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b-hebrew - Re: [b-hebrew] final alef

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  • From: "Isaac Fried" <if AT math.bu.edu>
  • To: "Uri Hurwitz" <uhurwitz AT yahoo.com>, <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] final alef
  • Date: Sun, 19 Aug 2007 01:35:49 +0200

Uri,



The Arabic LAHU = LA-HU, ends in the personal pronoun HU that is contracted in Hebrew to a mere O, as in BO and BO), that are both BA-HU, corresponding to the English 'be-he'.



Isaac Fried, Boston University



----- Original Message ----- From: "Uri Hurwitz" <uhurwitz AT yahoo.com>
To: <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Sunday, August 19, 2007 12:37 AM
Subject: [b-hebrew] final alef


As to the relationship between the two homonyms LO (lamed aleph -
"NO"), and LO (lamed waw -- "TO HIM"), here again it pays to consult
Arabic , because, like in so many other cases, it preserves earlier stages
of the language. The spelling of "NO" in Ar.-- "LA," is the equivalent of the
Heb.lamed aleph, while the spelling of "TO HIM" is --LaHW pronounced
"Lahu". Obviously the "H" was dropped by the time of the consonsntal text
of the HB.


Interestingly the same occurs in some spoken Arabic dialects.

Uri Hurwitz



Yigal Levin wrote:

I tend to agree - the aleph is there because it was

meant to be pronounced as a gluttal stop (not as a

"silent letter"). From both the Bible and especially

inscriptions, it would seem that the mater lectionis

that was used for the final "O" (once these entered

Hebrew orthography) was actually he (as preserved

in names such as "Shiloh" and "Shelomoh"). Also,

what's the relationship between l) (lamed aleph)

and l)w (lamed aleph waw)? Is the former an

abbreviation of the latter? Or was l) spelt with

an aleph to distinguish it from its homonym lw

(lamed waw) - "for/to him"?




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