Biblical Hebrew Forum

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

1. The kaf is the first letter of the syllable only if you make it so. "Opening" and "closing" syllables is an irrelevant and arbitrary game in Hebrew.

2. In my opinion there is no such thing as "it should have had a dagesh". The dagesh was, or was not, there before the NIYQUD. 

3. The kaf is fricative because you make it so.

Isaac Fried, Boston University

On Jun 3, 2013, at 3:20 AM, Rolf wrote:

The kaf is the first letter of the syllable, and because it has no preceding vowel, it should have had a dagesh and have been a stop, according to Masoretic rules. But it is fricative because other forms of MLK have a vowel before the kaf.