Dear Kelton,
Arguments in favor of a particular pronunciation of a word can be tricky,
because pronunciation change through time, and even at the same time there
may be different ways of pronouncing the same word.
In any case, what we can learn regarding syllable number and pronunciation
must come from Hebrew sources, and not from Greek and Latin or other
languages. Not even Aramaic, that is so close to Hebrew, is a good
candidate, because of the phonological differences between the two
languages. So we must go to the text of the Tanach and see what we find -
and we find names.
The prefix JO evidently is an abbreviation of JE:HO and the suffix YFH is an
abbreviation of YAHU. The important point is that a plene O occurs in the
second syllable when the first part of the divine name is not abbreviated.
That the vowel O occurs in the first syllable of an abbreviated form does
not lead us is another direction, because pronunciation should be construed
on the basis of the full form. The evidence of theophoric names is not
conclusive, but it is the best we have. And it suggests that the divine name
had at least three syllables and that the vowel of the second syllable was
O.
Best regards,
Rolf Furuli
University of Oslo
----- Original Message -----
From: <kgraham0938 AT comcast.net>
To: <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Saturday, January 07, 2006 11:05 PM
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Theophoric Name: Y:HOWYFQIYM
> @Rolf,
>
> Sorry I am coming in on the tail end of this one, so excuse me if I am
> off. But I always wondered why people try to figure out YHWH name based
> off the other Hebrew names since not all the Hebrew names, that contain
> the divine in them have the W as the second syllable. Some have it as the
> first syllable, like say Joah.
>
> Also there are other names like Jehu where the W is not a holem/vav but
> rather a shureq. Personally, I think the Hebrew names are too
> inconsistant to try to figure it out.
> --
> Kelton Graham
> KGRAHAM0938 AT comcast.net
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