Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Dr. Reinhard G. Lehmann" <lehmann AT uni-mainz.de>]

Pere,

These imperatives with paragogic he, which are normally (as regards a strong 
verb) oxytone (i.e. with ultimate stress), in the mediae vocalia week verb 
class (so-called 'hollow roots') never are oxytone, but always always 
paroxytone (penultimate stress). It is because this weak verb class, 
consisting only of two root consonants with a fixed long vowel in between 
which hardly can lose stress (and, in effect really seldom does). 

By the way, what a funny nonsnese to connect the inner vowel of hollow root 
imperatives with a personal pronoun.
As a matter of fact, the middle root vowel of these verbs is the so-called 
thematic vowel, depending on meaning, transitivity, semantics and character 
od each verb in the Qal conjugation(s).

The forms with so-called paragogic he simply are long-imperatives which, in 
Ancient Hebrew, do not play an important role any more, but in earlier 
Proto-Hebrew Canaanite obviously did.


Dr. Reinhard G. Lehmann
Akademischer Direktor
Forschungsstelle für Althebräische Sprache und Epigraphik
Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz



>Pere,
>
>The middle vowel of the QAL imperatives forms you mention is a  
>personal pronoun referring the the person ordered. In this, the vowel  
>'I' is the essential part of HI), and the vowel 'U' is the essential  
>part of HU), gender and number independently. Often 'I' is reduced to  
>'E', and 'U' to 'O'. Thus, QUM = Q-HU)-M, SIM = S-HI)-M, $EB = $-HI)- 
>B, XOG = X-HU)-G. Addressing a woman you add for clarity of reference  
>an extra HI) at the end to say KUMI=K-HU)-M-HI), and addressing a  
>group you add an extra HU) at the end to say KUMU = K-HU)-M-HU).
>Addressing an important person, and assuming a pleading attitude, an  
>extra reverential HI), you', is added at the end, as when the elders  
>of Israel respectfully and beseechingly address $MUEL by SIMAH = SIM- 
>HI).
>There is, of course, no "paragogic" letters in Hebrew words.
>
>Isaac Fried, Boston University
>
>On Sep 24, 2007, at 12:56 AM, <pporta AT oham.net> <pporta AT oham.net> wrote:
>
>>There are some Imperative forms in the Bible that consist of three  
>>letters
>>of which the middle one is yud, which are, so to say, normal. I  
>>mean for
>>example LYN (Jdg 19:9) or &YM (Gn 24:2).
>>
>>But sometimes this type of Imperative takes a paragogic heh as in  
>>&YMH (1Sa
>>8:5) or $YTH (Ps 9:21) or RYBH (Ps 35:1)
>>
>>I'm wondering: as regards these latter, are these words as a rule  
>>always
>>oxytone?
>>
>>Pere Porta
>>Barcelona (Spain)
>