Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Yitzhak Sapir" <yitzhaksapir AT gmail.com>]

On Thu, Dec 18, 2008 at 4:52 PM, David Hamuel wrote:
> Yitzhak,
>
>> I understand that Breuer does not list
> this verse in his list of variants...
>
> Which list?

Breuer, M.  תורה, נביאים, כתובים, מוגהים על פי הנוסח והמסורה
של כתר ארם-צובה וכתבי יד הקרובים לו (ירושלים תשל"ז-תשמ"ב)

The Mosad Harav Kook Daat Mikra series used his vocalization
and cantillation, and there is a detailed list of all the variants in
the section titled "הנוסח ומקורותיו" -- The Text and its Sources.
I correct myself on my comment here in a bit.

>> any example of dependable Tiberian
> vocalization that has darga?
>
> What is dependable?

From Emanuel Tov's The Textual Criticism of the Bible: An
Introduction, the Hebrew first edition, he lists on p. 36-37
various manuscripts:
1) The Aleppo codex (from approx. 925 CE)
2) Leningrad B19A from 1009 CE.
3) BM Or. 4445 (first half of 10th century)
4) Cairo Prophets from 896 CE.
5) Sasson 507 (10th century)
6) Sasson 1053 (10th century)

The Daat Mikra list notes that Leningrad and Sasson 507
read a merkha, but that Mikraot Gdolot (apparently the
Ben Hayyim edition), which Breuer used has a darga.
Breuer also uses a Masora Gdola comment as a witness
for a merkha, and in view of the 3 witnesses for merkha on
the verse, has a merkha.

Indeed, Mikraot Gdolot does have a darga (p. 84):
http://jnul.huji.ac.il/dl/books/djvu/1268184-1/index.djvu?djvuopts&thumbnails=yes&zoom=page
As I said, Breuer also notes a Masora Gdola comment on
Ex 21:36.  Perhaps this is what you meant by "vav zugin."
The Masora comment there reads: "13 zugin mithalfin
betaamaya" -- in 13 pairs, the cantillation changes.  The
Masora further explains, see p. 184 in the above link:
"In 13 places the servant is darga even though there is
only one vowel between the two words."  Obviously,
Ex 21:36 is a good example of one syllable - "shor",
yet the Mikraot Gdolot still has a darga, not a merkha.
A contrasting example is Gen 5:29 - )t $mw, where the
shin has a vocal schewa.  Here we have darga, as per the
rule.   Since Gen 34:11 is not listed among those
verses which have a darga although there is only one
syllable, Breuer places the Masora Gdola comment as
a witness for a merkha on 34:11.

Yitzhak Sapir