Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Karl Randolph" <kwrandolph AT email.com>]

Karyn:

The first question to answer is: what do the points represent?

One theory that I think no one on this list ascribes to is that both the 
points and the pronunciations were invented by the Masoretes. Therefore there 
should be no grammatical explanation as for a particular pointing within a 
context. They are not an accurate indication of meaning, grammar nor 
pronunciation during Biblical times.

Another theory is that the points teach people how to pronounce the words 
while they are sung. They are not to be construed as a guide as to how people 
spoke the words, nor an accurate indication of meaning or grammar.

A third theory is that the Masoretes invented the points to record how Hebrew 
was spoken at their time. They do not represent the pronunciation of Biblical 
Hebrew, rather they reflect the pronunciation tradition 500 - 1000 years 
after Hebrew ceased to be spoken as a primary language (learned at mother's 
knee).

A fourth theory is that the pointings reflect Biblical pronunciation. But 
even here there are some variations, as there were no hard and fast spelling 
rules during Biblical times.

I think those are all the theories (I expect to be strongly corrected if I 
left out anyone's theory). From these, none will have a good set of rules 
exactly how to point words in each context.

I personally ascribe to the third theory. As a result, I prefer to read 
Tanakh in unpointed Hebrew, and for fun using a pre-Babylonian exile font. 
There are places in Tanakh where the pointing is demonstrably incorrect, and 
other places where it is questionable. Keep context in mind, and more 
context, as well as looking at the action described, making only a rare verse 
that is unclear in meaning.

But as a student, you need to please your teacher, so before translating too 
creatively, it is best to find out to which of the above theories he 
ascribes. And where you may disagree with the pointing, it is best to show 
from sentence structure, context and meaning why the points should be 
questioned.

Karl W. Randolph.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Karyn Traphagen" <karyn AT birchbarkstudio.com>

> 
> Dear Group,
> 
> As my fellow students and I work through translating various OT 
> passages we find that we are not able to explain the pointing for 
> many of the weak verbs we find (even applying all the weak verb 
> rules that we've diligently tried to master). I'm sure there is 
> some historical-grammatical explanation for much of it. Is there a 
> reference that lists anomalous forms and gives an explanation of 
> the development that leads to the MT pointing?
> 
> Thank you
> Karyn Traphagen
> Westminster Theological Seminary, PA
> Student
-- 
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