CALIfORhMA ^ A GRAMMAR OF THE HEBREW LANGUAGE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, BY GEO. HENRY AUG. EWALD, DU. PHILOS. rROFESSOR OF OUIENTAL LITEIIATLUE I> THE LiMVERSITV OF GOTTINCEN, MEMBER OF THE ROVAl, SOCIETY OF THE SAME , OF THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY OF PARIS , OF THE IMPERIAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF PETERSBURG , OF THE HISTORICO - THEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LEIPSIC ETC. ETC. ETC. TRANSLATED FROM THE LAST EDITION, AND ENRICHED WITH LATER ADDITIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS OFTHEAUTHOR, BY JOHN NICHOLSOIV, A. B. OXON. PUBLISHED BY WHITTAKER AND CO. LONDON, 1856. w- IMMNTF.D AT GnTTINGKN liV DIHTKRiril , I'M VKRSITV PRINTHR. pJA^I^i t??-' ACE. T. he last forty years are memorable Iii the history of literature for the astonishing progress which has been made in every bi^auch of philological learning. From this period is to be dated the commencement of that philosophical me- thod , which, by treating language as an end as well^means, has first discovered its foundation in the structure of the mind and the laws of thought, and, by tracing the aflinities which exist between the diiferent families of language, has rendered it the best commentary on the history of the human race, at the same time that it has extended and established the cer- tainty of its use as means. Granunar especially has derived great advantage from this enlargement of our view of language. It has received the new honour of being wailed on by philosophy, and has been raised to the rank of a science. It is now no longer enough for a Grammar to contain a mere collection of the pheno- mena of a language as to its forms and syntax; but it must show lioiv the forms have arived at their present state; it must endeavour to attain a correct feeling of the sense which every word has on account of its form; it must trace how time and the fortune of the nation have modified its native type; and lastly, must show how all its syntactical peculiari- ties are founded on the laws of thought, and that there is nothing arbitrary or accidental in them, but that every language is in harmony with itself, and , like every plant or animal, acknowledges its conformity to certain eternal laws, even in its departure from the particular organization and laws of others. Less than this will not satisfy the demands of our age. The Greek language was the first whose Grammar received the effects of this new spirit; but it was not long before the Latin also was brought up to the same standard. The names O, 93C IV Preface. of Bi'TTMw:?, Matthiae , TiiiKRscn, Zumpt, Grotefekd, and nianv ollicrs. are more or less known to the l-^nglisli reader, as proiiiulcrs and fomulers oC llie iinprovonienls Mhkli liave been inlrotlnced inlo llic stmly of the classical languages. Il ^vas to be expected tlial tlie OrleiUal languages ^vould nol Avail long before they also received the fruits of that principle Avhich had been so successfully applied to the class- ical languages. For the advanced state of classical philology rendered il necessary that the grannnars of the Oriental lan- guages should be raised to the same standard : and we ac- corih'ngly fuid that Oriental Lexicograjjliy and Grammar, the publication of original texts, the establishment of Professorships, and the cncreased study of these languages, have received an impulse proportionate to that Avhich has animated all other jihilology during this period. The names of von Schlegkl, Gksexius, Freytag, Kosegahtkx, Lassen", Borr, Piosex, AYixer, EvVALi), and others too numerous to mention, are knoAvn •wherever there is any study of the languages they have il- lustrated. So large a proportion of those by Avhose labours philo- logy lias been really advanced in our day, are Germans, that it is not uninteresting to encpiirc Avhy it is tliat philolog}'" in general has found its most ardent cidlivators in Germany. It is indeed probable that many causes conspire to foster this study, such as Protestantism, their University system, the patronage of their govcrnients , and the absence of the en- gi'Ossing interest of extensive commerce and political discussion. But the chief external cause appears to be their Avise and liberal system of education; and it is purposed to oifer a few observations on that , oidy Avith reference to its clfecls on Oriental literaliu'e ; for though the cncreased cultivation of Oriental languages is unc|ueslionably dependent on the ad- vanced state of all other philology, yet classical literature must necessarily be excluded as irrelevant to my purpose. It will be very easy to conjecture the one from the otlier; ex pecle HerculejJi. r.very University in Protestant Germany, in all of Avhich Theology is taught (and there are sixteen such) has at least one Professor of Oriental literature. The mode in which he communicates his instruction is by lecture, in which the stu- dent is a mere auditor. There are two academical sessions in a year, and he lectures five or six limes a week on any book of the old Testament he pleases ; accordingly, the Psalms, or Isaiah, form as much as can be conveniently delivered iu Preface. V a semester. But, as all those who are intended foi' the study of Theology , are taught Hebrew at the Gymnasium , before they come to the University, tlie lectures on Hebrew may be, and are , as little occupied witli the grammatical difficulties of a mere beginner, as those of a chissical Professor on Homer. Thus the student, already grounded in the essentials of the language, is at once lifted up above the narrow view he liad formed of the inapproachabilily of the language, by hearing it pronounced, translated, and explained by one whose long familiarity with it gives him lluency, and whose experience gives him facility in resolving the difficidlies. The language is no longer so dead to liim, so far removed from his feeling and instinct of a living, spoken language^ as it would be if he heard it spelt by his feliowsiudents , and stripped of all life and beauty by their mistakes. He not only hears it free from the errors which rob the most sublime poetry of its charm, but he hears it delivered in a manner which would awake a sense for its beauty, if he did not feel it before. The zeal and enthusiasm of the Professor (and seldom is he without zeal) communicate themselves to the student, and by their very example create a warmer interest in the subject, and inspire that ardour wilhout which no study, whose external rewards are small, can prosper. The etlect of the Professor's reputation , if he be one whose name has traversed Europe, is not without influence on the minds of the young, prone to admiration , and excites an interest in his person which is reflected to his lectures. The very interest which the Professor excites, reacts upon himself. As almost every word which he utters is written down by the students, he is listened to with an attention which forms the best encouragement to him to exert his best powers. He is himself so acted on by his hearers, that he is ensured against indifference to the matter or manner of his lecture, and can never fall into an apathy which benumbs the ardour the student brings with him. — To this is to be added, that the Professor is not a man who assumes the task of public teaching late in life and wilhout previous practice. For the system of a German University is to have tliree orders of teachers : Ordinary and Extraor- dinary Professors , and private lecturers. Any student who, after having taken his degree, determines to devote himself to academical life, undergoes another examination and establishes himself as a private lecturer. He may then possibly lecture the first few Semesters gratuitously, until he has acquired sufficient reputation to enlille him to demand a fee. But, as this class of private teachers begin, as young men, tlie same method of instruction by lecture which the Professors use, and as almost every Professor has been first a private lecturer, VI P r c f a c c. tlie consequence is , thai Ihc riofessor comes to the cathedra long cxpeiicnced in the iiiotle of tcacliing by h^cluic. JNloreover, this regiihilion -with regard to llie three orders of teachers is allendcil by tliese advantages : first, as there is no limit to llie number of private lecturers, there is no likelihood of anv branch of knowledge having too few to teach it, — and secondly, it is an impossibility for patronage to appoint a driveller and to give liim the monopoly of instruction in his bi-anch ; for, as the testimonial of liaving attended a pri- vate lecturer is quite as valiil as that of liaving attended a Professor, the student will alwavs attend those teachers which he prefers, and thus fnisiralc any attempt of the Govern- ment to jM-ovidc for a favorite at the expeuce of the interests of science. This , it may be observed , is also a security against any Professor continuing to lecture -when lie is super- nimuated. — Again, every Goverment seems to be aware that it best answers its own olijects by appointing the very best Professors that can be ol^lained throughout the ■whole of Germany. For there is so great a competition between the dillerent Universities, that any Government >Yliich filled the Professor's chairs AVith court favorites, would soon find the University deserted. In fact , there is a perpetual endeavour to obtain the most dislinguisiied men from other Universities bv the od'er of higher emoluments etc. ; — and this forms an inducement for a private lecturer in the smallest University to exert himself in order to obtain a call to a larger sphere of operation , just as the existence of private lecturers in all Uni- versities forms a perpetual stimulus to the Professor to main- tain the eminence he has already attained. — Add to this that the JMalriculation-^fee (in no University exceeding one pound sterling) entitles the Student to the use of six books at a time from the University Library, iu his own rooms, and wllliuut further expcncc. Hebrew is taught at the Gymuaslinn in the first two (sometinics first throe) classes. The Gymnasiast, before he leaves the Gymnasium, undergoes an examination of maturity, in which he is expected to be able to construe any passage in the prosaical liooks of the old Testament. Then , after he lias linislied his studies at the University, he must undergo two (in the Hanoverian dominion, tJiree.) examinations in Hebrew before he is admitted to any clerical office. This of itself xin- doubtedly fos'ers the study of Hel)rew more than any thing else. P>ul this regulation on the part of the Governments is not to be regardetl only as the cause thai Hebrew is so 'much cullivaled here; il is also, in part, ihc ej[ject of ihe high de- gree of iiilliNation which every branch of education receives Preface. Vii here, wluch perfectly juslifics Ihc Government in requiring llie tlieological student not to be the only laggard in the race. As the student, therefore, comes to the University with a sound preparation in Hebrew, and as he finds lectures on Arabic, Syriac, Sanscrit etc., and generally gratuitous, it is easily luiderstood why, if he has any zeal in such studies, lie avails himself of the opportunities of extending his stu- dies, seeing that he comes prepared to advance farther, and finds these opportunities so liberally offered. — The shortest method of rendering the workings of this system intelligible to the English reader, is to give a selection from the Catalogue of lectures at the Universities of Berlin and GiJltiugen for this Winter Session, premising, that 1 have only selected those lectures which relate to Oriental languages , with the exclu- sion of all which are purely theological. The reader will ob- serve in this list whether the lecturer is a Professor or a private teacher , and also to what faculty he belongs ; and will understand the word puhlice to mean gratuitously. — And first for Berlin. ORDINIS THEOLOGORUM. E. G. Hkngstknburg, Prof. ord. Privatim Psalmos explicablt quinquies per Iiebdomadem li. IX-X, J. J. Bkllkrmann, Prof, extraord. Privat. Narrationes e libro Jobi selectas interpretabitur diebus Merc, et Sat. h. XI XII. F. Bi5NARY, Prof, extraord. Piiblire exegeticas Vet. Test, exercitationes instituet atqne nonimllas liebraicae aiitiquitatis partes tractabit d. Merc. Ii. VIVII. Privatim 1) Jesaiae vaticiiiia interpretabitur quinquies p. hebd. b.X-Xl. 2) Gramniaticain Arabitain simuique seiecta e Koskgartkmi Clire- stomatliia capita exponet quater p. liebd. Ii. IV- V. F. Uhlkmann, Lie. Privatim docens. Gratis Pialmos Messiauos et dicta Proplietarum ad Messiam spectantia explicabit d. Mercur. et Sat. h. IX-X. Privatissime Linguam Sjriacam et Samaritanam docebit lioris audito- ribus opportunis. J. C. Vatkh, Lie. Privatim docens. Privatim Genesiii interpretabitur quinis p. Iiebd. diebus Ii. IX-X. ORDINIS PHILOSOPHORUM. F. Bopp, Prof. ord. Publice Calidasi Nalodayam interpretabitur d. Merc. b. III-IV. Privatim 1) Grammaticam linguae Gotbicae et Germanicae compara- tione cum Sanscrit:!, Graeca et Latiiia illustrandam docebit d, Lun.. Merc, Ven. h. 11-111. 2) Instituliones linguae Sauscritae tradet duce libro suo (^Krilische Gramin. der Sunscrita Sj>rache^ d. Mart., Jov., Sat. li. II-III. J. J. L. GuoRGi;, Privatim docens. Privatim Psalmos interpretabitur quater p. Iiebd, li. IX-X. YIII Preface. J. L. IDELKR , Privatim docens. Privatini 1) Hcrofloti capita ad historiam et antiquitatcs Aegyptiacas pertiiientia ilUistrabit, prcmissa isagoge de liieroglvpliica Aegyptio- riini scriptura d. Liiii. , Mart., Jov. , Yen. I). IX-X. 2) Copticae linguae nidimenta (;raniniatifa exponet seleotosque Psalnios ver- sionis Mempliiticac interpretabitur quater p. liebd. d. Lun. , Mart., Jov., Yen. Ii. X-Xl. J. H. PiiTi;uM\>N, Privatim docens. Gratis 1) I.ibruni Judicum, rations imprimis Grammatices Iiabita, ex- j)lirare perget d. Merc, et Sat. Ii. VllI-lX. 2) Grammaticam Ar- meniacam docebit iisdem diebus I). IX-X. Privatim Institiitiones ling. Hebraicae tradet qnater p. Iiebd. li. YIII-IX. Privatissime ling. Armeniacaui singulasqiie dialectos Semiticas docebit. G. StiioTT, Privatim docens. Gratis 1) de indole linguanim quae dicuntur Tataricarum disseret semel p. Iiebd. d. Merc. Ii. Xll-I. 2) Linguae Sinicae elementa docebit ter p. Iiebd. d. Lun., Jov., Sat. Iiora eadem. Privatim linguae Turcicae elementa docebit qnater p. Iiebd. d. Lun., Mart., Jov., Yen. Ii. 1-lL vel alia auditoribus commoda. In the University of Gottingen, ORDINIS PIllLOSOPHORUM. Geo. IIbn. Aug. Ewald, Prof. ord. Ii. X. librum Jesaiae proplicticum interpretabitur senis p. Iiebd. diebus. Piiblice li. L bis Hamasam Abu-Temmami aliqtie scripta Arabica dilTiciliora leget , bis linguam Persicam comparatain cum Sanscrita ilocebit ^). Societatem exegeticam li. ^ L die Yen. exercebit '). H. J. "NViisTKNFKLD , Privatim docens. Privatim quinqnies p. Iiebd. Ii. X. Grammaticam Hebraicam docebit; gratis Ii. U. diebus Lun. et Jov. vaticinia Joells, Micliae, Nahunii et Obadiae interpretabitur, et liora auditoribus commoda selecta Corani capita et iJamasae Carmina expiicabit. ORDINIS THEOLOGORUM. R. E. Klrnhr , Privatim docens. 1. Hoseae vaticinia d. Lun. et Jov. Ii. XI. gratis interpretabitur La- tino sermone usurns. 2. Grammaticam ling. Hebraicae duce Ew.4Ldi Gramm. minori ed. II. quater p. Iiebd. exponet. 1) Prof. EwAi.D has lectured gratuitously on Sanscrit, every Semester since 1826. 