Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Uri Hurwitz <uhurwitz AT yahoo.com>]

  As mentioned, there is different pointing under the 'he'.

  Under the interrogative 'he' is a 'hataf patah' as in the examples noted in 
Genesis 4:7 or Job 10 etc.

  The pointing under the article 'he' is a 'patah'.

  Historically before the consonantal text of the Hebrew Bible was written 
down, the proto-Semitic article must have had two letters in Hebrew just as 
the Arabic retains two letters in the article to the present day. Eventually, 
the second letter of the article assimilated with the first letter of the 
noun which it modified. A trace of this assimilation was preserved in the 
pronounciation still heard by the Masoretes and thus the 'dagesh' in the 
letter following the 'he'. Of course, if the first letter of the Hebrew word 
is a gutteral different pronounciation occurs. 

  It is of interest that the exact same process exists in Arabic to this day 
when the two letters of the article proceed certain letters of the alphabet. 

                   Uri Hurwitz
                   Great Neck, New York