Page:Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar (1910 Kautzsch-Cowley edition).djvu/104

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when it stands in a closed syllable with quiescent Še after a preceding Seghôl or Pathaḥ, e.g. וַיֶּאְסֹר, נֶאְדָּר näʾdār, יַאְדִּ֫ימוּ yaʾdîmû. Even in such cases the consonantal power of א may be entirely lost, viz.

 [c (a) when it would stand with a long vowel in the middle of a word after Šewâ mobile. The long vowel is then occasionally thrown back into the place of the Še, and the א is only retained orthographically, as an indication of the etymology, e.g. רָאשִׁים heads (for reʾāšîm), מָאתַ֫יִם two hundred (for meʾātháyim), שָֽׁאטְךָ Ez 256 for שְׁאָֽטְךָ; בּוֹדָאם Neh 68 for בּֽוֹדְאָם; מאוּם Jb 317, Dn 14 for מְאוּם; פֻּארָה for פְּאֻרָה Is 1033; חֹטִאים ḥôṭîm, 1 S 1433 for חֹֽטְאִים (cf. § 74 h, and § 75 oo); הָֽראוּבֵנִי Nu 3414, from רְאוּבֵן; so always חַטֹּאת or חַטֹּאות 1 K 1416, Mi 15, &c., for חַטְּאוֹת. Sometimes a still more violent suppression of the א occurs at the beginning of a syllable, which then causes a further change in the preceding syllable, e.g. מְלָאכָה work for מַלְאָכָה (as in the Babylonian punctuation), יִשְׁמָעֵאל for יִשְׁמַעְאֵל; שְׂמֹאל or שְׂמֹאול the left hand, ground form simʾâl.

 [d (b) When it originally closed a syllable. In these cases א is generally (by § 22 m) pronounced with a Ḥaṭeph, ־ֲ or ־ֱ. The preceding short vowel is, however, sometimes lengthened and retains the following א only orthographically, e.g. וַיָּ֫אצֶל Nu 1125 for וַיַּֽאֲצֵל (cf. Ju 941), and פָּארוּר Jo 26 for פַּֽאֲרוּר; לֵאמֹר for לֶֽאֱמֹר; לִֽאלֹהִים for לֶֽאֱלֹהִים; but the contraction does not take place in לֶֽאֱלִילֶ֫יהָ Is 1011. The short vowel is retained, although the consonantal power of א is entirely lost, in וַֽאדֹנָי, &c. (see § 102 m), וַיַּאת Is 4125, וָֽאַבֶּדְךָ Ez 2816 for וָֽאֲאַבֶּדְךָ; cf. Dt 2410, 1 K 1139, Is 1013.

 [e Instead of this א which has lost its consonantal value, one of the vowel letters ו and י is often written according to the nature of the sound, the former with ô and the latter with ô and î, e.g. רֵים buffalo for רְאֵם. At the end of the word ה also is written for א, יְמַלֵּה he fills for יְמַלֵּא Jb 821 (see below, l).

 [f 3. When א is only preserved orthographically or as an indication of the etymology (quiescent), it is sometimes entirely dropped (cf. § 19 k), e.g. יָצָ֫תִי Jb 121 for יָצָ֫אתִי; מָלֵ֫תִי Jb 3218 for מָלֵאתִי; מָצָ֫תִי Nu 1111; וַתֹּ֫הֶז 2 S 209; וַיְרַפּוּ Jer 811 for וַיְרַפְּאוּ; וַתַּזְּרֵ֫נִי 2 S 2240, but וַתְּאַזְּרֵנִי ψ 1840; תּוֹמִם Gn 2524 for תְּאוֹמִם; אֲחַטֶּנָּה 3139, for , אֲחַטְּאֶנָּה; שֵֽׁלָתֵךְ 1 S 117 for שְׁאֵֽלָ״; רֵמִים ψ 2222 for רְאֵמִים; גֵּוָה Jb 2229 for גְּאֵוָה; הַבֵּֽרֹתִי 1 Ch 1139 for הַבְּאֵֽר״, and so 2 S 2337; שֵׁרִית 1 Ch 1238 for שְׁאֵרִית; לַהְשׁוֹת 2 K 1925 Kethîbh for לְהַשְׁאוֹת (cf. Is 3726); חֵמָה Jb 296 for חֶמְאָה.[1] In מַכֹּ֫לֶת

  1. In Jer 2223, נֵחַנְתְּ is unquestionably a corruption of ננחת for נֶֽאֱנַ֫חַתְּ.