Biblical Hebrew Forum

[waldo slusher <waldoslusher AT yahoo.com>]

I really appreciate the responses and suggestions on
what to do and read next. I plan on following much of
what you all have suggested, both on-line and
off-line.

I wasn't trying to open a can of worms with my last
question, but was seeking clarification. 

My only hesitancy in learning OT Hebrew with the
Masoretic's interpretive vowel points is that I feel
like I am learning OT Hebrew ONE STEP REMOVED FROM IT.

If, for example, the PUAL and PIEL had the same
consonantal FORMS, and the Masoretics determined when
a verb was PIEL and not PUAL, then I feel like I am
not study the ORIGINAL LANGUAGE; I am learning what
the Masoretics thought of the text. 

Suppose I invented a completely new set of vowel
points today. Then I read the OT, and whenever I
thought a verb was PUAL, I so marked it. My
interpretation of whether or not it is in fact a PUAL
seems like something that should take place in a
commentary, not in the text itself, and not in a
grammar book.

And please keep in mind that I am very new to OT
Hebrew, so I am aware that I may be a bit naive in my
thought process. It's just that the accent marks in
Greek have always been a source of irritation to me;
why they were invented I'll never understand. In my
opinion, you gain nothing by learning the accent
marks.

Hope that clarifies what I asked. And again, thank you
for your thoughtful responses.


=====
Waldo Slusher
Calgary, AB

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software
http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com