Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Patrick J. Emsweller" <patrick AT clubgraves.com>]

Maybe a bit of a curve ball here but maybe just a "seed thought".........any
one notice how many letters are in IAO?

-patrick

-----Original Message-----
From: b-hebrew-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:b-hebrew-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Vadim Cherny
Sent: Monday, August 01, 2005 4:04 PM
To: Read, James C
Cc: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] YHWH pronunciation

RE: [b-hebrew] YHWH pronunciationStart with possessive suffixes: i, a, u.
For this or that reason, not essential here, supportive consonants were
introduced: i, ca (ta), hu. Suffix consonants lack semantical importance.
Also note that 3ms hu-au-o, giving rise to yhu-yho-yao variants.

There is a noun "an," essence. Ani (or, with non-essential suffix consonant,
anoci) is "my essence," abstracized as I. Ata is anta, "thine essence" that
became "thou." Anacnu is similarly "our essence." Different etymologies were
proposed for hu, but for our case only u is important, 3s possessive suffix,
making hu some word emasculated into he and 3s possessive suffix u.

Iao would be literally "my, thine, his" (i-a-u, or later i-a-o), but I
speculate that Iao stands more generally for "I, thou, he" epitomized by the
possessive suffixes.

Vadim Cherny

> To the best of my knowledge I,You,He would be:

)aNoCHiY)THuW)
and I really struggle to see how you turn that into a IAO transliteration.

RE: [b-hebrew] YHWH pronunciation> I am interested to know how you come
about such a radical
theory. You must have more reason than a philosophical idea of a society.

Well, only "I, thou, he" could be pronounced Iao. The verb cannot.
Plural suffixes are construed similarly. Duality ai (later - plural e-ei-im)
means "thou, I". Abstract plural -o (-ot) is -au, "thou, he." This makes
sense: using 1s, the most personal relation, for duality, and 3ms, the
remotest, for abstract plurality.
Suffixes are vowels only. Consonants are semantical devices, vowels -
morphological. Suffix consonants change between nouns and verbs, but vowels
persist. Suffix consonants (caf 2s nouns, tav 2s verbs) served perhaps to
write down suffixes without matres lectionis, or perhaps to avoid post-tonic
gemination in penultimates-stressed nouns. This is a separate topic.
YHWH cannot be a meaningful word, like the verb, since no one could possibly
declare a well-attested verb a great secret with unknown pronunciation.

> How would you account for the forms YaH, YaHu/YaHo with your model?

he could be mater lectionis for 2ms suffix -a. Incidentally, he is also
"supportive consonant" of 3ms -hu-au-o. Thus, yau=yhh=yh with mappiq.
yhu=yau with mater lectionis
yho=yao=yau with 3ms hu-o

> How would you account for the transliterations IABE, IAOUAI etc.?

Iabe is literal, not phonetic transliteration; waw-beta.
Iaouai is plural form of Iao, modeled upon plural Elokim.

> Are there any patterns ANE cultures that led you to this hypothesis?

Of course, Judaism is unique.

> Is there any internal evidence in the TaNaKH which supports your theory?

Depending on how you read it. Milgrom's interpretation, I believe, is
supportive.

Vadim Cherny

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