While no reconstruction of Iron Age pronounciation
is unquestionable, in this instance the final
long O of the F. plural may indeed be pre-exilic.
There is evidence of a change from an early long A
to a long O in what became biblical Hebrew. An example:
"Tsan" (Ts = Tsadi) became "Tson", i.e. flocks of sheep
or goats in BH. In both cases the vowel is long.
Also, Cf. the plural "Barakat", where last vowel is
long in Arabic.
Kol Tuv,
Uri Hurwitz Wilmington, VT
> b(e)rakot [not ever berakawote !]
> Randall
>
Because of the dropped unstressed vowels and changes over the centuries, we
don‘t know what was the pronunciation of ברכות. But we know it was not
‘b(e)rakot’.