from the ground-form qaṭl, when combined with singular suffixes, e.g. צִדְקִי my rIghteousness, for ṣadqî.
[t] (b) In a loosely-closed syllable, i.e. one followed by an aspirated Begadkephath, as דִּמְכֶם your blood, for דַּמְכֶם, and so commonly in the st. constr. plur. of segholates from the ground-form qaṭl, e.g. בִּגְדֵי from בֶּגֶד (ground-form bagd) a garment. In most cases of this kind the attenuation is easily intelligible from the nature of the surrounding consonants. It is evident from a comparison of the dialects, that the attenuation was consistently carried out in a very large number of noun and verb-forms in Hebrew, as will be shown in the proper places.[1]
[u] 4. Seghôl arises, in addition to the cases mentioned in o and p, also from the weakening of ā of the final syllable in the isolated cases (־ֶה for ־ָה) in 1 S 2815 (? see § 48 d), ψ 204 (?), Is 595, Pr 2414 (see § 48 l); for examples of Locative forms in ־ֶה see § 90 i end.
[v] 5. Among the Ḥaṭaeph-sounds ־ֲ is shorter and lighter than ־ֱ, and consequently the vowel group ־ַֽ ־ֲ is shorter than ־ֶֽ ־ֱ; e.g. אֱדוֹם Edom, but אֲדֹמִ֫י (Edomite), shortened at the beginning because the tone is thrown forward; אֱמֶ֫ת (ʾemèth) truth, אֲמִתּ֫וֹ his truth; נֶֽעֱלָ֫ם hidden, pl. נַֽעֲלָמִ֫ים; הֶֽעֱבַ֫רְתִּי but וְהַֽעֲבַרְתִּ֫י; but also conversely נַֽעֲשָׂה fem. נֶעֱשְׂתָה cf. § 63 f, 3.
[w] 6. To the chapter on vowel changes belongs lastly the dissimilation of vowels, i.e. the change of one vowel into another entirely heterogeneous, in order to prevent two similar, or closely related vowels, from following one another in the same word.[2] Hence לוּלֵא for lû lô (unless). Cf. also חִיצוֹן from חוּץ; רִאשׁוֹן from רֹאשׁ; תִּיכוֹן from תּוֹךְ; נִכְחוֹ from נֹ֫כַח; עֵירֹם from stem עוּר; most probably also יִלּוֹד offspring, קִפּוֹד porcupine, for יֻלּ׳, קֻפּ׳, see § 68 c, note.—On the proper names יֵהוּא and יֵשׁוּעַ, which were formerly explained in the same way, see now Prätorius, ZDMG. 1905, p. 341 f.
[a] 1. According to § 26 m a half-syllable, i.e. a consonant with Šewâ mobile (always weakened from a short vowel), can only occur in close dependence on a full syllable. If another half-syllable with simple Šewâ follows, the first takes a full short vowel again.[3] This vowel is almost always Ḥireq. In most cases it is probably an attenuation of an original ă, and never a mere helping vowel. In some instances analogy may have led to the choice of the ĭ. Thus, according to § 102 d, the prefixes בְּ, כְּ, לְ before a consonant with Šewâ mobile become בִּ, כִּ, לִ, e.g. בִּפְרִי, כִּפְרִי, לִפְרִי; before יְ they are pointed as in בִּֽיהוּרָה (from bi-yehedûā, according to § 24 c); so too with Wāw copulative, e.g. וִֽיהוּרָה for וִיְ׳ attenuated from וַי׳. The first half-
- ↑ Analogous to this attenuation of ă to ĭ is the Lat. tango, attingo; laxus, prolixus; to the transition of ă to ĕ (see above, a), the Lat. carpo, decerpo; spargo, conspergo.
- ↑ Cf. Barth, Die Nominalbildung in den semit. Spr., p. xxix; A. Müller, Theol. Stud. u. Krit., 1892, p. 177 f., and Nestle, ibid., p. 573 f.
- ↑ Except וְ and, which generally becomes וּ before a simple Šewâ, cf. § 104 c.
