Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Shai Heijmans" <shaih AT post.tau.ac.il>]

Only a few comments -

As others said, it seems that in the tiberian tradition the shwa after
waw with shuruq was pronounced as zero. This is written in a famous
early tiberian grammatical treatise, discovered in the Cairo Geniza,
which deals solely with the shwa (published and translated by Kurt Levy,
Zur Masoretischen Grammatik, Stuttgart1936; see there on p. 1 of the
translation).

To this pronunciation as zero testify also early Jewish grammarians as
Hayyug in his "treatise over the resting letters" (ed. Dukas-Ewald, see
p. 11), Ibn-Ganah, "haRiqma" (ed. Wilensky, p. 122 line 10), and
Ibn-Ezra, "Moznayim" (ed. Heidenheim, p. 7a).

Dr. Levin has already given the reason: the shwa is shwa medium (as in
li-shmuel), and shwa medium, as is well known, is quiescent (see also
Bergstrasser, I, p. 61 at the top), despite the fact that it is followed
by fricative BGDKPT.

As for what Mr. Silberman said, regarding the late Askenanazi
pronunciation tradition, it is generally assumed that in those cases
where ashkenazi Jews are pronouncong the shwa after initial waw with
shuruq as shwa mobile, it is *artificial* pronunciation, caused mainly
by a wave of "correctors"  in the 17th century; first and foremost by
Rabbi Zalman Henau, who practically destroyed the good prounciation
before him.

Henau thought that shuruk  (="melopim") is long, and hence the shwa is
mobile. Of course, this is wong: the use of shuruq here is just because
there is a letter waw, not beause the vowel is long (as Trevor
mentioned). This Ashkenazi artificial grammar is very problematic, and
Silberman's work, which I have come to know, is not making things better
(with all due respect). 

Earlier ashkenazi traditions than Henau testify to the original
pronunciation of zero after waw+shuruq, as Rabbi Shabtai Sofer in the
Introduction to his Siddur (see ed. Berliner, p. 33). See also Hanoch
Yalon, Kuntresim, vol. 1, p. 16-19.

It should also be mentioned, that there are certain cases in which this
shwa is mobile even in tiberian pronunciation; see A. Dotan's edition of
Diqduqei Hatte'amim, notes on chapter 20 (section D).

Shai Heijmans
Tel Aviv University, Dept. of Heb. Lang.