Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Charles Grebe <cgrebe AT briercrest.ca>]

חברים

I have a question about the word בלבבך in 2 Samuel 7:3. Is the qamets there a 
long "a" qamets or the short "o" qamets-hatuph? I would assume it is 
pronounced with the long "a" qamets but it seems to violate the basic rule 
that I usually use to distinguish qamets from qamets-hatuph, namely that if 
this vowel symbol occurs in an unaccented closed syllable then it is a 
qamets-hatuph? 

So my question is which one is it? If it is a qamets, then is the above rule 
violated or is there something else going on here?

thanks,

Charles Grebe 
Director of Continuing and Distance Education 
Briercrest College and Seminary 
Caronport, SK