Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Peter Kirk" <Peter_Kirk AT sil.org>]

George, surely we have to say that even with the vowel pointing we have
the form in Jer 26:1 and Gen 1:1 is ambiguous between construct and
absolute. The construct and absolute forms of this noun are identical.

If the noun is absolute, the vowel pointing suggests that it is
indefinite, in the technical grammatical sense. It is then another
matter to decide, in Genesis 1:1, what this might mean. The LXX
translators seem to have understood this as absolute but indefinite, as
there is no article in the Greek and no dependent clause. On the other
hand, according to BHS both Origen and the Samaritan Pentateuch give
evidence for an A vowel in the first syllable, so maybe the original
reading was absolute and definite.

Peter Kirk

> -----Original Message-----
> From: George Athas [mailto:gathas AT hotkey.net.au]
> Sent: 12 August 2002 04:57
> To: Biblical Hebrew
> Subject: Re: Vowels... Was "why isn't bereshit in Jer 26:1 in the
> construct state?"
> 
> Bill,
> 
> Yes, the vowels are a late addition to the manuscripts. However, the
vowel
> points do reflect older
> traditions of pronunciation. In a consonantal text, we would have to
say
> that the first word of Jer
> 26.1, taken on its own without context, was ambiguous as to whether it
was
> a construct or not.
> Context, however, would lead you to say that it makes far more sense
with
> a construct than without.
> The LXX seems to have understood that there was no definite article
within
> the first word of this
> verse. Thus, evidence points us to concluding that the first word
really
> is a construct.
> 
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> Dr GEORGE ATHAS
> Lecturer of Biblical Languages
> Southern Cross College
> Sydney, Australia
> 
> 
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