2) It is not to be supposed that public lectures are the only mode of instruction in a German University , for very many Professors hold societies of their pupils , in which they themselves exercise their powers under the Professors eye. Thus, the above Exege- tical Society of Prof. Ewald meets at his house two liours on one evening in the week ; the first hour is devoted to the Proverbs, and the students translate and explain in Latin; the otiier hour is given to the Apocalypse (these two happen to be the books chosen this Semester), Every member is also required to write a dissertation, in his turn, on some passage of the old or new Test, alternately. These dissertations are written in Lat. and their Inierits and demerits canvassed in a discussion, in wiiich the Prof, arts the part of umpire. Preface. IX It may be Interesting, after tills imperfect view of the macluDery for public instruction in Oriental languages, to take a cursory survey of ^^llat lias been 'done here for the last few years in Sanscrit, Arabic, and Hebrew. — Although Germany is entirely dependent on foreign countries for its access to original Sanscrit works, and although it has neither possessions nor commerce in India to encourage the study of that language, yet, no sooner did Fred. Schlegel's work "on the Language and Philosophy of the Indians" appeal-, than it awoke a great desire to become acquainted with a language which had so much to recommend it from its novelty, from the untold riches of its literature, and from its affinities with the languages of Greece and Rome , and with all the Teutonic dialects. It is not easy noAV to appreciate the diffi- culties which they had to struggle against, who began this study when the ordinary aids of Grammar and Lexicon could hardly be said to exist , when they w ere no printed texts", and when even Manuscripts were only to be found in French or English public libraries. So great , however, was the enlhusiasm of the two Schlegels , Othmar Frank, and Bow , and so liberal was the Prussian government especially in affording the means to advance tlieir efforts , by the present of types and the establishment of Professorships, that Sanscrit is now cultivated here to an extent unknown in any other country of Europe. The want of Grammars has been sup- plied by Frank, who also published a Chrestomathy^ and by three Grammars by Borr, who is the first who has taken a philosophical view of the Sanscrit Grammar. With regard to texts, W. TON Sciilegel and Lassen (both Professors at Bonn) have published a critical edition of the Hitopadesa, and ScHLEGEL has givcii us similar editions of the Bhaghavadgita and of the P\amayana, and publishes a journal {^IndisclieBih- liotlieh) exclusively devoted to Indian literature. Borr, too, has published many episodes from the IMahabharata, for which he has compiled a Glossary which, with the Radices Sanscrilae of Rosen , is all in the way of Lexicons which has yet ap- peared here. It is, of course impossible to enumerate all the original texts which have been lately printed here , but enough have been mentioned to show, that, with such materials and the great number of Professors who lecture on Sanscrit, the study of that language is fairly established here as a branch of public University instruction. — There could not have been a more favourable juncture for the introduction of tlie study of Sanscrit into Germany, than that at which it was introduced. For it found philosophical views of language al- ready ripe enough to use the newly discovered language as a means for the further development of the principles of flexion X Preface. and organlzalion in all oilier members of tlic Indo-gcrmaiuc iaiiiily "of languages; and so far are Ave from liaving readied the utmost ^vlucll"^t may be expected the comparative physio- logy of language ^vill derive from this source, that it may raUicr be afhrmed that the extent of the inlluence of Sanscrit is yet nnfureseeu. The time is certainly not distant when no i)hih)logian >vill consider he has a complete or profound knowledge of Latin or Greek, until he has sought the sour- ces of their structure in Sanscrit. Sanscrit has even thrown a powerful liglit on tlie structure of the Semitic languages, of which this Grammar contains many proofs. Xo one has done more to illustrate the comparative Grammar of the Indo- "ormanic family of languages than Prof. Gunni of Guttingeu (in his German Grammar) and Prof. Borr. The latter has Avritlen a number of w^orks illustrating dilferent parts of their sliuclure and ilexion , as his *-Coiiiugalion S}Stcm." 'The deiiioiislralivc pronouns" etc., — but his last work ''A com- iiaralive Grammar of Sanscrit, Zend, Greek, Latin, Livonian, Slavonian, Gothic, and German" is the crown of all his former attempts. W. vox Hlmboldt has also contributed iiiuch in this branch, and himself adorned the studies of which lie Avas so miuiificcnt a patron. — In speaking of Arabic literature , the great difficulty is in the seloclion of facts tliat deserve menlion. Enough has been said above, to show to what extent it must be cullivatod liere ; and even the number of Grammars and Chrestomathies within the last forty years, exceeds the small space that can be allotted to this subject. AVe are indebted to Prof. Ewald for a philosophical and critical Grammar, Gram, critica Ling. Arabicae cum brevi melrorum doctrina 2 Vols 8vo, 1831. I'rol. FiiKYTAG in l>onn is now engaged in editing an Arabic Lexicon in four Vols 4lo , of which three have appeared. There has been a critical edition of the Coran by FLiicEL , of Abulfcda's Historia Anteislamica by Fleischek , of the Avhole text of the llamasa by Fiveytag , of the Arabian niglits by Prof. IIabicut etc. The improvements in tlic last twenl}' years in Hebrew phi- lol(»g\ liave been later in beginning and slower in progress than those of classical philology; but they arc at length in beauti- ful harmony with each other. The number of German He- brew Grammars within this period is so great that 1 can only notice those two which have exercised any permanent inlluence on the pujjlic mind. — Prof. Geskmvs was the first who endeavoured to bring Hebrew^ ])hilology in harmony with tlie improvements of his time, llis Lehrgebdude (1817) was Preface. xi llic largest Ilcb. Gram, wliicli had appeared before llial time. Its distinguishing merits were tlie diligence with which be liad collected J and the clearness with which he had repre- sented the opinions of former Grammarians 5 it had also the odvanlnge of showing some resemblances of the other Semitic dialects at the same time, lie has also published eleven editions of a smaller Gram, and five of a Clu'cslonialhy adapted to it. His Lexicographical laboui-s consist of live editions of a German Hebrew Lexicon , one of the same in Latin , and a large The- saurus linguae Heb. 4to, which is not yet coinj)leted. It may be concluded, from these works, and from his lectures as Professor at Halle, that he has contributed more than any man living to the dissemination of Hebrew learning. But so gigantic a stride was made in the last ten years in the general principles of philosophical Grammar, that the best works before that time no longer satisfied the claims of the new aera. Philology had laid aside its swaddling clothes and began to philosophise on the facts which it was before contented to take upon trust. The elements of a further de- velopment of Hebrew Grammar were already ripening in si- lence; but the honour of effecting the reformation was re- served for Prof. EwALD. His labours, which would deserve mention in any sketch of the progress of sound philology, require a more particular notice here. His '■'-Kritische Grcnmii. der hehrdiscJien SpracJie'''' (written in the Authors 23rd year) whose very title announces the spirit in which the investigation of the language had been pursued, appeared in 1827. This large work, which was jnanifestly the production of an enterprising and independent thinker, which bore evident traces that he had made no com- pilation from former Grammarians, but had himself searched out the truth and the reasons of every fact before he stated it, and whose abundant references to the cognate dialects were so much sounder and more pertinent from the very principle of its whole system, has formed an epoch in the study of Hebrew. So important has been the influence which this work has exercised here, that I know of no commentary on any book of the old Test, nor Gram, nor Lexicon, which liave appeared since 1827, which do not acknowlege their obli- gations to it. And even the ninth and tenth editions of Ge- SEXius's Grammar (which have appeared since Ewald's large work) have received more important improvements than any of their predecessors. This was followed in 1828 by his Hehr. Grannn. in vollstandiger Kilrze neii hearbeitet , — and this extract from the preface to it may serve to explain some XII Preface. of tlie Autliors o^vn views ^vIlll regard lo his system. ''The tliri-e or four years wliirii have elapsed since the composition of tlie larger work, could not pass witliout my examining tiie writings of tiie old Xest. afre>li, and becoming, from the general progress of my studies, niore di>tin(tly and certainly conscious of tlie internal grounds of the Heb. Lang. During this time, too, 1 have learnt Sanscrit, and discovereil with joy tlie manifold use wliich this pure jirimitive language has even for the cor- rect explanation of Heb. Tlius , much in my conception of Htb. lias been modilied; my former views have been enlarged and confirmed, or more narrowly delined ; my system has become still clearer in its chief and subordinate parts, more connected and therefore more accurate and sure in itself and for others, while it has become more certain to myself. ]\ly daily progress , and the composition of this smaller work , have con- vinced me, that the object which 1 had sought in the larger work, viz. trulli and clearness, the internal reasons of the facts, and their confirm- ation and correct representation, was in almost all cases not sought in vnin; for greater experience and strict examination have only eontirmed nnd extended most, and |)recisely the most important, views of the larger work, or brought them still nearer to truth and distinctness. In the few instances, however, in which 1 have returned to an opinion which I formerly doubted, it has only iiappened because I have arrived, by re- peated investigation, at the true reasons, so that I could now appropri- ate to myself as a fact, and correctly represent to otiiers, that wiiich other (Jrnmmarians had not understood or explained, but wiiich was in itself right. It was indeed one of the chief objects of tlie larger work to jiwakeii, by free and candiil investigation, the spirit of eiupiiiy in this l)raiHh of liuman science , and (at a time wlien prejudice had induced tiie belief tiiat the system of tlie Ileb. (iraiii. was already perfect, and that all farther encpiiry was unnecessary) to begin the great work of that re- formation which the ileb. Gram, needed so much, first, for its own sake as a science whieli must become conscious of its reasons and elevate itself above the dominion of mere empiricism , and secondly for the correctness and facilitation of instruction. Tlie defects of the former Gniiumars, the ancient prejudices and false views, the half- true or erroneous proofs of modem (jrainmarians for the ancient opinions which tliey did not understand, were, however, so numerous that it was not possible that the first Gram, which, in necessary opposition to the former uncritical Grammars, sought tlie internal reasons of things and endeavoured to bring back the Heb. lan^iuage to its spirit, siiould attain perfect correctness in every point. This ciiief object, and the real value of the larger work have also been acknowledged by impartial scholars; a new period and, if moderation guides the reform, a better period for the changes in Heb. Grammars, J.,exicons and the exegesis of the old Test, approaches, and it may be liuped that the endeavours which are inspired by a pure love of truth anr. Gram, in this new work, there never- theless remains, as 1 partly confidently believe, and partly suspect, much for future em|uirers or, perhaps, for myself to add or to define more strictly, not only in the Syntax, which follows logical laws and is, there- fore, more easily thoroughly understood by a consistent thinker, but also in the doctrine of tlie sounds of the language. 1 liave , however, a sure confidence, that free and impartial emiuirers will approve the spirit of in- Preface. xiii vestigation wlilch prevails licre, and, in harmony witli the higliest principle of this work, will only further build up the structure liere founded. A. number of observations whicli appear here for the first time, will remain and be able to stand tiie severest impartial examination (which 1 do not dread, but earnestly desire) because tliey liave not proceeded from me or my mind, but at the same time from the spirit of the language. — An enumeration of those points which, according to my conviction, are more correctly discovered or represented in this or the larger work , would be a useless task. Tiie judicious reader will easily perceive that none of the views of former Grammarians have been retained, except those whicli have proved themselves true after a free and independent investigation, and that nothing which appears new has been added, except what was found, by the same investigation , to be founded in the spirit of the language. In order to obtain a vivid apprehension and representation of the language in its true form, I have always investigated it by means of itself, without knowing tiie opinions of former Grammarians or assuming their correctness, and therefore it was necessarily inditTerent to me, as to the results of my in- vestigations, whether any fact had been observed before or not; I sought nothing old nor new." This >vas succeeded, in 1835, hj llie Grammar of which this is a translation. It is called a second edition of the one before , but it is , as a short preface states, thoroughly revised and extensively improved. The Author liad written his Ara- bic Grammar in the interval between this and the preceding edition, and returned from that excursion into a kindred dia- lect, with an enlargement and confiimation of his views, which liave exercised a beneficial influence on every part of this Grannnar. The additions, too, are as numerous and important as the length of the intei-val, and his progress in a labour of love , would lead us to expect ; the largest is the treatise on the accentuation. — It is perhaps incumbent on me to attempt a fuller characteristic of the work whose trans- lation I have luidertaken , and to point out some of those advantages which may render it acceptable to an enlightened scliolar. First, with regard to its general qualities, it may be said to correspond in every respect to the picture above offered of a Grammar such as it is expected to be from the enlarged views of our time. It is founded on philosophical views of language in general , and always endeavours to give a similar exjilanalion of the facts of the language of which it treats. Let it not, however, be supposed that it is merely a philosophical explanation of the facts of the language; the truth is , a philosophical method alone could /Ind the pheno- mena. Profound discrimination , and an investigation of those laws of thought of which language is the reflexion, were ne- cessary to separate real from apparent phenomena, and to dis- cover an infinite number of new ones, which empiricism would confound, and which superficial views could not de- tect. It also contains an acute criticjue of the opinions of former Grammarians , but it did not suit the conciseness of XIV r e f a c c. llie ^vol•k lo iiienllon tlicir names, wlilcli are of lillle nio- juent in the judgment of things. Hence it is thai this Gram- mar contains more facts of the language hy one half than any one accessible to the I'jiglish reader. Anollier and great dis- tinction is the heaulilul order that reigns throughout every part of the MorU. 'J'hc development of one part from another, the progress from the elemental sounds lo the conrplicated proposition , the groupings of the phenomena of strong and ^vcak formation and llexion, all si)ring from an order Avhich in itself conduces lo a right luulcrstanding of the nature of the materials Aviu'ch it has disposed. Anollier merit is tlie perpetual reference to the most important fads Avhich com- paialive philology oilers to illustrate the forms or genius of llebrcNV. These illuslralions (which are by no means intended to exhaust the subject, but rather onlyj to point out such resemblances as had escaped others) are not only borrowed from the sister dialects, but also from the Indo-germauic langua- ges, and while the reader, alive to such com])arisons , is led by similitude in dissimilitude to a more \ivid sense of the genius of Semilismus, he runs no risk of finding a farrago of impertinent learning to obstruct or mislead him. IMoreover, I nuist mention the total absence of that pedantic jargon which has invented a number of unmeaning terms for pheno- mena which it could not explain, and tasked the memory Avhen it could not enlighten the understanding. Almost all the tei'ms used in this work are vernacular and inlelligible lo one who knows mIuiI they are intended to describe (where it is not so in the translation , the difference of the language will, I trust, form some apology). Among the particular me- rits of this Grammar may be reckoned the doctrine of sounds. It testifies, in itself, how much more vivid the Authoi-'s feeling of the language has been; we find rules drawn from the living spoken tongue, whose laws are founded on the organs of speech and the ear, instead of inanimate details of the arbitrary signs addressed lo the eye. And surely every thing that tends to bring a language within the sphere of our living sympathies, conduces to a sense of its spirit. Besides, as language is the mirror which reilects all man's imjiressions of the external world and of the world of feeling' Avithin him, and as that rellexion is made by sounds , the peculiar sounds of every language form one of the characteristics of the na- tional jicrceplion anil feeling of that jieople lo whom the lan- guage belongs. — In the doctrine of forms , I will oidy se- lect the nonnnal formation. The appreciation of the sense which the mere form expresses, the gradations from the simplest to the most intense, the nisus formatiid of different developments, are ijnportant improvemcnls in tliis part of Preface. xv Grammar. The numerous declensions of other writers give place to a system not only more easy, but infinitely more conducive to an understanding of the principle of flexion, because it is founded on the natnre of the language. — Last- ly, the spirit ^Yhich pervades the whole work has produced such improvements in the Syntax, that no one can fail to dis- cover the hand of a master there. Its logical precision where so much was vague before , its fulness where so nuich was meagre, its acute and philosophical discnmination, will be some susprlse to those who thought that , in the Hebrew language, a Syntax was not altogether indispensable ^). Such is the original of this translation; and, as such, Ic appeared to be a desideratum in Hebrew philology in England. It is, however, also possible that the very merits of this work over its contemporaries, may render it less acceptable to those whose misconception of the real difficulties of Hebrew, or whose indolence, leads them to take no road to that language except an apparently short and easy one. It is indeed a dis- advantage to the study of Hebrew , as a language , that we become acquainted with the choicest remains of its literature from our earliest childhood, and that, too, in a version which, from its being no longer the hackneyed idiom of daily life, has sufficient colour of originality to take away the desire to seek the native source , or, if we do resolve to study the original, to forestall the genuine pleasure of making the lan- guage a key to the sense. But this previous acquaintanco with the sense , so far from relaxing our efforts , should form the very stinndus to penetrate the mysteries of the language, and to imbibe its genius, before we can have any confidence in our own judgment when we are inclined to depart from a received translation. Hence a thorough study of the language until we attain a feeling of Its force , and an acquaintance with the cognate dialects , are indispensable to all who aspire to a solid knowledge of Hebrew. A zealous studejit should give no ear to the exaggerated reports of the ease with which the language may be attained, which some have circulated in order to encourage the supine to exertion. This delusion makes many come to this study prepared to find It easy or to make it so; and they attain, accoidlngly, no higher kuow- 1) I should here state the works which Iiave appeared here recently in Hebrew philolofjy, but their numl)er renders it impossible. This year alone has produced this Gram, anotiier by Prof. Frkytag etc. ; and as to philulos^ical commentaries on books of tlie old Test, this year has produced one on Gene.