Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Trevor Peterson" <06peterson AT cua.edu>]

Peter wrote:

> I am sure that if there had been a real pronunciation 
> distinction here 
> the Masoretes would have found a way to indicate it.

This is part of the reason that I don't think the Masoretes were all
that concerned with vocal vs. silent shva. Why use only one mark, if
there are two distinct sounds (or lack thereof) to represent?

> All this 
> half-lengthening stuff sounds like 19th century German 
> over-classification (and it does come from Gesenius).

Actually, it's from Jouon. Maybe he got some of the idea from Gesenius,
but I'd hesitate to say that he just bought into someone else's idea.
Jouon had his own ideas (not always rightly, IMO). Regardless of where
it comes from, I think the argument stands that there ought to be some
explanation for why the dagesh could drop out and leave a short vowel in
an apparently open syllable. By comparison, the loss of consonantal alef
at the end of a syllable produces the characteristic voweling of an open
syllable.

Trevor Peterson
CUA/Semitics