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  • From: "Dr. Joel M. Hoffman" <joel AT exc.com>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] YHWH
  • Date: Tue, 26 Jul 2005 17:28:36 -0400 (EDT)

>>In Chapter 4 I relate YHWH to the innovation of matres lectionis,
>>noting and discussing the obvious fact that the tetragrammaton
>>consists only of letters used as matres lectionis.
>
>Maybe that is DAVKA on purpose so that it won't be known how to
>pronounce it except if one was specifically TAUGHT how to pronounce
>it?

Very interesting. I have always assumed that the tetragrammaton had
no pronunciation, but I suppose that your suggestion is equally
likely.

(Either way, it sounded nothing like YAHWEH, or JAVE, or JOVE, or
YAHOVA, etc....)

BTW, another interesting data point is that SHEM ADONAI [lit., name
of Adonai] is very frequent, while SHEM ELOHIM is not. Clearly, YHWH
and Elohim were not interchangeable.

-Joel







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