«is by Prof. v. Boht-kn , on Judj^es by Studkr; and six such conimenlnries on the Psalms, by Prof. EwALD, Prof. HiTzit; , Prof. Umbkkit etc. XVI Preface. letliic of the language lliau to know what word in the ori- ginal corresponds to every -word in the Authorised veision. Jlencc Ave have Graniinars -wliich offer to teacli the language Nvilhout jioinls (a system long since utterly exploded here) ^vliicli, to spare the indolent, rob the language of the very breath of its life, and not only give a soulless representation of it, but a false one; for there are a thousand analogies in the cognate dialects to show that the punctuation is physio- logically correct. It is indeed unquestionably true that the siini)licity of the Hebrew language does render a certain pro- gress very easy, but it is equally true that any progress which a classical scholar is entitled to call a philological knowledge of the language , is only the result of considerable time and toil. The two facts that Hebrew is the language of such a totally different social state, and belongs to a fundamentally different family of languages, are alone sufficient to render it a priori probable that it is no easy task to become naturalized to the peculiarities which result from those two causes. These considerations, and the acknowledged importance of the do- cumenls transmitted to us through this language, and the vital interest we have in their correct interpretation , should render the study of Hebrew an indispensable duty with some: but I would also hope that tlie time is not far distant when those who derive intellectual pleasure in the study of a language per se , as a mode of thougiit, will, without disregarding the religious interest which should also weigh with them, be more frequently attracted to the study of a language whose re- mains are , in a philological and literary point of view , so ^ worthy the attention of enlightened minds. If there is an ; infinite pleasure in enjoying the national poetry of any people in its original form, if there is an indefinable something, the characteristic of the national mind and external stale , which I only lives in its native tongue, this is doubly true of He- * brew. No language loses more by translation ; for we can i only translate it into a language of a different family , climate, I and slate of civilization. Hebrew is the language of man iu * his infancy, ere his reasoning powers have supplanted his ; feelings: simple in structure, childlike truthful in expression, the very language of the heart in the household affections, iu ' the ardour of faith or the abyss of dispair , or, if dignified, ' sublime in simple maiesty, recalling in its commonest meta- phors the tent, the desert, and the pastoral life of the pa- /, triarchal ages, — and can we translate such a language as * this into that of times and peoples who have grown grey in philosophv and the world, and Avho are artificial or callous in those feelings which the Hebrew expressed with the honest } fervour of youth? JN'o , the Hebrew !Muse, as aforetime, Preface, xvji hangs lier harp on llie willows, and refuses to sing her native songs in a strange land. With regard lo the translation, I have aimed at scrupulous faithfulness. This may liave occasionally produced an uncouth sentence, but the reader is ,' 1 trust, a gainer in the end. The additions consist of a few extracts from the kritisclie Qram- ifjatih (of which that on the names of the letters is the largest) and in numerous contributions which the Author's luiccasing industry had collected since the appearance of his edition ; he has also added the treatise on the agreement between the ac- centuation and the syntax. INIy friend Dr. Bertheau has added a table of contents lo the two indexes, but I must repeat the Author's liope that these aids may not seduce any one into the indolent habit of only consulting the book; part hangs so inti- mately with part, that such a disjointed study will not profit. The corrections consist of some modifications of 0])inion which subsequent investigation induced the Author to adopt; but chiedy in a new arrangement of one part of the syntax (from f. 472 to §. 539) which he Avas prevented from making in his own edition, because it was too late when he discovered its ne- cessity. After so many obligations which the Author has laid the translator under, in addition to the already heavy ones of the pupil, I cannot omit this opportunity of expressing my high admiration of liis talents , and my heartfelt sense of that kindness which has made them so easy of access to myself. — • It is with considerable diflidence that I noAV commit this trans- lation into the hands of the" public, for I know liow many attainments w^ere necessary to do it justice ; but I yet liope that its many imperfections will be pardoned for the sake of the cause it Is Intended to further, and that this may be at least one of those attempts in which the vqliiisse is enough. I have also to request particular Indulgence for petty typo- graphical errors , for the compositor was totally ignorant of English , and I was the sole corrector of the press : all mis- prints , however, which aifect the sense, and which I have found , are noted in the errata , which the reader is requested to observe. Should I ever have an opportunity of amending the Imperfections of this work by a second edition, it would be my first endeavoiu' to show how diligently I had wat- ched , during the interval, over its Improvement, and to render it more worthy of being the chosen guide of the Intelligent and zealous student. May It, meanwhile, be welcome, and contribute its aid to render England , what it was in the days of Pococke and Castell, the home of sound Oriental philology. puTTiNGEN, Dec. 3. 1835. J. I\. LIST OF PROF. EWALD'S WORKS. Pergratiim est milii quod tam diligenter libros — mei lectitas, ut omnes habere velis, quaerasque qui sint omnes. Fungar in- dicis partiluis; atque etiam quo siut ordiue scripti Dotum tibi faciani. Est eiiim liaec quoque studiosis non injucuuda cognitio. PLIN. KPIST. III. 5. 1. Die Composition cler Genesis Jcritiscli untersuclit. 8vo. Braunschweig 1823. 2. De metris Carminum Arablcorum libri duo, cum appen- dice emeudatioiiuni in varios poetas. 8vo. Brunsvigae 1825. 3. Das Hohelied Salomons ilbersetzt init Einleit. , Anmer^ kungen u. s. w. 8vo. Gotliugeu 1826. 4. Krilische Grnmmatik cler Hehrciischen Sprache aus~ jdhrlich bearbeitet. 8vo. Leipzig 1827. 5. Ueber einige dltere Sanskrit Metra. 8vo. Gott. 1827. 6. Liber AVakcdi de jNIesopotamiae expuguatae hist, e cod. Arab, editus et notis iUustratus. 4to. Gott. 1827. 7. Granim. der Heb. Sprac/ie in voUst. Kiirze. 8vo. Leipz. 1828. — Granini. der Heb. Spr. des Alten Test. 2le Auflage 1835. 8. Commentarius In Apocalypsln. 8yo. Gott. 1828. 9. Gramnialica critica linguae Arabicae , cum brevi metrorum doctriua. 8vo. Lips. Vol. L 1831. IL 1833. 10. Abhandlungen zur hiblischen und orientaliscJien Li" teratur. 8vo. Gott. 1832. 11. Die poetischen Biicher des alien Bundes , 2ter Band {die Psalnieny 8vo. Giitt. 1835. (This will be followed by tlie book of lob and tiie Proverbs, forming tlie tiiird and fourth volumes, and the first will consist of an introduction to Hebrew Poetry and to each of these books. 1 take this occasion of mentioning my long cherished intention of offering a translation of the book of lob, which would be founded on the original text, but conform- ably to Prof. EwAt,Ds translation , and would contain all his annotations, with the addition of such notes as, by repeated references to the Gram- mar, would render it more suited to the wants of the English stu- dent. This miglit then be followed by the Proverbs , and Psalms , and introductory volume, according as circumstances siiould encourage my further progress.) Table of contents. xix TABLE OF CONTENTS. (The numbers refer to the §§.) OF THE HEBREW LANGUAGE IN GENERAL. 1. HISTORICAL SKETCH. Its position in the Semitic family 1. 2. its name 3. 4. its dialects 5. difference of the diction of prose and poetry 6. changes of the lan- guage T. 8. 2. OF ITS NATURE. Peculiarity of tiie Semitic with regard to other families of language 9-16. the office of Heb. Grammar thereby prescribed 17. 18. FIRST PART. OF SOUNDS, LETTERS, AND SIGNS. FIRST SKCTIOX. OF SOUNDS. Their three degrees: syllable, word, proposition; the first dependent on the vowel, tlie second on the tone, the tliird on the sense and pause 19. Vowels and consonants, their distinctions; approximations between them 20. 21. The comparative number of vowels in Heb. 22. 23. I. Of syllables and words. I. Nature and compass of the syllable 24-32. II. Of the tone in polysyllabic words 33-42. ♦ 1. Chief-tone 34. 35. 2. Foretone (foretone-vowel) 36-42. II. Single elements of the syllable and word. A. Vowels 43. 66. Prinillive, tlieir clianges : 1) by softening 45-49. 2) by obscuration 50. 3) by shortening 51. Concurrence of two vowels in a word removed : 1) by contraction 53. 54. 2) by resolution into semivowels 55. 3) by elision 56. Cliange of vowels by flexion: 1. Vowels divided into 1) short, 2) long by tone, 3) and long by stem 57-59. 2. Postfixes which influence the syllable and word 60-64. 3. Falling away of the vowel long by tone 65. Assumption of a short vowel with two vowelless cons. 66. b* XX Table of contents, B. Consonants 67-110, View of the cons. 67. 68. peculiarities and weaknesses of, 69. I. The gutturals 70-86. II. The liquids. 1. Ti 87-98. 2 The other liquids 99. 3. The sibilants 100. HI. The iiardest cons. 101-103. Commutation of the cons. 104-110, C. Sounds of the whole word 111-128. III. Changes of sound in a proposition. Pause 129-134. SKCOND SECTION. OF THE LETTERS. I. External history 135-141. II. Internal history 142-156. III. Origin of the signs for reading 157-160. THTRD SECTION. OF THE SIGNS. I. Signs for tlie pronunciation of every letter and syllable 161-179. I. Signs for tlie vocalization 161-169. 1. Tlie vowels 161-164. 2. Sign for tlie absence of the vowel (Slrva) 163 167. 3. Tlie lleeting or Chatef vowels 168. 169. II. Signs for /he pronunciation of the consonants 170-179. Point over '^ 170. Dagesh forte, Dag. conjunctivum 171. Dag. dirimens 172. Dag. lene 173-175. Mappiq 176. Rate 177. II. Accentuation, or signs for the tone of words and pro- positions 180-200. On the tone. IMeteg the usual sign of it 180. I. Tone of a single word 181. 11. Tone of a proposition 182-191. Poe- tical accentuation 192-196. III. Influence of tlie accentuation on the pronunciation of words 197-199. SKCOND PART. F F R M S. I. Roots. Their grades: roots of feeling, of place, of idea 201. Further development of the roots to nouns, verbs, and particles 202. II. Formation developed from the roots, and first from the roots of idea. 1 . Formation of stems (or words) 203-206. Table of contents. xxi 2. Formation of number and gender 207-210. 3. A second flexion produced by the union of two words 211-214. III. luiluence of the radical sounds oii tliese formations 215-230. 1. Roots which are still very near the primitive roots: 1) the roots /y 217. 2) the roots ^'^ and ■^'■j 218-221. 3) the roots with vowels at either side, J-j"^ 222. I's Kri'j 223. 2. Roots with gutturals 224. 3. Isolated deviations 225. Concurrence of many weak sounds In the same root 226-229. Roots which have more than three sounds 230. FIRST SECTION. VERBAL FORMATION. I. VERBAL STEMS. I. The simple stem (Qal) 231. II. Reduplicated or intensive stems : 1. Piel, signification; 1) in verbal derivations. 2) In nominal derivations 232. 2. Tlie other intensive stems, 1) Paalal. 2) Pealal. 233. 3) Rare intensive stems more common in "i'^ and yy 234. 235. also in some roots with a medial guttural 236. On Poel 237. III. Derived verbal stems with external augmentation: 1. Causative stem (Hifil) 238. Signification of. 1) in verbal, 2) in nominal derivations 239. 2. Reflexive stems, Nifal 240; frequently used in a passive signification 241. 3. Reflexive intensive stems, Hitpael 242. signification; begins to subordine an object; goes over into the passive signification; form of in rare intensive stems 243. View of the stems 244. Relapse of the augmented stems to the simple ones: 1. of Hif. in roots witli a medial vowel 245. 2. Other single instances. 3. Qal and INif. equivalent in roots with double sounds 246. Change of vowels within these stems to determine the dis- tinction of tlie active, passive, and semipasslve pro- nunciation 248. 1. In the simple stem; tlie semipass. pronunciation 249. 250. 2. Tlie passive, use of 251; formation of 1) from Piel and Hif. = Pual and Hofal 252. 253. 2) from rare intensive stems 256. 3) from Hitpael 257. Use of Pual and Hof., and more frequently of Nif., as pas- sive of Qal 258. 259. XXII Table ol" con tents. II. VKKUAL ILi:Xl()\. Disllnclion of tense and mode 260. 261. 1, Of tlie perfect; signification of 262. 2. of the imperf. signifi- cation of 263-265. New forms derived from it distinguished into Jussive, Imperative, and Coliortative 266. Difference of the perf. and imperf. in form 267. 268. I. in the simple stem 269-273. 2. in Piel and Hif. 2T4. 275. 3. in Nif. 276. 277. In the other stems 278-280. II. in the signs of the persons: 1. in the perf. 281. 2. in the imperf. 282. III. Consequences of the attachment of these signs of the persons to the verbal stems : 1. of the prefixes to the imperf. 283. 284. 2. of the postfixes of the perf, and of some persons of the imperf. 285-289. New modes from ihese two verbal forms : I. from the imperf. 1. The Jussive 290. 2. the imperat. 291. 292. 8. Cohortative 293. 294. View of tliese modes 295. II. The two tenses witli Vav consequutivum : Their signification 296. 1. Tlie form of the imperf. Mith Vav conseq. 297. 2. that of the perf. with the same 298. 299. Paradigms of the verbal ilexion. III. VEKU WITH surnxES. Signification of the suffix 300. 1. Form of 301. 302. 2. How atta- ched to the veri)al persons 303-306. 3. Ktfects of their attachment on tlie anterior sylUible of tlie verb 307-309. — Attachment of to the verbs j-f'ij 310, View of the verbal suffixes. SECOND SRCTION. NOMINAL FORMATION. I. NOMINAL STEMS. Division of nouns 311. 312. View of the nominal formation 313-316. I. Nouns of tlie sini|)le stem : 1. First noniinal formation 317. 318. The same with the tone vowel thrown back 319. 2. Second nominal formation 321 - 325, I) Formation of adjectives 322. 324. 2) Formation of substantives from the imperf. Qal a) as mere infinitives, /)) as sul)stantives 325. 3. Third nominal formation 32G-329. 1) of adjectives 326, some of which are always substantives 327. 2) of abstract substantives 328, their signification often expressed by the feminiue formation, and very strongly, by the plural ending 329. II. Reduplicated or intensive stems: 1. by reduplication of the middle rad, for the formation of adjectives 330, of abstracts 331, — Reduplication removed by the prece- .. ,i->...t Table of contents. xxiir ding vowel hecoming long ; this formation found in later writers with an Aramaic cliaracter 331. 2. by repetition of the third radical , formation of adjectives and ab- stracts 332. 3. by repetition of the second and third rnd. formation of adjectives and abstracts 333. 334. — Peculiar formation of tliese abstract forms 335. III. Formations with external affixes: Rare ones : of adjectives with a prefixed a 336; of substantives witii pre fixed -1 337. Common ones : 1. with prefixed /«; its origin and signification 338; vocalization of 339. A similar formation with prefixed / . especially in weak roots 340. 2. with postfixed «« or o«, sometimes dm or dm; adjectives formed by this 341. abstracts 342. 