Biblical Hebrew Forum

[<pporta AT oham.net>]

> > PP - >> Does anyone know of some word/s appearing in the Bible and
> > consisting of 4
> > >> letters of which ONLY the first is root consonant (radical)?
> >
> >
> > YS - > > Words such as pywt "mouths" and btnw "our daughter" come to
> > mind.
> >
> > PP - Yes as regards pywt (last word in Pr 5:4). But in btnw (Gn
> > 34:17) ---
> > is 't' not a root consonant (bt = daughter)?
YS - > The -t is a feminine marker to which the n of *bn assimilates (*bntu
>
> *bittu > *bitt > bat).
> It all depends what you call a "root letter," but I think in most
> examples, the -t wouldn't be considered a root letter.

PP - Every letter that is a part of the usual base/basic word, namely the
most elemental form of the word, is it not a root letter?
So, in bn, son, both letters, b and n, are root letters.
The same, I think, would be for bt, daughter, wouldn't it? Both letters, b
and t, are root letters.

Now, as regards the -t as feminine marker: do you mean that -t is a feminine 
marker for every type of Hebrew (ex. today Israeli Hebrew) or only for 
biblical Hebrew?
Are there no exceptions to this, namely aren't there nouns ending in -t (in 
their absolute form) that are of masculine gender instead?

Pere Porta
Barcelona (Spain)