Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Jack Kilmon" <jkilmon AT historian.net>]

--------------------------------------------------
From: "Chavoux Luyt" <chavoux AT gmail.com>
Sent: Saturday, January 15, 2011 9:27 PM
To: <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: [b-hebrew] The pronunciation of YHVH

> Hi all
>
> I came across an earlier discussion on the pronuciation of the Name of
> YHVH, looking again at the evidence for the pronunciation as YAHWEH
> using early CE Greek manuscripts (now closed). I used to wonder how
> modern scholars cam to that particular pronuciation, as I would have
> expected something like YiHVeH from my meager Hebrew knowledge.
> Looking at the discussion there is one option that I did not see
> considered and I wondered what people with a better knowledge of
> Hebrew would make of it. Is it not possible for the Name to be in
> Pi'el form giving:
> Y'HaVeH (where the ' = sheva)? This would probably still look the same
> when transcibed in Greek, but made better sense to me of the Hebrew.
>
> Comments?
>
> Regards
> Chavoux Luyt


Hi Chavoux,

First, it must be emphasized that there was no such thing as a VAV in 
Biblical and ancient Hebrew.  It was created in Medieval Germany to 
accommodate the German pronunciation of W.

וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים אֶל־מֹשֶׁה אֶֽהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶֽהְיֶה וַיֹּאמֶר כֹּה תֹאמַר 
לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶֽהְיֶה שְׁלָחַנִי אֲלֵיכֶֽם׃

HYH is Hebrew but the root being discussed HWH is NOT...it is Aramaic.  A 
Hiph'il form of HYH is, as far as I know, non-attested.  There is an Hafel 
of HWH in Daniel 5:12 yod-heh-het-waw-heh  שָׂם־שְׁמֵ֖הּ בֵּלְטְשַׁאצַּ֑ר 
כְּעַ֛ן דָּנִיֵּ֥אל יִתְקְרֵ֖י וּפִשְׁרָ֥ה יְהַֽחֲוֵֽה׃ .
El and Yhwh may have been merged as an hypocoristicon. The Qal (as mention 
above) of hwh taken from a TITLE phrase as an hypocoristicon of EL, ala 
Albright and Cross?  A title like "El causes something to come into being". 
The use of HWH, therefore appears to be WAY down on the trunk of the NWSem 
tree where it became a loan word from Aramaic to early Hebrew.
The name, as actually pronounced, therfore and IMO, was YE (QAL FORM) HAWAH 
(root). Yehawah.

Jack

Jack Kilmon
San Antonio, TX