Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Garth Grenache <garthgrenache AT hotmail.com>]

Dear all,

Concerning interpretations of Clement's Greek transliteration IAOUE, it has 
been said on this forum: "...one that seems very unlikely to me from this 
transliteration is ?Yahweh? as I recognize at least three syllables in it."

Must IAOUE represent 3+ syllables?

A Greek string of vowel letters like Clement's IAOUE *may* be interpreted as 
having more than 2 syllables: this I do not deny.  

But it is likewise undeniable IAOUE could represent 2 syllables IA-OUE: 
Yah-we(h), for example.


Here is evidence that IA can represent a single syllable, Ya(h):

 *Greek form ALLHLOUIA shows that IA can transliterate 'Ya(h)' (Rev 19:1)
 *NEEMIA- & AKHALIA (Neh 10:1)
 *IEREMIA- & SOPHONIA- (Jer 21:1)

In all the above Hebrew names, the syllable preceding the 'Yah' is closed and 
no 'i' vowel is reckoned or pointed before the 'Yah'.

And if the above aren't enough, we have many more examples of IA for 'ya':
*IAKWB for Ya`(a)qob
*IABIS for Yabesh
*IAKHIN for Yakin
*IAIR for Ya'ir...  
...surely nobody still doubts that Greek IA is used to represent 'ya'?


It should also be noted from Greek transliteration, ALLHLOUIA, that the 
digraph (two letter combination) OU in Koine Greek had long come to be used 
for a *single* *pure* closed back sound.  The digraph OU was a *monophthong*, 
a pure vowel sound, in Attic Greek and Koine Greek, representing ONE sound; 
it was *not* a diphthong: it did *not* represent a combination of two vowel 
(o + u) sounds.  This closed back digraph OU usually represented the long *u 
vowel* as in HalleluYah, but could also be used to represent the *semivowel 
w* as demonstrated below.


Evidence that Greek -OUE could represent a single syllable, -w(e):

 *Greek OUAU transliterates waw in Psalm 118:41.
[This demonstrates that 'w' is represented by Greek OU and 'aw' is 
represented by AU. AU is a Greek diphthong for the combination of the sound 
of 'a' with the pure back 'u' sound which, when it doesn't immediately follow 
'a' or 'e', is elsewhere represented by OU.] 
 *Greek AOUE transliterates 'ah(a)wa in Ezra 8:21&31.  
[The medial (a) here is an unphonemic, epenthetic vowel, the reduced patach, 
which is also often found in peh-gutteral two-syllable Imperfectives.  Some 
scholar's include it in their reconstructed Hebrew forms of "Yah(a)weh".]
[Note that in AOUE, AU is not used because there is a consonantal 'h' between 
the 'a' sound and the 'u' sound, just as has been proposed for Yahwe(h).]
 *Greek THEKOUE transliterates Tiqwah in 2Ki 22:14 & Ezr 10:15.
 *Greek SILOUANOS transliterates Roman SILVANUS, wherein Latin 'v' 
represented semivowel 'w'.
 *Greek BAGOUI transliterates bagwai/bigwai in Ezra 2:2.


The above list evidences that Greek digraph OU is used to transliterate 'w'.


Ladies and gentlemen, 
I have set evidence before you that:
 *Greek IA can represent a single syllable Ya(h), and 
 *Greek OUE can represent a single syllable w(e).

Therefore it cannot be denied that the sequence IAOUE may represent 2 
syllables: Yah-we(h)  
Whilst other interpretations are possible, a 2-syllable interpretation is 
neither impossible, difficult or unlikely.


One piece of evidence that stands out is that 'ah(a)wa was transliterated 
AOUE.
 'ah-wa  A-OUE
Then what would 'Yahweh' be transliterated as?
 yah-wa  ?????
Is not IA-OUE the most sensible answer?
[As an aside, if 'ah(a)wa can be transliterated as AOUE, then I can't rule 
out the possibility that Clement was transliterating Yahwa(h), although I do 
accept (from the magical papyri and 'Samaritan' evidence) that some 
syncretists were calling Him YaHWe(h).]

Conclusion:  No.  Clement's Greek form IAOUE need not represent 3+ syllables.
IAOUE is the way we'd *expect* 'Yahweh' to be represented in a language which 
uses I for 'y' and OU for 'w'!


Kind regards,
Garth Grenache.



                                          
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