3. by postfixed / (in a iiarder pronunciation ai) to form adjectives 343. Abstracts formed by the feminines of this syllable 344. Abstracts formed by tlie feminine ending from any stem willi a personal signification 345. Collectives formed by the feminine ending 346. Diminutive formation 346, b. Nominal forms from pluriliteral roots 347. Proper names , compounded of two words 348. PARTICIPLE AND INriNITlVE. I. The participle : 1. signification 349. 2. construction 350. Form 351. II. The infinitive : 1. signification 352. 1) nominal infin. or infin. construct 353, its form- ation 354. 2) verbal infin. or infin. absolute 355, its form 356. lu. Tlie participle assumes a simple form 357. II. NOMINAL FLEXION. 1. By number and gender. I. Signification of number and gender. A. Number : 1. The singular 358. 2. The plural, its ending 359; its signification 360. 361. 3. The dual 362. B. Gender : Idea and form of the gender to be distinguished 363. Neuter how expressed 364. 1. The ending of the fem. sing. 365. Substan- tives which are fem. in idea only, not in form 366; — whereas the feminine form is indispensable in others 367. 368. The fem. ending e instead of a 369. Toneless a in some words which border on the fem. and in utiiers also 370. — 2. The ending of the fem. in the plural ; relation of the ending of the pi. msc. to this ending; the former, as the more general ending, a.ssumed by many feminine substantives 371-375. — 3. Gender of the dual 376. XXIV Table of conients. II. Form of the nouus in tlie atlacLnieut of lliese endings for gender and number. CliarRrter of these four etiHinn;s; what nominal sterns are shortened or channjed before them 377. 378. 1) The simple nouns of tlie first formation 379-384. 2) Nouns with an accented ultimate, whose first syllable has only a foretone vowel 38(j. 387. 3) The stems which have are immo\eable syllable at the bej^inning 388-392. Vowel-endings of the nouns: a) The / of adjective derivation 393. 394. The feminine abstract ending -// 395. The / of the rib -^^G. b) The ending T— in nouns from the ;-;"b 397. 398. c) Tlie fern. sg. a before the dual ending 399. 2. by the status constructus. Signification and use of the stal. conslr. 400-402. Pronun- ciation of the first -word 403-405. Traces of a union vowel 406-40H. Fornialion of the stal. constr. in particular: 1. Stat, constr. of the noun without ending of number and gender 409. 413. 2. Stat, constr. of the noun with those endings 414. 417. — Shortening of the a of the ending an 418. — Re- duplication of the radical sometimes removed 419. 3. by tlie a of motion. This an imperfect beginning of the formation of cases ; how allached 420. Paradigms of the nominal llexion. in. NOUXS -WITH sumxES. I. The form of the suffixes 421. II. Their pronunciation acconunodales itself to the ending of the nominal Ibnns 422. in. Their union with the noun 423. 1. with the noun without ending of number and gender 424-426. 2. with the ending of the fern. sg. 427. 3. with the vowel- ending oe of tlie Stat, constr. of the dual and pi. 428, 429. — AVitli the ending of the feni. pi. 430. — The noun sometimes not so much shortened before the sutl'. as before the stat. constr. 431. 432. — The last rad. sometimes doul)lod before sutr. 432. Participle and infinitive sometimes taking the verbal suir. 433. Nl'MERAT.S. Their peeuliarilies 434. 1. Primilive (cardinal) 435-438. 2. Derived 439. THIRD SECTION. FORMATION OF PARTICLES. I. Particles of feeling, inlerieclions 440 u. J'arlicles which indlcale jiiace 441-456. Tlic derivation of pronouns, of many conjunctions and adverbs, and even of sonic prepositions shown to arise from the latter class. Table of contents. xxv III. Particles which separate tlieniselves from the verb and noun. Compound particles 458. All particles divided into those tliat stand liy tliemselves, and those which are attached; to the latter l)elon}>; all prepositions and conjunctions, whicli are always, as to tlie idea, ia the stat. constr. , as is evident in some 459. 460. rREFIXKS. What tliey are, and how attached 461-464. lAKTICLES WITH SUFFIXES. What particles may take suffixes 465 ; Aviiat suffixes tliey may take, and Jiow they are attached 466-469. Traces of a plural in prepositions 470. Paradigms of particles with suffixes. THIRD PART. THE SYNTAX. FIRST SECTION. ON THE SIMPLE PROPOSITION. How it is formed 471. I. Fielations of a word in a proposition: There are three relations 472. 473. I. Relation of independence and dependence 474. II. The casus obliquus 475. A. Relation of the accusative, or of loose, free subor- dination 476. 1. When the verbal idea implies that the action affects a thing immediately: 1) the verbs of going 477. 2) the verbs of speaking. 3) tlie verbs of acting and treating 478. — Tliese verbs subordine to them- selves two objects 479. Ditferent from this is a second object a) witli the verbs of making; h) with the verbs of naming; c) with other verbal ideas for any kind of making 480. — The accusative with verbs of motion 481. 2. Wlien an idea is explained merely as to its purport and nature : 1) by substantives confining the purport of the verb to a particular part 482. 483. 2) the accusative describing the ultimate etfect of the action 484. 3) tlie verbal idea completed by the statement of the inunner lioii' a) by a substantive 485. 486; b) by an adjective 487; t) by nume- rals 488. 489, 3. The noun is freely subordined, as word of relation, to the whole proposition, 1) in statements of measure 4'JO; XXTI Table of contents. 2) many siibstnntivos liave thus become adverbs; 3) in the Stat, constr. 4'Jl. Use of tlie preposition of the accusative, rN , 492. 493. B. Pielation of the genitive, or of strict subordination (stat. constr.) 495. 1. Compass of the stat. constr. 496-508. 2. Consequences of the stat. constr.: 1) no adjective, pronoun, nor other word, can intrude between the defined and defining noun 509; the intervention of a preposition does not destroy tlie stat. constr. 510. 2) the first noun cannot liave the article 511-51;^; tiiere are a few exceptions 514; the first member sometimes returns to tlie stat. abs. 515. The article used with the second word with numerals 516. — 3) Tiie me- diate instead of tiie immediate construction 517. Relation of the prepositions. Their signification in general 518. A. Simple prepositions : 1. for the idea of motion from, out of a thing, "j-v; 519. 2. for the idea of motion io a thing 1) "^x , 2) '^ ^ 3) -;? 520, 3. The use of - 521; yz 522. ;rr ^23. The prepositions whicli express more definite local relation, 1) Vv 524, 2) --X 525, "ti'z and others 526. r; 527. B, Compound prepositions 528-531. 111. The relation of isolation and apposition 532. 1. Use of the article 533-536. 2. The place of adjectives and pronouns 537. Relation of the siibordined verb 539 : Tlie infinitive abs. is 1) placed loosely after the previously men- tioned action 5i0. 2) subordined to the finite verb of its own root 541. — Some infinitives have become perfect adverbs 542. 543, The inf. constr. with V 544. The inf. abs. can subordine a noun remotely 545. II. ENTIRE VROrOSlTIOX. 1. Subiect and predicate 546. Adjective as predicate; abstract substantive as predicate 547. Gra- dual introduction of a copula 54H-550. The definite subject often omitted, that is to say, the verb placed by itself: 1) when jiersons are spoken of 551. 2) to express the idea of the neuter 552. The whole may be explained by the individual in appo- .«ition 553. li. Position of the Avords in a proposillon. ]. The definite order of the words 554. 555. 2. Proposition of state 556. 3. A word rendered prominent by empiiasis or antithesis 557-559. or by repetition 560. From this is to be distinguislied tiie repetition which is used 1) to express a high degree, 2") to express douhleness , 3) to express an advance from one to more : 561. — The pronoun sometimes used to allude to a noun before it is meutioued 562. Ad apparently superlluous pronoun ia the Table of contents. xxvii dative 563 , tlie suffix of the verb sometimes used instead 564. — Omis.sion of a suffix as object 565. — Reflexive pronoun liow expressed 566. III. Concoixl of gender and miniber. 1. Tlie predicate in tlie masc. ag. before the subject in the pi. 567. 2. Tlie external form disregarded on account of (lie idea: 1) the plural subject construed with the /«"?'. sg. of the predicate 568. 2) the form and gender of the xg, and pi. disregarded in certain cases 569. 3) In the stat. constr. , the predicate someti- mes agrees with the second noun 570. 3. Isolated irregularities 571. — The third pers. sg. masc. of the passive construed with an accusative 572. ''' III. PARTICULAR (DUALITIES OF THE SIMPLE I'ROPOSITIOl., I. Negative propositions 573-576. II. InteiTOgalive pro[)Ositions 577-581. III. luterjeclioiial propositions 582-586. SECOND SECTION. OF ANNEXED PROPOSITIONS. I. Relative propositions : A. For the proposition witli substantive power 588. The relative word explained by the corresponding personal pronoun 589. The relative word construed, a) with a demonstrative ad- verb b) with the pronoun of the first and second person 590. Position and reference of a relative proposition : 1. AVhen it is like the apposition of an adjective, the relative word is omitted 591. 2. Tlie relative word itself as a new substantive 592; it may also be omitted here, so that the relat. prop, is jilaced in staf. cotistr. 593. — The relative word in propositions mIiIcIi border on tlie correlative prop. 594. The relative word may be itself various 595. 596. B. When the relative word is used like a relative con- junction 597. 1) Propositions of time 598. 2) of end and purpose 599. 3) of confirmation 600. — Proposition containing an indirect thouglit 602. II. Copulative propositions. 1. Many words united by the copula; the suffixes which refer to two words, repeated 603. Verb, or adjective as predicate, or pronoun, referring to many such subjects, connected by the co- pula. — Omission of the copula, 1) in explanatory diction, 2) in ascending diction 605. 2. Propositions connected by the copula: 1) to denote the antithe- sis 606. 3. Two kinds of copula: the ordinary, tlie stronger (Tar consequu- tiuum or relulii/uni') 610, 1) Vav conseq. perfecti and imperfecti XXVIII Table of contoils. 611-617. 2) Vav ronseq. of the Jussive, Imperative, and Coliorta- tive 618-G21. Other words used to express the copula G22. III. Adversative propositions: Expressed l).v particular particles 623, THIRD SICCTRilV. CORRELATIVE PROPOSITIONS. I. Coiulillonal proposillons 624. Expressed by particles, 1) by i^jN 625, which is omitted in some cases 626, 2) by -^ 627, II. Correlalivc propositions: 1) by £3^-=:n. 2) by 3"=:, "(^"^ , 'i"~"^^.N5 : 5 also omitted in tlie first proposition 628. Tiie correlative expressed by the mere repetition of a noun or pronoun 629. 3) by ljX~::^X . Disjunctive interrogatives formed by tlie repetition of — • by Acreemeut of the acccntualiou -Nvilli the Syntax 631-642. E R R A T A. Erratum in tlie preface page in, liri.o. insert as before nteans. Piige6, line 17, read suhordine. — P. 11, line 15 from below, read nu;n3 lor n7-lt;n. — p. 14, Iine2 from below, transpose the Hebrew words. — P. 19, I. 12, read ^"^h'Z. P- 24. 1.7 fr. b. read palatal instead of ging, — P. 50. 1. 5 fr. b. read -^ for n. — V.h^. 1. 11 fr. b. read §.317. — P. 58. 1. 11, readi'jp. _ P. 61. I. 8. read tigle. 1.20. read Ni::"?. — P. 68. 1.26, read -^-li:. — P. T6. 1. 21 fr. b. read r:n"'2. — P. 77. 1. 11, for loo.se ^ the verb, read lose, and elsewhere. — P. 92, 1. 27, read be for in. — P. 100. 1. 15, dele they. — P. 112. 1. 15. read 1 for 1. — P. 114. 1. 7, read t/iere. — P. 120. 1.16, read ll«,. p. 127. 1.22. read '^j^'^^tJ P- 129. and often, read conceited, received for concieued, reciefed. — P. 220. 1. 7 fr. b. read l^il^Tls. — P. 222. 1. 2, read t3"'*^N'di^i. — P- 224. 1. 10 insert less before closely. — P. 2.S1. 1. 3, fr, b. i-ead fi-«-^-ir!. — P. 232. 1. 2. fr. b. insert be before rendered. — P. 237, 1, 16 read so for to, — P, 263. 1. 3. fr. b. read words for vowels. — P. 271, 1.2 fr. b. read '-^^z1-^^. — P. 274. i. 5 fr. b. read nny'^70. — P' 283. 1, 21 read mere for more, — P, 286, 1. 20 read ^riy — P. 305. I. 11. fr. b. read is for in. — P. 320. 1. 9. transpose tiie and after the comma. — P. 321. 1.9 fr. b. insert ///e before passage. — P. 335. I. 10 fr. b. read pn'l?:^. — P- 357. I. 7 fr. b. read r\'Jl\>. OF THE HEBREW LANGUAGE IN GENERAL, T. 1. HISTORICAL SKETCH. lie Hebrew language is a branch of that widely ex- tended family of languages of Southwestern Asia, which is now usually called the Semitic , because most of the nations of this tongue appear to have been descendants of Sem (Gen. 10), This family of languages extended from the Arabian pen- insula, its chief seat in ancient and modern times, northwards over the countries between the JMediterranean , parts of Asia Minor, Armenia and Persia; and southwards into Habesh or Aethiopia. Even in ancient times was this family of languages diffe- rently developed according to the situation and fate of the countries in which it prevailed. In the ISorth , or in Ara- maea (Syria , Mesopotamia , Babylonia) , where the climate is for the most part severer, where the nations of Semitic ton- gue bordered on the most different nations and languages, and often had their language corrupted by foreign conquests, it was rougher and poorer in vowels , more corrupt and a- dulterated. But in the South , among the never conquered Arabs, it preserved greater purity and sweetness and a grea- ter richness of formations and words ; many of which excel- lencies are found, even in the extreme south, in the Aetliiopio language, a very old daughter of the Arabic. In the Middle^ betweru Aramaea and Arabia , in Palestine , where (besides the Phoenicians , of whose language we have only a few re- mains, and other petty nations, whose dialects have dis-ap- peared without a trace) the Hebrews principally dwelt, the language inclined originally, it is true, more to Aramaic, ac- cording to its primitive descent, (since the tradition of the tribe brings the Patriarchs from the North East , and last from the northern part of Mesopotamia) but being developed on the frontier of Arabia, it has much in common with Arabic, at the same time that it is distinguished by the peculiar pro- gress of its developemeut _, as well from Aramaic as from Ara- 2 §• 3- 4- Of the Hebrew language in general. bic. Hebrew is disllnguislied above Aramaic (Avblch became better kuowu since 600 B. C), as the cultivated language of many and great prophets and poets , by a rich abundance of formations and Avords , and is distinguished from the still more polished Arabic (whicli first appears in liistory about 400 A. C.) by antique simplicity and majesty. The Grammar of all ibo Semitic languages must always set out from He- brew, because it presents a connected view of the most an- cient form of Semitic, and contains many primitive formations which afterwards are either lost or altered. 3 The two names whicli the worshippers of Jehovah re- ceive in the old Test. Israelites and Hebrews are distingui- shed by the first ])eing the holy name, closely connected with their religion and the tradition of the race, while tlie latter is the usual name of the nation, and as such, is much more ancient and luiiversal (Abraham himself being called a He- brew Gen. 14, 13), and calls to mind no ancestor of glorious memory. Accordingly while Priest and prophet always ad- dress tlie people by the name of Israelites, other nations al- ways call them Hebi-ews , and a Hebrew never calls himself an Israelite in spealiing with foreigners ; (Jon. 1, 9. Gen. 40, 15): on other occasions too, and especially by earlier writers, the nation is called Hebrews when, not mentioned with re- ference to its religion (Ex.21, 2. Gen. 43, 32. 1 Sam. 13, 3.7. 14, 21). The name Hebrews tzi'^'ni^; , according to the views entertained by the people itself, is derived from Eber i:2:>'_ w horn tradition makes an ancestor of Abraham , but as noth- ing further is known of him, he can hardly be considered as an historical personage. Gen. 10, 21. 24. 11, 16; perhaps it was originally applied to nearly all nations of Semitic tongue this side the Euphrates, which according to historical traces migrated from central Asia and last from JMesopotamla {"^-"J^ '^vjt'i ^''^ \nviA on tliat side the river i. e. the Euphrates cf. o neoaxt^g LXX Gen. 14, 13) to Palestine and Arabia; in this case , the appellation ^vould spring from the ancient inhab- itants of Canaan ^). According to either vIcav however, the name Hebrews embraced originally all the descendants of Abraham and was only afterwards peculiarly appropriated to the direct descendants of Abraham in Palestine, the Israelites Gen. 10, 21. 1) Tliis was first suggested by J. D. Michaelis Spicil. geogr. Heb. ext, P. 2. p. 66. \ The language can therefore be called Hebrew oidy after the usual name of the nallon. Tiiis name happens however not to occur in the old 'Jest. , because in general there is \\\\\o mention of language in it; in one place Is. 19, 18 it is §. 5-7» Of the Hebrew language in general. 3 poetically called language of Canaan, where Cauaau, as land, is opposed to Egypt.; the laicr name Jetpish language. Is. 36, 11. 13 properly means only tlie dialect of the Hebrew language in the kingdom of Juda, though that dialect, after the conquest of Samaria, gained the entire ascendancy. It is , in Itself, very probable that the Hebrew language 5 had dialects , although in the scanty remains of Hebrew lit- terature , which were almost all written in the kingdom of Juda, and in Jerusalem, this distinction is less obvious. In general the dialects in the norlli of Palestine must have in- clined more to the character of Aramaic, and have been rougher, impurer and coarser than those in the South. Traces of nor^iern dialect are contained e.g. in the Song of Deborah Judg. 5. Even the partial mixture of nations in Palestine gave rise to impurer dialects ; thus after the exile the dialect of Ashdod is censured, with some others, as Philistian Neh, 13, 23. 