Biblical Hebrew Forum

[George Athas <George.Athas AT moore.edu.au>]

Pere Porta asked:

Why do you assume that the first sere should be reduced to hatef patah in 
your view?
Why not to hatef segol?
Would it not be more logical that a sere becomes hatef segol (and not hatef 
patah) when reduced?


Answer:

Vowel reduction turns a qamets or sere into a shewa. If that shewa is beneath 
a guttural, it will usually become a hatef patah, since gutturals generally 
prefer A-class vowels. In any case, though, I'd still be comfortable with a 
hatef segol. My question is, why doesn't it?


GEORGE ATHAS
Moore Theological College (Sydney, Australia)
www.moore.edu.au