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b-hebrew - Re: [b-hebrew] DSS --> MT silent letters and vowel-points

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  • From: Peter Kirk <peterkirk AT qaya.org>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] DSS --> MT silent letters and vowel-points
  • Date: Tue, 15 Mar 2005 20:18:38 +0000

On 15/03/2005 19:36, Dave Washburn wrote:

On Tuesday 15 March 2005 11:58, Vadim Cherny wrote:

...

What does silent aleph have to do with spelling? In the absence of vowel
points, aleph and waw were used to mark vowels. This constitutes no
"significant and consistent differences." ...


A word spelled with a silent alef is a different spelling from a word spelled without it. My point is that simple. The significance of this is debatable, and Dave has put forward certain possible interpretations. But it is certainly a phenomenon which needs an explanation. And it contradicts Karl's thesis that spelling was frozen at the time of the exile, and so undermines his conclusion that Hebrew was not a living language. In fact I continue to hold that it is a positive indication that it was a living language, but I would agree that that is not a certain conclusion.

... but DSS Hebrew spelling at least seems only to have been "fluid" in a very narrow sense of the word. I doubt whether the phenomenon in question really indicates anything of a linguistic nature at all, and have serious doubts whether it indicates anything of a truly textual nature, either.


Sorry, I don't understand your ""fluid" in a very narrow sense of the word". But you slightly misquote. I did not state that DSS spelling was fluid (although in some sense it is), but that Hebrew spelling was fluid in that it changed from period to period, between the DSS which had one convention and the consonantal MT which had another. I agree that it is uncertain what this indicates, but it does go against the kind of frozen situation associated with dead language texts copied only for liturgical use.

--
Peter Kirk
peter AT qaya.org (personal)
peterkirk AT qaya.org (work)
http://www.qaya.org/



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