24 and the Galilaean dialect is distinguished Math. 26, 73. During the best period of tlie language, the written Ian- 6 guage of Prose differed but little from the idiom of the peo- ple, only that their pronunciation appears to have been more peculiarly impure and more like Aramaic ^). HebrcAV Prose is in essence perfectly simple and artless, but possesses "Vi,ivid descriptive power , and occasionally , when the subject is in- spiring , rises to even poetic sublimity. The so called poetic diction however is of a peculiar kind and developement. Its essence is luxuriant copiousness, inexhaustible variety, and pliability, so that it possesses a much greater abundance of words and formations than prose, among which are many which are peculiar to it and characteristic. It has partly pre- served this abundance from antiquity by zealously retaining what died out of the language of daily life, and partly by re- cruiting Itself, from time to time, from the rich and mani- fold popular dialects , by the adoption of new matter and forms; in both cases therefore, it approached to Aramaic, since the Hebrews, accoi'ding to their origin and history, are much more nearly connected with the Aramaic than the Arabian nations. Much however in the bold language of Poetry, has been produced by the impulse of internal de- velopement. Pj'ophetic diction shows only an occasional greater or less approach to this external form of Poetic diction. 1) Therefore writers from the people, like Amos, approach nearest to the Aramaic form. The Hebrew language in the four first books of the Pen- 7 tateuch , which contain records of unquestionable antiquity, partly by JMoses , or from his time , appears already , a few 1* 4 §• 8-10- O^ ^^ic Hebrew language in general. niinuliae excepleJ, fully developed. From Moses until aboul the year 700 it vmderNvent few changes : for as the slTucture oF the Semitic hmguages is in general more simple, so also is it less changeable than that of languages of greater develope- ment, as Sanscrit. To which is to be added, that in that period tlio Hebrews did not experience those influences ^vhich materially alfect a language : they did not advance much in civilization, were never long subjected to nations of foreign tongue, and lived almost entirely separated from all nations, especially from nations of foreign language. Their language therefore advanced little in developement, but it also suffered little from corruption. There are however in those books of the Pentateuch , some certainly important differences, which afterwards disappear, and many differences of that kind have become less distinguishable by us_, because the more modern punctuation has treated all words according to one standard, and that, the standard of the language at a late period. 8 From the dominion of the Assyrians , Chaldeans and Persians over Palestine , the Hebrew language gradually de- clined, and the ArctJJiaic, the study ol which became neces- sary to the cliief persons of the kingdom from 720-600 , by the conquest of the Assyrians (Is. 36, 11) and Chaldaeans, encroached more and more upon the Hebrew, and the more easily, on account of the close affinity of the two languages, until the latter became entirely corrupted or supplanted. It ■was not however until after 600 that this corruption was gradually introduced into the written language , and even the latest Prophets, especially those which wrote about 540- 520 at the fall of the Chaldean empire, imitale the ancient language very successfully. 2. OF ITS NATURE. 9 To comprehend tlie nature of the Hebrew language , wo must partly compare other languages with it, and jiartly pursue more closely the traces of earlier origin and alteration \\'hich are yet visible in its present form. Therefore it is not so much of the nature of the Hebrew language as compared with its sisters §. 2, but more generally of the nature of the Semitic family of languages in compai'isou -with others, that we must here speak. 10 1. We learn from the investigation of the primitive ele- ments of the Semitic language, that its beginnings, or roots, like those of all other languages, where short monosyllabic words. These roots then, now only to be discovered by ex- amination and dissection, carry us back to the most ancient §. 11- 12. Of the Hebrew language iii general. 5 times, when the families of language, -which afterwards se- parated, still stood near to one source, and the Semitic lan- guage, as such, not yet existed. Hence arises the great con- nexion wiiich these roots have with Indo-gei-mauic roots ^), a connexion the less astonishing, as the territories of both these families afterwards also bordered on one another in Asia. 1) To give particular proof of this is the province of the Lexicon. The fact lias been by no means first discovered in modern times ; but all depends on the right application of it. 2. Piemains of these roots have indeed been preserved in- li many particles , immoveable primitives , which have resisted the general progressive change of the form of the language, but the living and principal part of the language , the verb and the noun , has advanced far above this childhood ; the fundamental and accessory ideas of a sentence are no longer single radical words merely externally put together, but the accessory ideas are arranged round a fundamental one with the unity and and compactness of a single word, which may be variously modified to suit the idea; and hence formation has become the predominant principle of the Semitic language. ; While a fundamental idea thus becomes the immoveable cen- tre , the accessory ideas , or variations , can be distinguished with so much the greater ease and brevity, and therefore, with so much the more perfection and accuracy. By forma- tion, for instance, is the distinction between noun and verb, adjective and substantive , gender and number in the noun, and tenses in the verb, briefly and distinctly defiued , and as far as ever the accessory ideas may be separated , so far is formation possible. But on the other hand , as soon as ever an accessory idea is expressed by a separable word , there is no formation: at the same time it is to be kept in mind, that the approximation between formation ajid juxtaposition may be very various in particular cases. Cf. on origin and for- mation of words §. 201-214. In tills formation, the Semitic language has, it is true, 12 more simplicity and freshness, and much that is finer and more regular, than the Indo-germanic family; as the consistent distinctions of gender, as well in the pronoun of the second person , as in the verb : but in general , it has not reached the high degree of perfection which distinguishes the latter. The foi'm is not so versatile nor so willing to foUow the idea , so that much still appears rather isolated and only ex- ternally connected. Other finer distinctions of idea have not yet entered into the consciousness of the language strongly and vividly enough to impress themselves on the form. Thus a form for the idea of the neuter is wanting, and the dis- 6 §. 13- i4' Of the Hebrew language in genenil. tinction of tenses, is not so fully developed as iu our languages. 13 3. A higher and perfectly new stage in the development of language , wliicli presupposes the formation just described, is composition y by 'Nvliich words in themselves independent and separable, are so joined together as a new whole, that the last -word only makes the end of the proposition, either by subordination , when the word completing or defining is put before tlie ^vord to be defined , and both become thereby closely connected, as icvTavanXroovv , §odod\r/.Tv?.og , (xv&oio- siciQsaxcia, or by juxtaposition of similar ideas in successive order, as the latin suovetaurilia ; the fii'st is the more na- tural and the more important. To this power of composition, \ a chief ornament of the Sanscrit family of language, the Se- I mitic however (some insignificant beginnings excepted ■^) has not advanced. It is not the principle of Semitic majesti- cally to combine and subordinate ideas , it is rather its law, more simply, to place words near each other and to explain each iu the natural order. 1) Concerning subordination v. Gram. Arab. Vol. II. p. 23. f. 156, 179, 201 not. concerning juxtaposition v. below Heb. syntax of propositions coupled by ^ ct.cI §. 495. 14 On the other hand, Semitic is infinitely more developed, in another direction, than Sanscrit; that is to say, for the formation of the living chief element of the language , the verb and noun, the originally short root has been extended with great regularity to three firm sounds , and occasionally even j to four (^§. 230 ). As the short primitive roots are thus I increased by new sounds, and the souuds (not only those * originally belonging to the root, but even more easily the newly added ones) are capable of endless variety , the few primitive roots split more and more, and there arises in this I manner a very large ntunbcr of actually living roots. A si- milar progress of clevelopement is also found, it is true, in Sanscrit, in as much as the short roots become i)rogressively longer and more definite, but by no means docs the same regularity prevail in it as in Semitic, which attains tliereby two chief results. First, by the number of roots the meanings also become more clear and definite, Avhich in some measure compensates for the -want of composition ^. 13 ; and if Sanscrit by means of composition renders the idea, in a more intellectual Avay , infinitely various, Semitic seeks to attain the same end by that rather material formation of new roots, tlius Tj^.t^ J is ire "zv^ redire , from the primitive yp spring y^'p^, ^^P^ I to cut, r)2;p^ to cut ojf, to shorten . aiip^ or 35irt to hew our. §•15' 16' Of the Hebrew language in general. 7 Moreover, the roots wlilch arise in this manner must 15 have a decided tendency to become polysyllabic , and to a nioj'e pocalic pronunciation. For in the Sanscrit roots, be- cause they continue shorter , and according to tlie principles of the* language must be monosyllabic, the same vowel re- mains , more simply, as centre and supporter, to which con- sonants are attached in such number and order only as the unity of a syllable will permit , as cad , scrih , scalp etc. Groups of compatible consonants may be formed , but the vowel keeps them together as in sti'ing, v.Teiv. But this imity is entirely lost in Semitic, because the roots extend themselves to the fixed compass of three or four sounds , and these too in every desirable order, regardless whether they belong to one syllable i. e. may be held together by one vowel, or not, as e. g. hath ^ nafl , njal can hardly be re- duced within the limits of one syllable. The first consequence of this then is, that Semitic roots, as to pronunciation, have a tendency to fall into many syllables, and only a few short words have remained iminlluenced by this tendency. Se- condly greater fluency, softness and pliability of the vowels within the roots, since the language is incapable of holding together such intolerable masses of consonants by a single vowel, and the position of the vowel is more dependent on the consonants. And finally the formation has so availed it- self of this pliable polysyllabic internal vocalisation , that the vowels change within the roots (which are regularly of three or four firm sounds) so as to distinguish the meaning of forms, with great ease and regularity; which internal for- mation by means of mere change of vowels is the chief pe- culiarity and distinguishing advantage of Semitic , by which it effects much by small meaus ^\ It is impossible therefore to speak of radical vowels in Hebrew, since only in a few old roots, which have not been extended, has a peculiar radical vowel been retained and even that is very yielding and changeable. 1) In Sanscrit. , Greek, and Lat. nothing of this sort exists , since their radical vowel can only cliange according to the nature of the sounds with whicli it becomes connected, la German, wliere the roois are all longer, the cha.nge in gebilren, geboren, gehar , Gi- hurt, appears more like, but even here tliere is no perfect re- semblance. As the foi^n then in Semitic , although in some respects \Q farther and more firmly developed, has yet in general not reached the highest developemerit which is possible , and of which the Sanscrit languages are an example, accordingly the whole proposition shows rather a simple succession than a grand combination and subordination. Like the whole genius 8 §• 17. 18- Of the Hebrew language in general. of tlie Semitic nations, like tlieir poetry and religion, tlieii* language also, as opposed to tlie Indo-germanic , possesses ra- tlier keen sensibility of heart and spirit, than rest and ex- tended scope of thought and fancy, more lyrical and poetical ,• than epic and oratorical elements. Semitic , and especially I Hebrew, has not become so much a pure spiritual expression I of thought as Sanscrit, and does not so easily adapt itself to { the minutest precision of idea. It stands one degree nearer to • the simplicity of nature and antiquity , but possesses on the other hand the ■warmest feeling, the most enchanting and child- like truthfulness, with the most delightful naturalness and clearness. 17 From this it is clear how it is the business of Hebrew ^ grammar every Avhere to point out this central position of 1 Hebrew between the most unformed (e. g. Chinese) and the I most perfectly developed language (e. g. the Indo-germanic). ?; The more simple element in it is to be taken in its simplici- ty and that primitive and natural arllessness of language, the ground which Sanscrit has left far behind, can be re- cognised in it more easily than in any other language. But where Hebrew does not perhaps express the thought so defi- nitely as to form , there ■we must observe ho^v the connexion at least of the sentence remoACS ail obscurity" for one who seeks its meaning in himself and who combines all that is only represented in broad outlines , and judiciously appHes it. This language then is perfectly intelligible in itself, only it must not be judged and misinterpreted according to the ex- ternals of other languages. 18 Since the form is not developed in the greatest perfection very much depends on the position of words in a sentence, so that the Syntax forms a very important part of the whole. The theory of forms has only properly to explain their ori- gin and force, but presupposes a knowledge of the sounds of the language, and of the means by which they .are ex- pressed i. e. of the characters^ which bv a peculiar fortune are of two kinds in Hebrew , autient letters and modern superadded punctuation. §• 19-22- Of sounds. 9 FIRST PART. OF SOUNDS, LETTEF.S, AND SIGNS *). FIRST SECTION". OF SOUNDS. There exist in Hebrew, as a polysyllabic language (§.15), essentially 19 three gradations of sounds: the syllable as t'.ie lirst and most simple sound, as mere sound indeed, independant and separable, but intrinsi- cally only a member of a word ; then the irord , generally polysyllabic, and in that case, holding together and uniting all its syllables from one syllable, by the tone, externally indeed a whole, but intrinsically closely connected with the proposition; and iinally tiie proposition, or a limited expression of thought, generally consisting of many words, keeping all its single words together by the sense of the speaker, and by the rise and fall of the sentence tlience arising, from which follows the pause at the end of the proposition. The movements of all sounds are within this circle, and the three ruling powers, or centres, which animate and keep every thing together in its circle, are the vowel for the syllable, the tone for the word, and the seiise and the pause for the proposition. In the syllable, vowel and consonant form an inseparable whole, but 20 the vowel is the centre , t!ie power which alone moves and unites. A vov/el is a sound in itself distinct, either uttered pure (c) or compressed by the organs above and below {i , u) , but still resounding uninterrupted from the open mouth: while tlie voAvel is a pure breathing diversly made vocal, at the same time it is necessarily put in motion, sustained, com- pressed, and bounded by the, in themselves, mute sounds of the organs of speecii, as lungs, throat, tongue, and mouth (i. e. by t!ie consonants); and since these sounds are mucii more manifold than the vowels, the number of possible syllables is very great. Thus the vowels are intrinsi- cally indeed tiie animating elements of the language, but externally, in comparison with the shorter but firmer consonants, its finer, feebler, more pliable part, and hence in the formation of words the nicer, more intei- tectual distinctions of meaning are produced by them §. 15. Altliougli vowels and cousouants are essentially different, 21 yet there are many gradual approximations between them, since i , u which are formed by a contraction of the organs, are more substantial and firmer than the pure a (e) and the consonants are partly softer, more liquid, partly firmer and harder in various gradations, v. §.67 ff. According to §. 