Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Trevor Peterson" <speederson AT erols.com>]

This sort of question usually opens up a can of worms, but I'll say
something briefly about the easy part.  The "w" vs. "v" issue is basically
one of convention.  Waw is pronounced in Modern Hebrew as a "v" where it
functions consonantally.  Other pronunciation systems, including a fairly
standard reconstruction of Masoretic pronunciation that borrows a lot of
elements from Arabic, as well as the usual system used by scholars (see,
for instance, Seow's grammar), pronounce consonantal Waw as English "w." 
Other surviving Semitic languages, such as Syriac, pronounce the
comparable letter as a "w."  Then, of course, there is the problem of
English vs. German pronunciation of "w," which is pronounced by Germans as
an English "v."  All of that is to say that, at least IMHO, the question
of "v" vs. "w" for the Waw is a non-issue and is generally unrelated to
the question of voweling or syllabification.  Hopefully that gets one
question out of the way simply enough!

Trevor Peterson
CUA/Semitics

> This is a two part question. First, since the divine name, YHWH, is
> characterized by the Hebrew consonants yod, he, vav, and he, what is the
> evidence that the vav acts as an English "w" rather than its function as
> English "v" or English "u"?  Secondly, what is the linguistic reasoning
> that assignes the vowels "a" (patach I believe) and "e" (sere I believe)
> under the divine name, as opposed to other vowels?  Thanks!