Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Harold Holmyard <hholmyard AT ont.com>]

kenneth greifer wrote:
> You said that the Masoretic pointing shows that the word in Haggai 2:7 
> is singular. I am not talking about the Masoretic pointing, but just 
> the letters. Can the spelling of the word be plural or does  it have 
> to have the vav and tav at the end? I am not very educated, but I 
> think anyone can still disagree with the Masoretic pointing. I am more 
> interested in the letters than the Masoretic pointing.
> Do you always agree with the Masoretic pointing?

HH: The Masoretic pointing records an oral reading tradition that may go 
back to the second or first century. However, it is possible that errors 
crept into the tradition, and the Masoretes themselves were not 
infallible (though very careful). So there may be errors in the 
pointing, but they are rare in my view. The word "desire" in Hag 2:7 can 
be plural if it is repointed. There is not a vav at the end, so that 
part of your question confuses me. Are you talking about the vav at the 
end of the verb? There are regular forms for the plurals of nouns and verbs.

Yours,
Harold Holmyard