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  • From: George Athas <George.Athas AT moore.edu.au>
  • To: B-Hebrew <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [b-hebrew] The vowels of אֶחָד
  • Date: Fri, 8 Apr 2011 09:46:36 +0000

Pere, I've started a new thread for your question. The basic question is, as
you stated, why אֶחָד 9 ('one') has seghol and not sere in the first syllable
since, as the first syllable is open, one would expect a long vowel, like
sere.

I notice another example of this phenomenon in the word כֶּחָשׁ ('lying').

In these instances, we have to conclude that the first syllable of the word
is actually closed, not open. In both אֶחָד and כֶּחָשׁ, the second
consonant is heth, which often undergoes virtual doubling. We see this
occurring when the definite article is added to a noun beginning with heth.
Thus, for both these nouns, we actually have a double-heth, but it is not
actually marked.


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




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