's name in the texts, you'll see that Kings uses _DWD_ as the 
predominant form,
while Chronicles uses _DWYD_. It's just a reflection of the way Hebrew 
spelling evolved in
the time when vowel points didn't exist.

(Another example of a 'mater' is the letter waw. It can stand for the 
consonant "w" [or
"v" depending on pronunciation], but it can also mark the vowels "o" or "u".)

> Furthermore, does anyone know the numerical value of the name
> "David" in the MT?

Daleth = 4
Waw = 6
Yodh = 10

On that basis, _DWD_ would equal 14, and _DWYD_ would equal 24.

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GEORGE ATHAS
 Dept of Semitic Studies,
 University of Sydney
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Tel Dan Inscription Website is at
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