Biblical Hebrew Forum

[James Christian <jc.bhebrew AT googlemail.com>]

Hi,

thanks for that. I just checked out the fragment you mentioned
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rak//lxxjewpap/4QLevB.jpg YHWH is transcribed as
IAW (Iota, alpha, omega). This would suggest Yahow just like the theorphoric
names we've mentioned and seems to support Yahow... variants rather than
Yahweh.

James Christian

2010/1/16 Yitzhak Sapir <yitzhaksapir AT gmail.com>

> Hello Dave,
>
> I have previously suggested that yhwh represented a name of a qatl form.
> Such a form is probably the most common form for deity names including
> Baal, Shamsh, Yamm, perhaps Qaws, and other deities.  It would also serve
> to provide an explanation for the differing forms.  Personal names
> generally
> have an aleph ending (in the north) or an he ending (in the south) when we
> are dealing with qatl bases, including deities.  For example, we have names
> like B(l) in the north.  Given this the differing forms would be:
>
> yhw = In Kuntillet Ajrud, yahwu.  Later, yaho < *yahwu
> yhwh = yahwa(h) - Judea/Moab
> yhw) = yahwa(h) - Yehu, whose name is transliterated in Assyrian as ia-u-a
> yh = In Iron Age, yaho, Later, yah < *yaho < *yahwu
> yw- prefix = ya(:)wu < *yahwu
>
> yw- prefixes appear alongside yhw- prefixes very early, almost as soon as
> Yahwistic names begin to appear.  This implies both that the -w- is
> probably
>  consonantal (as internal -w- matres lectionis were not used at that time),
> and
> also suggests that there is no vowel following the he (or it would be hard
> to
> explain the alternative forms).
>
> The above goes well with two pieces of evidence we have from the
> turn of the eras:
> 4QLXXLev-b, which transliterates the name into greek (apparently
> suggesting *yaho).
> See: http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rak/temp/Connect-Dots.html
> for images
> See also YHWH Texts and Monotheism, by David Capes for discussion
> http://books.google.com/books?id=TxZK1Le1DpkC&pg=PA120
>
> And also, the Mishnah from which we have the vocalization apparently as
> whw/whw).
>
> Note that already at this time we see the practice of replacing the name
> with Adonai, which I suggest is also apparent in Amos 7:7.
>
> Now, yahwe/yahwai might reflect a northern pronunciation, reflecting
> different independent lines of pronunciations, all passing down from
> yahw- as a qatl deity name.  (The ai may be a similar suffix as in
> Adonai).
>
> However, all this evidence for a Greek pronunciation stands apart from
> 4QLXXLev-b, and the Mishnah, due to the respective dating.  Some
> various online sources mention Samaritan inscriptions in Greek that
> have iabe, but I found no corroboration for that.  (If so, it might move
> this to the earlier category).
>
> Yitzhak Sapir
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