Biblical Hebrew Forum

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

1. Of course it is rashi; roshi is 'my head'.

2. There is no such thing as a qamatz qatan or qamatz gadol or qamatz  
beinoni, or who knows what. If someone wants to read MATNAYIM,  
'loins', as MOTNAYIM to make it agree with the singular MOTEN, that's  
fine, but let him please leave out this pilpulistic gimmick, this  
TIXMUN, of the qamatz qatan and qamatz gadol. You want to read  
לְחָרְבוֹת חֹרֶב as LXORBOT XOREB for good cadence,  
this is also fine, the NIKUD was not given to Moses on mount Sinai.

3. The Hebrew dictionary of Even Shoshan spells it צוהריים

Isaac Fried, Boston University

On Jan 21, 2012, at 9:45 PM, Uri Hurwitz wrote:

>   Curiuous: how do you pronounce 'Chief Rabbi'  - rav rashi or  
> roshi? Most people say the former in normal speech.
>
>  I think this is because the qamatz qatan is written exactly like  
> the other qamatz.
>
>  But then 'language is not mathematics'  - note the pronounciation  
> of  'hodshi'
> where the vowel of the singular Hodesh is preserved despite the  
> hataf qamatz - this seemingly refutes the first example above.
>
>   And yes, Tsohorayim became Tsaharayim a long time ago. Here again  
> for the same reason that the Rav became Rashi.
>
>
>
>   Uri
>
>
> 2. I don't know what is the origin or purpose of this O reading for  
> some qamats', but interestingly enough, the word CAHARAYIM  
> צהרים 'noon', is now commonly pronounced CAHARAYIM and not  
> COHORAYIM,