Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Yitzhak Sapir <yitzhaksapir AT gmail.com>]

On Tue, May 11, 2010 at 11:27 AM, K Randolph wrote:
> Randall and Yitzhak:
>
> On Mon, May 10, 2010 at 6:35 PM, Randall Buth <randallbuth AT gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> >
>> > Karl apparently doesn't see that the Waw connects with the Aleph
>> > and is therefore longer.  Note that the Aleph's left leg has a "serif"
>> > going to the right and down, unlike all other Alephs...
>>
>
> I have a .pdf file from Tim Hegg with a photograph of the scrap. I noticed
> that the writer did not have the most even of hand writing, but that his
> waws were noticeably longer than his yods, and in the verse in question,
> that the yod stops short of reaching the aleph. In other words, there is a
> noticeable gap between the yod and the aleph.

I assume you are speaking of this pdf file:
http://www.torahresource.com/EnglishArticles/Ps22.16.pdf

This is the same photo as the second one of the Nahal Hever Psalms
scroll in the link I posted.

If you will view the photo under magnification, you will see that a few darker
pixels of the upper portion of the Waw and the Aleph touch each other.  It is
only a few pixels, and the lighter pixels around them mean that under low
magnification the display averages them up as a gap, but the darker pixels
do connect both parts.

However, more to the point, the Aleph's leg at the point twists at an angle.
In all other Alephs, the leg is a straight line, but here the twist
comes exactly
at the point where the Waw's line would be expected to continue.  This is an
important clue that there is indeed a Waw.  The Waw may not be visible
as a straight dark line due to various factors -- the ink may have
worn out, the
lighting arrangement used for the photo may be deceiving, etc.  This is why
it is important to take all clues into consideration when trying to decipher a
text, and also why it is important to see the text firsthand and to compare
several photos (done with different lighting arrangements) for the
best results.
Naturally, it may be hard to actually see the text firsthand, but this only
underscores the importance of taking all other clues and using as many
photos as possible.  In the end, the twist in the Aleph's leg is best 
explained
as the lower portion of the Waw.

In addition, the publication of these fragments often includes a detailed
discussion of the paleography and it is important to read these comments
by people who did have the opportunity to inspect the fragment directly.

> Are you taking post-Biblical Hebrew and applying it to Biblical Hebrew,
> again?

Actually, Karl, I think your reading here of yr)y is taking English and
applying it to Biblical Hebrew, again.

Yitzhak Sapir