Hebrew Vowels CHAPTER 2 Introduction to Biblical Hebrew

Hebrew Vowels CHAPTER 2

Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Vowels (Niqqud) added by the Masoretes (500 -1000 AD) Earlier: vowel letters added, matres lectionis (mothers of reading) א and = ה a-class vowels י ו for e-class and i-class vowels for o-class and u-class vowels Short, Long and half-vowels Ketiv ( – )כתיב what is written; Qere ( – )קרי what is read

Vowels -- a-class Long Short Half א א (reducible) a א Qāmeṣ ā in far Pataḥ a in far Ḥatēf-pataḥ ă in attach

Vowels -- e-class e Long (reducible) Short אא Ṣerê ē in they Half א Seghôl e in set Ḥatēf-Seghôl ĕ in empire

Vowels -- i-class i Long (reducible) Short א Ḥîreq i in fit Half

Vowels -- o-class

Vowels -- u-class u Long (reducible) Short Half א Qibbûṣ u in rule פ e š vā’

Vowel Pointing with vowel letters ה , ו , and י האה Qāmeṣ Hê â in far אה / אה Seghôl / Ṣerê Hê ê in set / ê in they Ḥôlem Hê ô in so

Vowel Pointing with vowel letters ה , ו , and י י אי / אי Seghôl Yôd / Ṣere Yôd ê in set ê in they אי Ḥireq Yôd î in Marine

Vowel Pointing with vowel letters ה , ו , and י ו או Ḥôlem Vav ô in so Šûreq û in rule

Vowel List 1. Qāmeṣ 2. Qāmeṣ hê 3. Pataḥ 4. Ḥatēf-pataḥ ה “a” as in far ā “a” as in far â “a” as in far a “a” as in attach xă ( א Long) ( אה Long) ( א short) א (half vowel)

Vowel List 5. Ṣerê 6. Ṣerê Yôd 7. Seghôl 8. Seghôl Yôd 9. Ḥatēf-Seghôl י “e” as in they ē “e” as in they ê “e” as in set י “e” as in set ê “e” as in set xĕ א אי e אי א (long) (vowel let. ) א (short) (vowel let. ) (half vowel)

Vowel List 10. Ḥîreq 11. Ḥîreq Yôd 12. Ḥôlem 13. Ḥôlem Vāv “i” as in fit י ו i “i” as in ski î “o” as in so ō “o” as in so ( א short) ( אי vowel let. ) ( א long) ô ( או vowel let. ))

Vowel List 14. Qibbûṣ 15. Šûreq 16. Qāmeṣ Ḥatûf 17. Ḥatēf Qāmeṣ 18. Ševā’ ( א short) “u” as in rule û ( או vowel let. ) “o” as in so o ( א short) “o” as in commit xŏ ( א half vowel) “e” as in met xe ( א half vowel) “u” as in rule ו u

Hevenu Shalom Aleichem https: //youtu. be/JB 4 RMIWro. MY to you peace שלום עליכם we bring הבאנו

Open and Closed Syllables 1) Open syllable (begins with a consonant and finishes with a vowel, [CV =consonant vowel pattern] ש in שלום ) 2) Closed syllable (begins and ends with a consonant [CVC=consonant vowel consonant pattern] Tonic לום in שלום ). syllable is the syllable that is accented

Distinguish Qāmeṣ (a-class) and Qāmeṣ Ḥatûf (o-class) Qāmeṣ is an a-class long vowel ( שלום —šālôm) In contrast to Qāmeṣ Ḥatûf which is an o-class short vowel ( חכמה --ḥokmāh). The general rule is if it is in a closed unaccented syllable it is a Qāmeṣ Ḥatûf (short o-class). ( ) מתג which is a little vertical line to the left of the Qāmeṣ Meteg E. g. [ בתים bā] where the ב meteg indicates a Qāmeṣ is present not a Qāmeṣ Ḥatûf [bo]).

Dagesh Lene and Dagesh Forte A dagesh lene occurs in the begad kefat ( בגדכפת )בגדכפת letters A dagesh forte is used in letters as a doubling dot for letters other than the begad kefat letters. If, however, the begad kefat letter is preceded by a vowel then the dagesh in the begad kefat letter is a dagesh forte or doubling dagesh E. g. דבר ב follows a ḥîreq vowel (in ) ד so the dagesh in ב is a dagesh fore; transliterated dib|bēr).

Two Marks Mappîq (literally “causing to go out”) So תמה is transliterated with an “ah” (tāmah) whereas without the mappiq it is “â” as in ( חכמה ḥokmâ). Maqqēf מן־מלך (literally “binder” )as in meaning “from a king”).

Silent and Vocal e Š vā’ Silent ševā’s (not pronounced or transliterated) and Vocal ševā’s (pronounced like the “e” in “met, ” transliterated “e”). Rule: If the consonant to the right has a short vowel the ševā’ is silent (acts as a closed syllable [CVC] closer). If the vowel is long the ševā’ is vocal. for example in (לילה night), the initial pataḥ is short so the syllable is divided to the left of the silent ševā’ לילה לי׀לה If,

Silent and Vocal e Š vā’ If there are two ševā’s in a row inside a word the first is always silent and the second always vocal ( ישמרו יש׀מ׀רו they guarded or kept). If there is a ševā’ at the end of a word it is always silent שמרת gutturals ( )א ה ח ע ר cannot take simple ševā’s, they do take composite ševā’s ( ) א א א and seem to prefer pataḥ as their vowel of choice. While

Defective Writing of Vowels vowel letters ( ) י ה ו are accompanied by a vowel as seen in the vowel chart ( ) ו ו י י but rather frequently the vowel letter is dropped. This is called defective writing. The ( לי full) ( ל defective) ( לו full) ל (defective)

Gutturals and Furtive (stealthy Pataḥ) A pataḥ furtive is a hurried non-full pataḥ vowel may be placed on the guttural ע or ח that end a word. While the pataḥ furtive comes under the guttural it is transliterated before the consonant and superscripted like a Ḥatēf-pataḥ ( רוח transliterated rûaḥ, = wind, spirit)

Quiescent letters: א and ה Both of these when they start a syllable are taken as consonants. However, when א has no vowel it becomes quiescent (silent) and is not considered a consonant. When ה ends a word having no vowel after it, it becomes quiescent. הארץ – ה׀א׀רץ note the consonantal ה and א לילה – לי׀לה note the final quiescent ה בראשית ב׀רא׀שית – note the א quiescent

2. N. Speak and write Hebrew: טוב בוקר good morning טוב ערב good evening טוב good לילה night טוב מזל good fortune שלום Hello, good morning Hello שלום Hello, good evening Hello שלום Hello, good night Hello Good luck = congratulations!

Chapter 2 Vocabulary ארץ איש אשה דבר הלך land, earth, ground man, human woman, wife 2, 504 2, 185 781 word, matter, thing 1, 442 to go, walk 1, 547

Chapter 2 Vocabulary יהוה ם יו ישראל לא מלך Yahweh, Jehovah, LORD day, daylight, time Israel 6, 828 2, 300 2, 506 no, not 5, 185 king, ruler, prince 2, 528