15 it is a characteristic of Semitic that it 22 is rich in vowels , and does not tolerate great accumulation of consonants, and especially never begins a syllable with two, or more, closely joined consonants, as so often happens in our languages , as nQog , nisivo). This principle is most *) Cf. HuPFKT.n: fon cler Nafur und den Jrten der Sprachlaute , in John's Jahrh. der Philol imd Pad. 1829. B. 1. S. 451-472. 10 J. 23- Of sounds, J. 24-26. Of syllabi, and words. deeply interwoven \vith tlie formations of roots and words, and is one of the fundamental peculiarities of this family of languages. 23 Hebrew however is not the most vocalic of the Semiilc languages, it is especially no longer capable of sustaining a short vowel in a simple syllable, as in the Arabic hcitala^ the Greek iyevero etc. A short vowel can only remain in such a syllable when the tone sustains and animates it Avith new power, if not (a few cases only, arising from parlicular causes excepted §. 58. 70 ff.) it must fall away. Hebrew howe- ver is by no means utterly deprived of a beautiful abundance of vowels : the tone especially powerfully sustams the richer sound of vowels in its neighbourhood, as Avell after it (as rinjD §.287, u3-!p §.317), as before it §. 36; and the vocali- zation is stinted to what is merely necessary, only in S3lla- bles which are very far removed from this influence of the tone §. 65. As the light and rapid vocalization has thus dis- appeared, those vowels which have remained have become so mvich the heavier and harder, so that if a vo-wel originally short remains from any cause in a simple syllable, il regul- arly becomes long to sustain itself §. 27. I. OF SYLLABLES AIND WORDS. '-^ I. The nature and compass of syllables may be defined according to the established laws hence deduced. For as the Hebrew language according to a fundamental rule (§. 23) tolerates no short vowel in a simple syllable , therefore to form a sylla- ble there must be a firm vowel which is either supported by itself (by its length), or by its position, and from this, the compass and natvue of syllables may be best defined: '^5 1. A simple consonant must necessarily always precede this vowel, from the lightest breathing, which may be repre- sented after the Grecian manner by the S])iritus leuis, as ^:2N ^omar, yz^ ^/anin, drpN ehtoh ^ ^^i'^? Jish-dl, to the fir- mer and most firm consonants, as ^^ har^ YP lu , ::r:r"3 ?Jiil;- tclb. But a double or compound sound can nether go before, according to §. 22, since the language cannot combine two consonants before the vowel, as in our words clam, yadvo), creep, great. 2G Every consonant however thus introducing the vowel of the syllable, may be preceded by one single other cunso- nant\, which without coalescing with the following con- sonant so as to form one compound consonant , and without even necessarily belonging to the syllable after it, is oidy ex- §• 27-29' ^^ syllables and words. ±± ternally allaclied to it, or in utterance rapidly carried over to it; such an appoo-^/afw/a/ consonant must therefore necessa- I'ily he pronounced vfilli a fragment of a vowel (^^.166), and Avould receive a full short vowel ^) if the language was richer in vowels; hut this relic of a definite vowel is no longer a distijict vowel but the most fleeting sound, yet most like an e rapidly pronounced (cf. §. 45). Thus V''p5 k'sU or k'^sU not xil, iri^iib risk or l^ish^ '^in3 /z'Af, i-i-? p'ri, and in the middle of a word ^"^12^;) jil-mda, tn-^'b'qp qo-tJi'lini. More than one consonant hoAvever cannot he joined on in this way to the following syllable , so tliat two consonants thus coming together must necessarily be pronounced with a firm vowel §. 66. 1) As in always the case in Arabic. Even in Hebrew there are some traces of it $. 36 ff. 58. 2. As to the end of the syllable 1) the syllable may end with the vowel, as "Jl^ b'hd, ib li, 27 ^"^2^^"^ Jdquniu ; such an ojje/i or simple syllable has a pro- tracted y long vowel according to rule; eiLlier a vowel ori- ginally long, or if short, proti^acted according to ^^. ~3 , be- cause it is in a simple syllable. All exceptions to this rule depend on particular causes. 2) If the syllable ends with consonants, as na hat, ri"b'75Jn 28 higdalt , the vowel in such a shut ov compound syllable must necessarily be short, because it is compressed and firmly at- tached to the consonant after. It is only wlien the tone adds its influence at the end of a word, that the voice permits the vowel in a compound syllable to sound full without com- pression, as lI::^ bdni, bip qol, tDSV? nial-hdm , Ini^Jpn ta-ci^ni-nctj yet even here tliere is a limitation cf. §. 48 ■-■ 1 = According to its whole structure, and especially accord- 2i> ing to its comparatively gi-eat abundance of vowels , the He- brew language tolerates only one consonant at the end of a syllable in the middle of a word; but \\\q final syllable which is freer and more sonorous , may end in two different consonants, but only if the pronunciation of the last consonant of such a combination is easy, that is to say, if one of the eight mutes with its hard sound (^. 101) can be attached so as to be distinctly heard , especially after a more liquid sound, as 'I'nN drd, "^r-ia nerd^ t:u3p qoshth, ^-^i jashq , zpi jishb, r^hl^^^i higdalt ^ r\'2'n'3 katabt. But where this com- 1)iualion does not exist, then a very short toneless vowel is ii\serted as auxiliary before the last consonant, namely the short e, the nearest in such cases §. 45, and even in other ca- 42 §. 30-33- Of syllables and words. ses besides, lliis auxiliary vowel "■') is often inserted, since tlie language has a tendency to an abundance of vo^Yeis from its earliest origin. "n^D, "^SD . 30 The particular cases in which tliis auxiliary vowel is or is not usee!, can only be understood by a knowledge of the principles of formation. Tlie following is a brief statement: 3) In the verbal person ri:ari!3 kataht §. 281, which is hardly an abreviation of katdbti, the hard pro- nunciation is always retained , because T\ t attaches itself closely to any consonant. 2) In those verbal forms which are produced by apocopation the vocalisation takes place only occasionally, as Z'l"^ jirh and i'^"' jireb, V. §.290. — 3) All nominal forms of tlie kind described §. 317. 3(i5, and they are the most frequent examples of this kind , which are originally so and have not suffered abbreviation, have most regularly facilitated their pronunciation by thi.s auxiliary e. 31 Those compound syllables whose final consonant is also the first consonant of the succeeding sj^llable , like ^Vp_ qallu^ tZiVs kullatn , nVi£ fiillo , form a peculiar variet)% For in this case, where the two consonants only pi'oduce the same sound prolonged, the vowel is not so compressed as before tAVO difl'erent consonants which clash with each other. Such sylla- hies before a double consonant or medial syllables have therefore many peculiarities , v. f. 47. 125. 32 Another variety of compound syllables consists of tiiose whose final consonant, without abruptly ending the preceeding syllable, passes over rather to the following one as "^^P.l jaVde, almost like jaWde (§.172), ianlDS bik^fob. Such a syllable may be called loosely compound or half shut as opposed to the usual close shut syllables. The cases however in whicli such syllables arise can be learnt only by a acquaintance with the rules of formation §. 173. 33 II. One syllable only in every polysyllabic word has the chief tone , which keeps together and unites tlie whole -word. This tonesyllable , according to tlie whole character of Hebrew which is remarkably rich neither in formations nor syllables , is not very variable as to its position , but rests for the most part near the end of the word (§. 34). But as the stress of Avhole pronunciation is thus drawn back to the end, its powerful influence can be extended even to the preceding syllalile, and produce there a kind of forefone. Thus the tone produces a fuller more sonorous vocalizalion , and espe- cially many vowels are retained by it which would ollier- wise fall away. But from the third syllable from the tone on , those vowels only are retained which are indispensably necessary for the proinuiciation , as also the whole richer ') Auxiliary is only a substitute for the German hinierlaulend i. c. uftersoundiiig. Transl, §• 34-36- 0£ syllables and words. 13 tonic vocalisation disappears and only tlie necessary vocaliza- tion remains, if the tone of a word from particular causes either falls away or is removed farlher toward the end. From all these elTecls of the tone a peculiar tonic vocalization has arisen and Ave must distinguish a) between primitive vowels, and vowels either entirely, or at the same, time dependent on the tone ; b) hetween short vowels capable and Incapable of the tone, and c) between vowels long by tone and by Stem §. 203. 1. The chief tone has Its proper seat on tl e last syila- 34 ble, It can only rest on the penult on the express conditions that the ultimate is either a simple syllable, as D'2'n'2katdbta, Ti'^bri gnliti, ln;^hpn tih-tuh-na , or, If a compound syllable, that it has a short vowel and follows a simple syllable , as iij^ip qodesh, t^nins h'tahdtam ; no other cases are possi- ble. But since the accentuation * ) of the penult , on account of these great limitations, diliors but little from the usual ac- centuation of the ultimate , there Is properly speaking only one kind of tonic accentuation and It Is almost utterly unim- portant, as far as further consequences are concerned, whe- ther the ultimate or penult, has the tone. For some cases however the short, acute tone, with merely a vowel at the end, as ^in^ ka-fbu, t\^} jo-Vdd, and the long, protrac- ted tone, when either a consonant, or which is the same in [ effect, a syllable Is sounded after the tone vowel, are to be distlnguislied , as S'^dVj Tii'laHm, i:iin3 hHabuni. How it is that the tone may rest sometimes on tlie ultimate and 35 sometimes on the penult can only be understood from a knowledge of forms. The general rule is that the tone can only rest on the penult in two cases: 1) on account of the auxiliary vowel §. 29 s. , as ^Ip j T) ?.''3 5 ripVip ; — 2) on account of an abbreviated postflxed syllable §.60, ^73^p;||, riznS ; with a compound syllable only in the case CSiniPS §. 305 from a special cause. 2. The foretone , which may precede the chief tone, 36 consists of a long vowel which some consonant preceding the tone syllable, either assumes, in case it had no proper vowel of its own, or only supports. As pure fore-tone vowel, d the nearest and purest vowel, is almost always used, e sel- domer and only in certain cases. Such a fore-tone vowel however can only maintain its place under very favourable circumstances, and therefore a more accurate explanation of particulars is here necessary : *) When accented and accent uaf ion are here used, they are to be understood of the tunic not of the Masoretic accentuation. Eng- lish has no equivalent for liftonung, betont. Transl. 14 J. 37-41- Of syllables and ^vorcls 57 1) If a consonant belonginjj to the stem stands quite alone before the tonesjilabk; nithotit a primitive vowel of its own, it takes a, as iris, tzmp^ , -^t' P'R' "i^^*!' Indeed tliis fuller pronunciation ex- tendi itself to the prefixes (^ , 3 , b , "} ) in cases tliat favour it. In ^P-?. '•' appears instead of d according to J. 270, in -^?. §.325, and in a few other cases. SB On the other hand, tlie foretone vowel is wantinj^, if an unusually long immutable vowel , introduced into the root for the formation of new stems, does not admit any but the shortest vowels in its neighbourhood on account of its power and protraction, as in the forms ~^2". , "10"^, ^p7 §. 328. That is to say, the tone sinks to the weakest vowel sound before those mo.st emphatic vowels, to a sliort i or e (according to §.213) Vthicli cannot possibly remain in Hebrew, according to §. 23 but is changed into a mere fragment of a >owel. 39 Before the longer postfixed syllables also §.60, the a which was before in the ultimate remains, whetiier a single consonant goes before, as "MN'vp, ^^VPr from N">Z), T^^^ (which are followed by — "^^^^ §. 382 iiaving assumed d as foretone) or a second consonant without a vowel, as i3S'?riU , f''^"*:^'; from :!'JTO , ^X^l . On the other hand e only re- mains after two consonants , that is in cases vvliere a firm vowel must be pronounced, as I^S : STi^5 ; N'n'J : ii^"!"] , else it remains seldom, as rii72"i23 from 'i^^ and in similar nouns plural §. 382. On the other hand Qi^T and always before suffixes "^"^'ip, ^~r.*^ etc. 40 2) If two consonants without a vowel long by stem go before, their vowel generally remains after the first, uniting botii in a compound syllable, as soon as ever a vowel keeps the two last radicals together , as in^-; , iri^73 , ITpi^, ^P.^5; yet before accented postfixed syllables which assume the last radical , the pronunciation of tiie two first radical.*; also, often inclines strongly to the end, so that d is inserted immedia- tely before the tonesyllable. Thus o) mo.st purely and regularly in the plural forms tZi'lDb/O , rii-b'3 from T]V/5 §■ 382 ; b) in the substantive forms in on §. 3il although not regularly but ratlier more variable and impure, as 'jl'^liN , 'Iji'^ST ; for which '{"r^ is a shorter form, n^sV^ too, at least similar in having an halfshut ^first syllable cf. §. 173. 41 3) Further if an immoveable syllable (i. e, a compound syllable or one with a vowel long by stem) goes before the consonant preceding the tonesyllable, this produces of itself so strong a retention of the voice that it hurries on more rapidly at'terward.s. Sucli a consonant therefore has a foretone even less than the preceding cases, and tiiere remains only o) in the verbal form -ri^i^ a as foretone for the second radical, which ia this case always stands alone §. 277. — b) in the noun the long a before a postfix syllable regularly, much seldomer the feebler e long by tone if it is somewfiat protracted, as t^"'?^Mi' , T!:rp;3 , tT]5'^ , whereas ^-rip'^ "insp^i , nniinb , ii^^nps ; from ^r)^i,' n?.p72\ nniD , nsD . '— c) Besides a, e remain before the terminations of tlie persons of verbs if the tone syllable is a protracted one (§.34), so that the foretone is in- fluenced by it; but even then generally only in pause, as 1N"^p") from N'lp.': : ■>:ii<"ip^': . Prov. 1, 28, ^b-ir:'. from bi": , n'^n^{=' : 'j'b^r;;; from n^.^?■^ : 'J^'I^.N-' . % §.42. Of syll. and words. $.43-45. Of vowels. i5 The O- sound lias not the same fendeiicy to be foretone vowel as 42 a-e. For tiie soiiiid o-ti is not so near nor so moveable and fleeting as a-e, and an o merely long by tone, remains only, according to the rule, in the actual tonesyllable, not before it as foretone; examples are rare according to §. 41 , c : 'J^ilip';' Rutli 2, 9. II. SINGLE ELEIMENTS OF THE SYLLABLE AND WORD. ^. VOWELS. The nearest, most primitive vowels are A, I, U. Among these A 43 is the purest and nearest sound, hence it is originally predominant in the language , and most frequently used. I and U , pronounced with a more distinct compression of the anterior organs, are of firmer, and, as it were, more substantial sound, and lience 1) tliey easily change, becoming firmer, into their still firmer semivowels J and V §. 88 fl\ ; and 2) being more like and nearer to each other they are easily attracted mutually and ex- changed for one another, 1 being only the sharper, U the obscurer sound, but both being deeper than tiie high A , which is opposed to them both in common, §. 53. The dipthongs ai, an, the nearest and simplest of all dipthongs are produced by the high A being pronounced together with the deeper 1 and U. These nearest sounds have however a very strong tendency to sof- tening so that each sound may be changed into a feebler, more uncertain sound nearest related to it: A becomes broader and descends to E ; I and U expand tiiemselves and ascend to E , O. The dipthongs ai , au. melt into tlie softer sounds ae and o, which again, as a possible case, may be farther ciianged into tiie simple i, u, Since tiien E thus stand.s between A and I, the vowels a-c-i m this respect, stand much nearer to each other, and are commuted, while U O are much farther from them. Especially the short vowels AEl are nearly related to each other, ja contradistinction to U O. The important consequences of tiiis v. §. 45 ff. — On tlie other hand the obscuration of the clear high A into the nearly as open, but deeper, O is possible, as vice verscl tlie latter can easily change into the former by dialect. Finally shortening and flattening of the longer and sliarper vowels appears to be only very gradually coming into use. All these possible variations of the vocalization occur 44 even in Hebrew^ very frequently, yet many remains of the purer primitive pronunciation have been preserved, Avhicli un- certainty has produced great multiplicity and variety of the vowel sounds. To this is to be added the protraction of the vowels by the inlluence of the tone, by which vowels origi- nally short are prolonged more or less immutably as is de- scribed §.33 If. The tone however produces sometimes in another manner a gradual flattening of the sharper sounds §. 45. 51. 222. I. Softening takes place under the following different 45 circumstances : 1. The A-Sound remains pretty generally and pure but is nevertheless often cJiangcd into E-I ; into E in the tone only 16 §. 46. 