Biblical Hebrew Forum

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

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