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  • From: "Harold R. Holmyard III" <hholmyard AT ont.com>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] gutturals and composite shewa
  • Date: Tue, 6 Sep 2005 06:50:17 -0500

Dear Dave,

>>>
Hey is there a rule that only gutterals can have composite shewa?


Go to the Link shown below:
http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Grammar/grammar.html
Click on [Unit Two: The Vowels]
Click on [A-Type Vowels]
It says:
ìThe Chateph Patach is sometimes called a ìhalf vowelî and is the
shortest of all vowels:
it can only appear under the guttural letters (and is usually part of
the following syllable). î

Go back and click on [E-Type Vowels]
It says:
ìThe Chateph Segol is sometimes called a ìhalf vowelî and is the shortest
of all vowels:
it can only appear under the guttural letters.î

Then check the second occurrence of YHWH in Judges 16:28,
and you will find that there is a composite shewa [e.g. Hatef-Segol]
under the yod,
which is not a guttural letter.

Apparently rules were meant to be broken.

HH: That's good, but this is really an exception, isn't it? The Tetragrammaton seems to be pointed with the vowel letters for the word Elohim. But Elohim begins with a guttural Aleph, so the Hatef-Segol really belongs to the Aleph and follows the rule. It is due to this unusual practice of pointing the divine name with vowel letters belonging to other words for fear of pronouncing Yahweh's name.

Yours,
Harold Holmyard





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