Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Isaac Fried <if AT math.bu.edu>]

The combination of the dagesh "lene" and the B K P letters bedevils  
the Hebrew language.
It is true that today Hebrew speakers may sometimes beneficially  
forfeit the "rules" of the dagesh "lene" to disconnect it from the  
hard/soft articulation and liberate themselves from exigencies yoke  
of the B K P letters. The best known example to this is the pair of  
words HI-T-XABER, 'connected himself', versus HI-T-XVER, 'associated  
himself', both from the root XBR.
Heh HA-$EELAH is almost completely out of favor in spoken Hebrew  
(except in quotes from the bible, such as the apt question HA-RACAX- 
TA V-GAM YARA$-TA? of 1Kings 21:19). It is punctuated usually (with  
exceptions) by a xatap-patax, and consequently with no following  
dagesh (in contrast with Heh HA-YDIAH punctuated with a patax, and  
therefore with a following dagesh). Yet I often hear the HA-FARX-AH  
HA-GEFEN of Cant. 6:11 being read HA-PARX-AH, with a hard P.
The letter B of the word MA-RBAD-IYM (MA-RVAD-IYM) of Proverbs 7:16  
lacks a dagesh, and the question is why. I don't think it is because  
the NAQDANIYM "heard" it so.

Isaac Fried, Boston University

On May 12, 2011, at 1:58 AM, Pere Porta wrote:

> There are some cases, Isaac, where a begadkefat lacks dagesh lene.  
> This only means, methinks, that the consonant must be said/read soft:
>
> -Kalvan, dog rearer  (... not kalBan)
> -Katvan, clerk (not KatBan)
>
> These are mainly (or only?) job doers.
>
> Regards
>
> Pere Porta
>
> 2011/5/11 Isaac Fried <if AT math.bu.edu>
> If you mean MA-XMAD-IY, then the dagesh in the D is after a patax  
> as expected. In the word MA-RBAD-IYM ( in my opinion a variant of  
> MA-RBAC-IYM) the D is with a dagesh after a patax, as expected, but  
> the lack of a dagesh "lene" in the B is puzzling. I think that the  
> lack of a dagesh implies that the NAKDANIYM deviated here from the  
> reading of the earlier DAG$ANIYM.
>
> Isaac Fried, Boston University
>
> On May 11, 2011, at 10:25 AM, Pere Porta wrote:
>
> > There are nine MA- nouns which in their declension take a dagesh  
> > forte in
> > the last consonant of the stem.
> > They are:
> >
> > MXMD, desire
> > MXMC, xxx
> > MXCB, hewing
> > MX$K, dark place -- Is 42:16
> > M+(M, savoury food
> > MMTQ, a sweet thing
> > MN(M, delicacy
> > MRBD, coverlet
> > M$)B, a drawing place of water
> >
> > Which is the reason for this dagesh?
> >
> > Pere Porta
> > (Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain)
> >
> >
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> >
> > --
> > Pere Porta
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>
>
>
> --
> Pere Porta