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  • From: "Chris and Nel" <wattswestmaas AT eircom.net>
  • To: "B-Hebrew" <b-hebrew AT lists.Ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [b-hebrew] Different ways of pronouncing words in generalised terms
  • Date: Sun, 10 Sep 2006 19:45:38 +0100

Dear All,

Beginning from the correct perspective that Biblical Hebrew was a living SPOKEN everyday language for some time I am somewhat curious about the deviations from the common rules that are visible in the collective grammar as a whole.

Just One Example to clarify my question, which is not about this word but about the overall pattern of deviations that occur

EG -- Rules governing the Perfect Hiphil (Pe-Gutteral) with and without the vav conjunction are understandable and logical, but, what about when one should expect the rule to apply yet reads in Joshua 7:7 He'aVaDTah instead of He'eVaDTah. Is it really to be believed that people in those days were so pedantically accurate? So minutley detailed in their pronounciation of the spoken language.

I hope you can see where I am going with this and I do not see that an example in Joshua 7:7 does anything to convey a different sense or feel to the semantics of the sentence. So what were the Masoretes so 'finigalty' about. Are they asking future generations to believe that there was such accuracy as say the pronounciation of a single vowel in what appears to be a normal word with an already pre-defined well-accustomed manner of speaking it?

This is a general question and I have only used this passage to clarify my "irritation".

Thankyou

Chris Watts
Ireland.





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