47* Of vowels. ill tho two folloMing cases, 1) the sliort a in final syllables, as Tjba is clianged before the auxiliary e into the same e with the tonic accent Tfoi^^ §. 127. 2) The long a at the end of words is, in some words and terniina lions, reduced to e, as Ti'D me often i'or ?nd [what?) and other rarer instances §. 369. — The decay of the A-sound in Hebrew before tlie tone appears in this respect very frequent, that the neai-est short vowel for the formation of compound syllables is not the strong A but I (for E according to §, 47) , as indeed the most fleeting vowel sound in general approaches nearest to the feeblest e, i §. 26. 29. 46 2. The short i and li of compound syllables is very apt to be changed into o, 6 in the following manner: 1) i and n cannot remain in the tonesyllable , or after it, but are then regularly changed into the broader, Hatter e, o. yJjter the tonesyllable tlien we always lind e, o -^); but as enfeebled vowels incapable of being lengthened by the tone, they cannot, according to the rule, remain in the tonesyllable; in it there- fore o is always changed into 6 as Vs hoi, 'd'r^.'Zi'] jihtoh ; but o is either changed into the stronger a, or d at once, ac- cording to distinctions which are particularly shown in the formation of words -). 1) For the only case in uhich i, it are obliged to remain v. §. 297. 2) The distinctions are briefly these: in nominal stems we find r, and only when tliey are abbridged a ; in verbal stems a , except where e is an important distinction of the form of tense or stem §. 274. For the pause v. §. 133. e appears in tone syllables too but very rarely, viz. o) retained in short words only as exceptions 1^P."*P §. 319 , n'2N for emit §. 385. — J) somewhat oftener in longer words in which the voice has more stay at the beginning, as Vi^/^y §-34T, not so often in words like 12- g. 274. — c) be- fore suffixes as ^2 ,.. , ^^"''2, where the original i is hardly clian- ged into e on account of the tone. Yet the case is difterent if a long vowel is flattened into e in the tone, as '^'^r^'J §. 428. Only in a few forms arising from sudden apocopation has i re- mained, although in them not constantly §.290. — T!ic i has tiieuiore easily remained in the particles t^Jf > "J^^ j i^N because they only occur as first syllables of longer words. 47 2) 1 , u may indeed remain before the tone syllable, but these two sounds are differently afTecfed, since i is much thin- ner and sharper , and xi is rounder and more easily prolonged, and therefore the former can more easily support itself in such cases than the latter : a) i is retained in all syllables be- fore the tone, whether the I -sound is primitive tliere, or has only arisen by means of an E reduced from an A. E never appears here except before sufilxcs, as remains of the £ in the tone, partly in close compound syllables of nominal §. 48. 49- ^f vowels. 17 forms when an 1) inclined to lengllien itself Is retained, In distinction of forms in I §. 426 , partly in loose compound syllables §. 308, else very rarely \j. 338, 425. — • b) u on the other hand has become much rarer here than o , so that lorms as 'js'^p Keh. 10, 35 pass for exceptions. Only where u and u are characteristic of the form , does the primitive sound frequently return in u in such syllables before suffixes §. 427, 3. — f) But before reduplicated consonants (§. 31) the sharp sounds i and u have ahvays remained so firm that here i always appears, even in words which have e, as ir!2, i?T^2 from nr , br'^s, and is then changed into U as ^^i^ir"^ for^JSp"; §. 116. Short o is rare here, e still rarer, and for tiie particular instances in o, a special cause may for tlie most part be found. The case is different with long { and ii. For J is tlie 48 sharpest sound, and therefore proportionably longer, more permanent in Hebrew, than e only long by tone, so that the mutable e may be changed into the immutable i §. 253. INo less immutable is u in comparison to o long by tone ; yet as u is clearer than u, it sometimes, before new postfix sylla- bles with the tone, descends to ii , just as i vice versa to ^ from the same reason: pTr!?3 ; rrp^in!'; , tli'^jpr; ; ^i/^p ^7. Besides on the broad and obscure o, cf. §.57, 2. lienf-e e, u are, generally speaking, the nearest long vow- els of this class in Hebrew, even before the tone, cf. §. 97, 120. And 1, u are so protracted and sharp, as compared with ^ , u , that they cannot remain in the tone before two consonants, but must be changed into e, o; hence l) we fuid i^:?3pn very regularly, compressed from ;^:/2pn ^); and 2) syllabfes like n\z3^ri2, rrdin? are necessarily compressed into pu5n3 , nU/'n? ^). ' 1) i is rarely retained §. 63. 2) Only ill the rare form n'J/liUn §. 340 has u remained as being radical and tlierefore firmer. 3. Diphtliongs appear but rarely in the formation in 49 Hebrew, not at all in the oldest and simplest forms f. 327; most frequently they arise only from the contraction of sim- ple vowels f. 53 ff. But however they arise , the tendency to softening resolves them in every case (a few vestiges only excepted ^vhich depend on particular causes ^. 54. 254) in such a manner , that ai is changed iuto ae (:= e) au into u. These mixed sounds e, o which thus arise are indeed im- mutably long, like the dipthongs themselves, but are liable to further changes from particular causes. Thus such an i between two consonants is sometimes rodurod in the forma- 18 {. 50-54. Of vowels. tion to i ^. 425; and final ae is, in certain cases, very gene- rally flattened into e by the tone §. 222. 50 II. The obscuration of a into o shows itself in some universal traces even in the first period of the Hebrew lan- guage , as koteb for kaleb f. 326. On the other hand , in the second period, the change of the long simple o into a intru- des itself gradually, from the inihience of Chaldaic, v. §.334. 51 III. Instances of shortening of the long vowel sounds, merely from the rapidity of utterance, are extremely rare and isolated in the firmer part of the language, as lZj"^r2 hottini appears to be so shortened from hotini, that that has still remained before the new reduplication f. 47 , c. But in the singular instance of the particles, whose origin is doubtful not only shortening is more frequent, but even the greatest flattening of a vowel , by which all longer vowels change into e', the weakest of all vowels, as tZirN atteni, ~nN ety py dden from attum^ 6t , ddea Roh. 4, 3; •^^'^"J "^r.^ {^• 45) , where e' appears to have arisen from a , at the same time to avoid the recvu-reuce of a, just as in the almost ad- verbial nyi tjVi'b for ^y {ever and ei^er). 52 According to a general law (cf. §. 15), tsvo vowels coming together cannot remain ; but tlie manner in Avhich this concur- rence is removed differs, partly according to the nature of the sounds themselves , and partly according to peculiar causes belonging to various forms. The following ways are possible : 53 1. Contraction is possible in two ways : l) where sounds concur ^vhich are either of the same kind, or so alike that one attracts and assimilates the oilier, and thus both coalesce. Only simple and pure sounds can do so, a + a ;r a , i -j" i ^^^ ^? u -[~ w =^ A ; e and o are equivalent to the more primitive i and u answering to them. According to f. 43 i and u are alike , one of which can attract the other according as it is, or appears in any case, the more important sound, e. g. u -}- i = u ; u -f- i :rz I. The first is a general law without distinction of the concurrence of long or short vowels , as pSTi tinaci from tiinaq , ipo naqi from nacjji , £3^1 rum from ruuni or ruom; the second less general, since it takes place , it is true , in short vowels , in the middle of a word always, as p2^ri hunaq from huinaq, but not in the final syllable, where a long vowel more easily preserves its distinction, as "^riUJy dsui. 5* 2) a-\-i, u:=.ae (e), 6 according to ^. 49. Tliis con- traction of two different sounds into a new mixed sound is a universal law, whether the first or the second sound is pro- §. 55. Of vowels. I9 jierly luug or short, as pij'^rt lieniq for Jial'tiiq, fining ictabto for Ic tctbtd-u , etc. Y^et the language has from par- ticular causes resisted contraction in some cases, in whicli the diphthong does not appear to be pronounced as one sound, ai, au , but the sounds being harder are more separated, di; da, hence also the a can sometimes be lengthened before u Avliich is there sounded as a semivowel dv ^). Thus 1) in forms in which a primitively double i or u is found after a, or, which is the same in effect, where a new i is added to a primitive ai ; in this case the mixed sound would be too weak , and the contracted double i or u remains more firmly, as "^"Dh^ni'lacaL , in, tn^Q , Tj':;3b/3 , tniailj , I'pqai^ oVi-pqdi' ; in like manner 1.T i§'eV, and the suffix Ti~ di^ from aiu^ so that the i in the middle disappears indeed, at the contraction of the a-u on each side of it, but the a remains long as a trace of the diphthong. — 2) In forms in which a longer pro- muiciation is designedly retained to distmguish their meaning fx'om tliat of shorter, as n^s , V.'}12 §. 318. If a consonant follows after i , it must keep itself more apart , so that at the same time its semivowel becomes nearly audible according to ^.55, as bdi't , almost =. bdj it. Rarely besides , as inp ^.319. N^^ according to §. 318, and the ancient form """i^rj §. 324. — If an immutable o comes before i, there 6i remain without closely amalgamating , as ii!i hoi', "^is, , '^^b3 ; such cases how- ever are very rare. 1) It appears to be evident that final i, in words like "^^iU^ , "^^03, 11.1 , "^n cannot be read as a semivowel. It is just as certain that such cases are not close diphtliongs, for ui would not be even pronounceable. Nothing remains then but to sound the i with a short aftersound, which is confirmed by cases like ni3. The only instance in which the diphthong is not loose is in the foreign word 'J'l'iri Haurdn. 2. Resolution into semivowels is possible only with i, u : 55 i into j , u into v §. 88 if. *). It is 1) necessary at the begin- ning of a word before any vowel, as jalad for ialad, — 2) and always permitted at the beginning, of a sylla- ble in the middle of a word, where i, u come between two syllables, as i^D : T''1Q ; it is especially necessary before a, since i, u-{-a cannot be contracted, as tT'iip shihjd, ni^n cliedvd from sWhi, chddu^ and after a long vowel of a different sound, as QircJi? , Diia from iViUy, iv, , in like manner tl^S52 from "^vGli, u having united itself with i which becomes a semivowel according to §. 53. Where the same sounds concur, - ) I have preferred retaining the German J as representative of the semivowel in Hebrew words , which are spelt in english letters throughout the volume, as it did not appear so consistent to use Y, the only english representative of tiie sound oi the semivowel. Trana. 20 §• 56- Of vowels. {.57. Change of vowels by ilex. contraction also is possible according to ^.53 and lakes place, e. g. tn''^_'2V and S'^'^i:^ from "^^^'J §. 393 ; the distinction in the use ol these forms is sliowu in the the theory of forma- tion. Bnt in all these cases the vowel is either entirely changed into the semivO"\vcl, as JT^iuJ, or it remains as a vowel at the same time, in its place, as ii^^sy , tzi'^ni:? from ■^"ilnr? ; the latter is particularly the case with the more im- mo\ea])le, heavier vowels. In other cases, where the form requires the resolution, an a sometimes is inserted as a heavy coimterpoise before tlie vowel which is resolved , which for- mation is rather Aramaic, as ^l'T^y e clavot {rowi'^'-ij)^ ^.345 and the Verbal forms ^iba ^. 285. — ■ 3) At the end of ^vords, ii is resolved after vowels which remain firm, as V^ fit^ from fi-u §. 422, •'p^, '.V^l according to §. 54. ^^ 3. Elision of one vowel by another, which on the whole is rare, is only possible in the middle , or at tbe end of a word, and affects no other soinid except a and e, the most liquid vowels, which have no corresponding semivowels in which they may be resolved. Thus the first vowel, as more important and stronger , elides the one which begins the sylla- ble which follows but which ends in a consonant, as D^ins I'tdhuni from k'labu-am §. 305; or 2) the second elides the weaker and less important end vowel of the preceding sylla- ble , if it is not at the same time in itself immutable, as "'rr.lj shobi from slwhe-i §. 427. It is only extrenily seldom and late that neither of these possible elisions takes place, so tiiat the two concurrent vowels remain se- parated merely by an aspirate (spiritus lenis §. 68), as lIj"'X2"i^ 'arbi-im g. 393. CIIAXGE OF YO^ITXS BY FLEXION. 57 "N^itli regard to the many influences wiiicli the flexion of stems and words exercises upon syHa!)les and vowels by means oi postfixes, the dis- tinction and kinds of tonevowels are to be particularly noticed. It is clear from wliat has been above stated, tliat three kinds of tone vowels may be distiiijiuislied: 1) short vowels, a, seldomer 6 §.46. From §. 23 f. it is plain tiiat every short vowel is dependent on, and supported liy a com- pound .syllable only, and consequently must immediately disappear, if the compound syl!al)le is broken up, by tde carrying on of the second con- sonant to another .syllable. But a short vowel , if supported by tlie tone, may remain even in a simple syllable g. 23. 2) Vowels lonf^ hy tone , whose length depends on the tone only, and which, as soon as ever that influence disappears, become again like short vowels, and are shortened in a compound syllable, and in a simple one fail away entirely ') Such vowels however graduaily lengthen them- selves more, and resist resolution, partly according to the power, kind, or position, of the particular vowels, and partly on account of the kind and meaning of forms and words. In general a has remained most pure, c too has often become stabler, o still more so, i, u are alwavs immoveable. §• 68-60- Change of vowels by flexion. 21 1) It may however be occasionally observed, tl at in final syllables tliey more easily accommodate themselves to 'lie former of these two cases; cf- "jlJ, but \:^l §• 41T; '^^np"' , but 'n^^r\'D'n §. 293. 308. ^ • . - It is especially to be kept in mind that the sound o-u is retained 53 most firmly and immoveably on account of its breadth and iieaviness. Where a-e-i are resolved and clianged into tlie shortest, nioste-like vowel sound, tliere o endeavours to sustain itself. It is even sometimes sounded double, as uSlDl'^j? qorbh'kem §.62, 2. 3) Vowels immutably long, or long by stem, which, as entirely in- 59 dependent of the tone and syllable, always remain firm and unciianged, and at the utmost only become shortened occasionally, wliere compelled by a new and particular necessity. Tliey arise o) from tiie very pro- tracted vowels which are long by tone , therefore always i , u ; (v. before IV. 2); with o, e, a there is sometimes a change witii tiie older weaker vowels. — i) from a vowel coalescing with a radical vowel or aspirate, V. §. 88 ff. — t) from a long vowel inserted into the root fur tlia pur- pose of formation, of which kind of forms Hebrew has a great number, as :jni3 §. 326 , b^H!, §. 334. The postfixes wliicli influence tlie syllables and vowels of a word are externally of tlii-ee kinds : l) Those beginning with vowels, as the terminations f, on q^^ of nominal forms ^^.341 ff . , the d of the fern. sg. , the«, ini of plurals and many pronoini suOIxes which begin witli a vowel, either because they have become toneless, as the suf- fix "^2" cini , eni ^) , or because a vowel wliIcJi has been lost after the final consonant , has been thrown back before it ; as in the suffix -ek ^) from '-X'/ ^. 305. 1) This is the first step to the greatest Aramaic apocopation an; the process is k'taVni, k'taldni, ftalctn, 2) The i indeed sounds pure at the end, but as it is thrown back into a compound syllable, it must become short, therefore e according to §.46, which is tlien changed by the tone into e. The vowel of a postfix, in case u compound syllable precedes it, which is most fi^equenlly the case, takes the last consonant of that syllable to itself, by which tlie syllable is broken up. If then the vowel of this syllable is only an auxiliary e §. 29 it always disappears before accented and unaccented postfixes, as ti"ip : Jianp . If it is a short ac- cented vowel, it can maintain its place before unaccented postfixes by means of the tone , as b^^/^S : i^b'o'ns , '~i?^^3 : lri'^13'172 ; but before accented postfixes it must disappear, as ^l^"? • ^^"7^?- If it is a vowel long by tone , it either i^emains before accented postfixes, or disappears according to the rules of the foretone y. 36 ff. ; from special causes only can a short vowel remain in liie foretone, and be lengtliened in a simple syllable viz. iu iris, tijians , "^^'zt'z, §.307, the cause of which 22 §• 6l. 62. Change of vowels by flexion. will he clear from §. 65. Before an unaccented postfix, the long vo-svel remains of course. 61 There is an impurer and rarer formation, in Avhicli a short vowel which ought to disappear after flexion , main- ains itself in its place , by reduplication of the following con- sonant; this only occurs in a certain class of words, and may be accounted for partly by the force of the form, and partly by a combination of sounds which favour it, v. ^^. 316 IF. 65i 2. Those beginning with a loosely attached consonant, viz. the suffixes '^—, CDS— and a few others §. 