Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Jason Hare <jaihare AT gmail.com>]

Kirk,

I had thought it might be pausal, which I would also expect to be
/yishpOtu/, but it's not in final position. The pronoun HM follows it.
Would this not limit the use of syllable lengthening? Wouldn't we
expect to find this only if Y$PW+W came final in the clause?

Thanks for your response so far.

Jason Hare
Rehovot, Israel

2009/2/8 Kirk Lowery <klowery AT whi.wts.edu>:
> Jason Hare wrote:
>> Exodus 18:26
>> וְשָׁפְטוּ אֶת-הָעָם בְּכָל-עֵת אֶת-הַדָּבָר הַקָּשֶׁה יְבִיאוּן
>> אֶל-מֹשֶׁה וְכָל-הַדָּבָר הַקָּטֹן יִשְׁפּוּטוּ הֵם׃
>> W$P+W )T-H(M BKL-(T )T-HDBR HQ$H YBY)WN )L-M$H WKL-HDBR HQ+N Y$PW+W HM
>>
>> I'm just wondering what the form Y$PW+W is there. Shouldn't it be
>> יִשְׁפְּטוּ Y$P+W instead of יִשְׁפּוּטוּ Y$PW+W? Is there a special
>> significance to this form?
>
> According to Gesenius-Kautzsch-Cowley (§47g), it is an "anomalous" pausal 
> form
> with  long û, where the expected pausal form would be  ‏יִשְׁפּ֫וֹטוּ‎ 
> Y.$:P.OW+W.
> "...in virtue of a retrogressive effect of the pause;" although I'm not sure
> what he means by that. Some sort of phonological effect of the 
> accentuation, I
> suppose. I also don't understand the reference to "pausal" form, since it 
> is the
> next word, H"M, that has silluq. Perhaps he is thinking that H"M would have
> originally been suffixed to the verb. Or this "pausal" influence is
> "retrogressive" from the silluq. Yeah, that's probably what he means.
>
> Two other places are cited for similar pausal forms:
>
> Ruth 2:8 - ‏תַעֲבוּרִ֖י T"(:ABW.RIY
>
> Proverbs 14:3 -  ‏תִּשְׁמוּרֵֽם‎ T.$:MW.RFM
>
> One could also speculate there was a textual error in the transmission of 
> the
> vocalization. No manuscript evidence, however.
>
> Blessings,
>
> Kirk
> --
> Kirk E. Lowery, PhD, Director
> The J. Alan Groves Center for Advanced Biblical Research
> Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia
> --
> "While religion prescribes brotherly love in the relations among
> the individuals and groups, the actual spectacle more resembles
> a battlefield than an orchestra."
>                                         -- Albert Einstein
>