Biblical Hebrew Forum

[jimstinehart AT aol.com]

Is an initial consonant cluster in Biblical Hebrew possible?
 
The normal rule in Hebrew, as to which I thought there were supposed to be 
few if any exceptions, is:  “There are no syllable-initial consonant 
clusters;  hence the shewa symbol under the first letter of a word must 
indicate a reduced vowel, not zero.”  But what about the feminine numeral 
‘two’:  $TYM?  “The feminine numeral ‘two’ has been a perennial problem of 
Biblical Hebrew orthography and phonology.”  Regarding this ‘perennial 
problem’, Robert D. Hoberman in a 1989 scholarly article shockingly suggests: 
 “In this paper it will be argued on comparative and typological grounds that 
the most likely interpretation is simply $tayim.”  
http://www.jstor.org/pss/544498
 
Do people agree with Robert Hoberman’s analysis?  Is $T + vowel pronounceable 
at the beginning of a Biblical Hebrew word as a single syllable, with no 
vowel sound at all implied either before or after the $?
 
Are syllable-initial consonant clusters like that possible in Biblical Hebrew?
 
In particular, if $R + vowel were possible as a single syllable in Biblical 
Hebrew, then one of my most cherished theories regarding the Patriarchal 
narratives would, I fear, be fatally wounded.
 
Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois