Biblical Hebrew Forum

[David P Donnelly <davedonnelly1 AT juno.com>]

On Fri Jul 25 05:02:08 EDT 2003,
Peter Kirk said:
>>>
I received the following from a contact in Israel:
Vav Holam may convey two meanings, 
either just a vowel 
or a consonant Vav with the vowel Holam. 
Some typographers differentiate these two meaning, many do not. 
I don't know if there is any Masoretic basis for the distinction 
or if it is late, 
And whether it is consistently used 
in those texts that do make the distinction.
I don't know either. Can someone answer this? 
There is a typographical distinction in the printed BHS…
>>>
Dave says:
I noted the typographical distinction in my printed BHS,
by examining the plene form of Strong’s Hebrew word #5771(b) [Avown]
and 
by examining the defective form of Strong’s Hebrew word #5771(a) [Avon] 
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Avown--Strong’s Hebrew word #5771b can be found at II Kings 7:9
The holem is written at the top right of the 2nd vav in “Avown”
The Hebrew spelling of_Avown_is ayin-qamets-waw-holem-“silent waw“-nun
……………………………….............................................................
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The 1st vav in Avown is a consonantal vav.
The 2nd vav in Avown is a Holem vav functioning as the vowel “o”
[James Strong seems to transliterate the 2nd vav as a silent “w”]
……………………………….............................................................
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Avon--Strong’s Hebrew word #5771a can be found at Numbers 14:18
The holem is written at the top left of the vav in “Avon” 
The Hebrew spelling of_Avon_is ayin-qamets-waw-holem-nun
……………………………….............................................................
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The only vav in “Avon” was the first letter of the 2nd syllable,
so it had to be consonantal vav. 
The holem was written at the top left of this consonantal vav.
The holem written at the top left of the vav,
appears to be a holem written defective,
and becomes the vowel “o”,
a-f-t-e-r the consonantal vav.

Dave Donnelly