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  • From: jimstinehart AT aol.com
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [b-hebrew] Initial Consonant Clusters in Biblical Hebrew
  • Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2010 22:38:38 -0400


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




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