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b-hebrew - Re: [b-hebrew] Theophoric Name: Y:HOWYFQIYM

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  • From: Peter Kirk <peter AT qaya.org>
  • To: Rolf Furuli <furuli AT online.no>
  • Cc: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Theophoric Name: Y:HOWYFQIYM
  • Date: Sun, 08 Jan 2006 18:26:45 +0000

On 07/01/2006 21:18, Rolf Furuli wrote:

...

Arguments must be evaluated on the basis of quality and not on the basis of quantity. Please give a scholarly answer to the following question: In the Elephantine letters we find the letters YHW for the god that was worshipped by the community. What are the Aramaic (or Hebrew) *phonological* reasons for pronouncing these three letters as YAHU? Are there any phonological reasons that forbids that the three letters are consonants and that they were pronounciated YEHOWA, or YAHOWA, or YEHOWE, or YAHOWA?


Or for that matter YEHAWA, YEHIWA etc? Or YAHWE, YAHWA etc? Since you are making the W here a consonant, there is no reason to read a long O vowel here, rather than another vowel or a silent sheva. And in fact it is rare to have a long O vowel not marked with a vav (which, by the way, Jack, is the internationally standardised name for the sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, regardless of pronunciation as [v], [w] or a vowel). So, if the original pronunciation was something like YEHOWA, with both a long O vowel and a consonantal vav, one would expect that someone somewhere would have written a double vav here. But as far as I know no one ever had. I think that is quite a strong argument against forms like Jehovah.

Rolf, if you accept, as you seem to, that the theophoric prefix was pronounced something like YEHO- with the vav as a vowel (and not for example YEHAWA- with a consonantal vav), your arguments would seem to imply that the vav in the full divine name is also a vowel. That would in fact suggest that the full divine name is something like YEHO or YAHU, with the final he as a redundant mater lectionis. This form would also explain the variants YHW and YHH, with the redundancy removed.

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





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