305 IF. , all receiving the tone. These are not attached by a distinct vowel, nor are they consonants closely attached, Ijut float be- tween both these kinds, since they are joiiied by a mere frag- ment of a vowel ^) , which may indeed occasionally be very much compressed, but never entirely destroyed. 1) It was without doubt primitively a a owel , a sliort X according to 5.23, and as to its power, a ligament, a connexion §. 406. The auxiliary e, then, always disappears, since the frag- mentaiy affix - vowel takes the last consonant entirely to the following syllable, as "(T^p : '^^1j7, 1£.D : trJp'isD, with- out any further difficulty; just as this affix-vowel must also al- ways become an audible sound, after a vowel long by stem, as yj^ib : Tj'd^ib Vbii-sli'lca. But before merely accented vow- els , there is much imcertainty , on accoimt of the doubtful nature of the affix-vowel, which easily yields to the sounds in its neighbourhood. For first, the last consonant can be entirely drawn over to the last syllable , in loose connexion, by the affix - vowel , so that the accented vowel before the tone being left in a simple syllable, either remains long, or becomes so; this longer pronunciation however, only takes place before the light termination *:]— (not before the heavy ones , that end in consonants) and even before that, only regu- larly with a, seldom with e, and never with o,- a kind of foretone therefore, according to §. 36, as Tl^f!" , '^^i^'N , TilzDr; from 'ni'^ , .'»!nr^. ? '^^5^' • Where the vowel cannot thus maintain itself as foretone , it may extricate itself in two possible ways: l) the vowel remains in its place, but is there necessarily so shortened, that the following consonant floats between both syllables , without attaching itself closely to the following syllable, for sojue trace of the affix vowel must remain; thus of a, CDlD^liT cVbar''l^eni, tr::^^:N;; of e where short e generally remains from the e long by tone, as *^*>r"', "Tjin'^ , 'Tj'Tii"; , C^p'^i';' , yet according to ^. 47 even i may be inserted, especially before the heavy suffix, as '^iSn's, ti52:2N'^ ; lastly of o , as '^iPw': from irr"; . Or 2) the vowel seeking §• 63-65' Change of vowels by flexion. 23 a firmer seat forward , advances to the preceding -vowelless consonant , whereby the fragmentary affix vowel becomes tlien separate and perfectly distinct. This however is only easy, where a single consonant without a vowel goes before, and therefore very seldom with rt, as tUS'n-Dlri Lev. 26, 15 from ■"isri , tIDp']5lri ^.426, only frequent with o, which genei-ally maintains itself more firmly, especially before the lighter "rj-r-, '^'ZTi'D Fioh''l-a and "^in^ hotb''ha from inS , so that iu this uncertainty, short o establishes itself perhaps in both places at the same time , as ClDi^p cjorub'heni. This is much more difficult and rare, if a compound syllable goes before, \vhich must thereby be broken up, as '^^^ti"; Ps. 94, 20 from S2r;\ 3) Those that begin with a closely attached consonant, generally persons of verbs, as nins ^^.281, and the nominal forms nbpj? for nbtop §. 365 ff ." ' ' Where a consonant is thus closely attached to the com- 63 pound syllable, its vowel becomes compressed and shortened, as well in accented as in luiaccented syllables. Tlieu the vowels are affected as follows ; a is always shortened to a in tone and out of tone ; i and u are so shortened , that in the tone the accented e or a , and o accoi-ding to ^^. 46 are used for the corresponding short vowels ; in unaccented sylla- bles , the short vowels according to f. 47. Even the proti'acted o must be shortened sometimes. Although this forced shortening is rather frequent in He- brew, yet there are many ancient traces of the primitive resi- stance of the vowels long by stem against this shortening §. 288. 1 , u and o too resist it more than the pure a ; and on the other hand , the mutes , like n , are attaclied so as more to preserve their hardness, and therefore necessarily shorten the vowel more than the softer "] ^). 1) Hence rarely J-r^'jjipn , at the same time a singular form. A similar forced shortening affects also certain forms , from the force of the meaning , even without such postfixes §. 289 ti", A sound thus elided on account of the constraint of the prommcia- q^ tion, returns again in the progress of flexion 1) in an unaccented com- pound syllable, as ri^ptt; : irTipHD from U;^n: §. 42T. — 2) in a sim- ple accented syllable , in which a vowel which has been shortened in , a compound syllable , can again be prolonged aud return to its primitive sound: 3riDr; , t^^'^rilDn ^^.293. 3. If the vowel merely long by tone becomes by means 6r» of postfixes the third syllable from the tone, it necessarily falls away , since it must then be reduced to its piimitive shortness, and a short vowel cannot remain iu a simple syllable, thus 1) the a of the foretone regularly, as bi'i-'j : t3">bi.') , nn3 : Sn^ns ; in some cases the sound is retained immutably long, from special causes, v. S. 285.298.386.431. 24 §■ 6G' Change of vowels by ilex. §. Gj. Of conson. 440. In the verbal forms Izns llie short vowel of the liual syilable is lost before the very abbreviated vOAAel terminations of the persons of the verb , so that the 1 of the foretone re- mains : ^2n3 , i^^ri^; while before the longer suffixes tlie vo- calization , according to §. 40 , is drawn to the middle of the word, that vowel therefore remains in its place, and the a of tlic forelone disappears : S'^ns , CnriN . — 2) The \owels long by tone which ixMiiain before the tone, as 'nsTN, "'"'StS^ and then ^i^'iS'iN-, yet many of tlu's kind, especially e, aiid still more o , have always lengthened themselves ; particulars of which see in the theory of lormation. 65 In cases Avhere two consonants without a vowel would come together , either from the flexion , or from the accession of a vowelless prefix i 6', b , p before the vowelless consonant at the beginning of a vv'ord, then the first, according to ^.26, must take a short vowel. The nearest in such case is the weak sharp i, Avhicli appears universally with pi'efixes, as ti^ib"3 7, •^yju;::, unless the first consonant ofitlie Avord from some cause requires a more distinct vowel (§. 7o). But in the middle of a word , i occurs only where the sound i-e-a lies primitively in tlie full form of the word, as ''^.^jP, "''^.n^ shortened from &"iTn[;i, D'lTnp, since the stem is "nip,, '^v!'?. ; yet a sometimes returns from a primitive a , as '^^'l>'} and inb;^ , always ""^r '^ ; but where o is in the stem , it alway returns according to §. 58, at nans, •''123 from ins, a^-ic3 derived fi-om r!r:b. B. CONSONANTS. 67 The dilTereuce of the consonants, as well as their resem- blance and approximation to each other , arises partly , from tlie diffei-ent organs of their pronunciation, and partly from the different manner in which they are sustained , and compressed by the organs. According to both these inihiences , all conso- nants may be arranged as to iJieir classes and gradations in the following table , in which the nearest corresponding vow- els are noted at the side : I vow- I aspirated liquid < mute I els. consonants. gutt. a i ling, fltnt. la- bial. u liq uid .'icnii- na.sal. vowels. ■^ J : a ■^ 1 •1 " v III hibilaut s /? sli ^ rr 1; rt *! n «1 t - r b P §. 68-70- Of consonants. 25 I. The aspirated consonants (gutturals) , a class pecnliar in its number ea and definite gradations totlie Semitic languages, propel a softer or liarder breathing from the throat, according as tlie breatii eitlier comes pure out ot" the breast , or grates against tiie organs of the throat and calls tiieni into action. If the breath flows quite pure , there arises the gentlest aspi- rate, which witiiout a vowel is not audible, N answering at the beginning of a word to t!ie spiritus leiiis of tlie Greeks. If the breath is more sharply propelled against tlie side, the sound will be the pure but harder aspirate h Jl ? answering at the beginning of a word to the Greek spiri- tus asper. If the aspiration grates still more against the epiglottis, there arise gh y weaker and ch j-j stronger, two very rough, raucous sounds which border on tlie firmer consonants gkq, but pronounced deeper in the throat than g and k, and grating against the epiglottis less than q, and there- fore merely rougii aspirates which utter the vowel from the throat. Accordingly we would most naturally expect N and M at the begin- ning of words. For the way in which j^ and sometimes ^ arise in the middle and at the end of words , v. §. 220. 222. These sounds have many weaknesses and peculiarities in their nature (39 by which they are distinguislied from all otiiers, and are indeed different from one anotlier in degree, since the hardest sound j-; 'S very far from j^. All their weaknesses proceed from three cautiCs : 1. The guUiirals, as aspirates, approacli nearest to \\\q vow- '*^** els , since they can only become distinctly audible witli vow- els. There is therefore no difficulty \vhere full vowels are pronounced after them ; but where according to the principles of formation a consonant Should be pronounced without any, or without a firm, distinct vowel, in such cases vowel soinids readily intrude \ and tliis -weakness is greater where tAvo gutturals stand near each other. Therefore 1) a guttural as appoggiatural consonant at the beginning of a syllable , can never be pronounced ^vith the most fleeting vowel sound (^^. 26) but assumes a distinct vowel sound. As such, a fleating but distinct sound is generally usd , cf. fi''p''2_S ghctjudqiin with lD"^^!?/3 TuHukiin and §.76; but before another guttural, this fleeting sound is often changed into a full short vowel ^) ; and tiie vowel sound e and o (not «) makes itself sometimes so broad and strong- after J^ , as the softest of these sounds, tliat it becomes a full long vowel ^). 1) Viz. in tlie three different cases mentioned g. 239. 455 in wliicli special causes assist it: in all others the fleeting vowel sound re- mains. 2) Very seldom in tlie verb, as IZj^^'CN Zacli. 7, 14 for CN ; ofte- ner in the noun, especially if a guttural comes before a guttiual, tis iI!D"'^~N lor fDrjN ; but most frequently in a peculiar class of nouns tliat have a tendency to it §. 328. Before a guttural too, a vowel which would else fall away is often retained complete, especially a or e before j^. u:>:u3'^ , ^T3>;rT'. In the rare case that the appoggiatural consonant is also a guttural, tliis evasion is impossible; rather the two gutturals coming together, which are properly without a vowel , have then so much vowel power, that the first guttural takes the vowel of the syllable to itself alone , as §. 75 with t< in riXt) for riN'I5 ; there is a similar example with N in llnrrNri for v^^l^ri , which cannot remain §.285. The case is similar if N , as tlie softest most vocalic guttural, as appoggiatural consonant attracts the preceding vowelless consonant so that the preceding compound syllable is broken up , and its vowel becomes a pure long one in a simple syllable. Tliis however happens only with the heavy o inclined in itself to be lengthened, and in tlie form '^^»1^ §. 62, 2, tlie first syllable of which is not closely shut. Thus L3D^?2i"3 Gen. 32, 20 for S2Xi:7J , from inf. iS::^3 . 74 3) But at the end of the word^ wliere the syllable must end abruptly, such echoing and carrying over of the vowel of the syllable is impossible ; here the guttural must attach Itself hard and firmly to the accented vowel of the syllable , and its aspiration must be distinctly audible after long vowels (whicii besides are very frequent here) as well as after short ojies; §' 75-77- Of consonants. 27 as nttip'^ jis-mdch , ^'ro s]io-77ie^gh (cf. 78, ;'). This takes place also in the accented \iQini\\, as '^''J^i jaddg7i-mi, 'n^V'^. A final syllable with two consonants at the end (§.29 f.), when the T5 last consonant or the last but one is a guttural, requires a full short vowel for tlie guttural. There a guttural as last consonant easily attracts the vowel of the syllable entirely to itself, as ^ty^, §. 409; not so often where tile guttural is the last consonant but one, as tZVJ^ , DHp §. 319, but more frequently and regularly if the weak N is in this place, as n^^'ip, ^l!St2 §. 318. — Apocopated verbal forms only, ending with a hard n can retain a guttural in the middle without a vowel: ri^''2U3 §,287, nN^l ^^.297. 2. But among all the vowels the A-soiind is the nearest and 7« easiest with gutturals , because^ like them, it proceeds from the complete opening of the throat. Only the weakest sound among them , N , associates itself often with the weak and hroad e, which seldom appears with other gutturals besides N, especially towards the end of the word, where we should besides expect broader sounds §. 46. The vowel sound how- ever which is nearest and most accoi-dant with the guttural, can only so far influence and dislodge hostile vowels, as the strength and importance of the hostile vowel partly, and partly its position pez-mit ,* in wliich chiefly this general rule holds, that the I-E sound easily yields to the A, the favorite vowel of the guttural, bvit the U-0 sound, on the other hand, main- tains itself, according to §. 58 , much more firm and immovea- ble. But even where the sounds hostile to A are retained from particular causes , the A-sound intfudes itself as much as possible; the most frecjuent consequence of which is, that I and U , the most opposed to A, never appear as short and fleeting vowels , but in their stead E and universally. After all this the following particulars are clear: 1) A guttural as appoggiatural consonant^ because its vowel sound is least of all before hand detennined, takes ge- nerally the fleeting a [§. 'O), seldom, according to what is alove said, e, and o only wliere that sound is essential to the formation and has been retained. 2) A guttural concluding a syllable takes before it «, 7 7 e, o as short vowels, before the tone, not i, ii '^); in this case, where the distinction of the vowel is for certain reasons more strictly maintained, e can seldom be changed into a; the o sound always maintains itself. Cf. concerning all this §. 168 for examples and more copious detail. 1) i remains very seldom and only before the liard n , separated, "in"(l3 according to §. 291. That is to say, here there is a very loose compound syllable before the guttural. 28 §. 78 81. Of consonants. 78 But at the end of tlie word, ^vllere the aspirate sounds most freely, it also most effectually preserves the clearer soimd of its A; therefore every hostile voAvel a) in an unaccented syllable, i. e. according lo §. 46 a perfectly short vO"vvcl , is changed into a , as n:r: nejjach for nejiech , r;:_"j jdnacli for jdnoch; — ■ p') in an accenled syllable a vowel not long or not strongly suslaiued, is also displaced by a, as ^Vj^pd- ghani for pegJiani , fb'pl jisJilacli for jishloch ^) ; but — y) a vowel Avhich cannot be dislodged remains, but only "Nvitli a fleeting a intruding ilself before the guttural , as Vj2p sJiO- me"-gh^ '■jVvd shamil^*-gh , concerning wliich see farther §. 168. 1) Only in syllables ending nitii two consonants, where tlie guttural iu tlie middle is not so free, and with tlie hard j^ does the usual pronunciation with e remain, as t^lnb , tm §• 318, and with i in 1^1 according to §. 290; the o protracted from a short one remains with every guttural, as ^ys VnN , 79 3) Any long vowel remains of course after the guttm-al; but it exercises the same inlluence upon sJiort or nuUable vowels after it in a closely shut syllable^ as ui)ou a vowel before it, though not so regularly, hence 1) iu unaccented syllables e, o rallier stand for i, u ■^) especially with i<, as S'nrJ* , r^p"~^i , but there is no further change again of e, o for a. 1) i remains only d) in loosely shut syllables §. 291 ; V) for the more definite distinction of tense §.275; t) before reduplication accord- ing to §. 47, c , for which reason , since this is a new influence, j^ can retain the i in cases in which e else prevails after it §. 28:5. 2) in final syllables e, o are sometimes, l)ut not regular! v, changed iiUo a , as b^''^? ^^^^^ '^"r? ? see farther ^^. 269 If. In unaccented final syllables e, o may remain, as 5mN , Dm'T vajjdchos ^ but also change into a, as b^2 and e is always clianged into a in a syllable of three sounds (iV?) ? ^s soon as ever the e has been changed before the guttural into a, because the second vowel is generally only au echo of the lirst , according to ^^. 127, as uTir-: . 80 Since, according to all this, the guttural in a final syllable can ex- ercise quite a different, iiillnence to what it has in the syllat)le before the tone, therefore the pronunciation proper in the last case ceases when there is a sudden apocopatioa of the end, as n'T* (from J-;:r;' ) ; ]r!"' qir-clt becomes n^5'^p cfrat, 'jiN"i'"J '■iN~i?3 , nj^pj ntvlDw . This onl)^ happens with N , and only in certain cases. The hiatus is least difficult to pronounce and most easily avoided after a full vowel, as V^Vi■ , in which case it always remains; however it 30 §■ 83-85. Of consonants. sometimes Ijappens tliat a preceding strong a destroys a succeeding fleet- ing one, a -r a = a , as ':tt::jvcalv J^ and llie tone must remain in its place, §. 86-89- ^^ consonants. 31 as Nn^ from N^"^ cf. with nn3 from in3 §. 410 ns^t, Nb3-i §■ ^^>7. 1) All this shows that j« becoming mute is a very late phenomenon in Hebrew, and that formerly n must have been pronounced as a guttural at the end also. Tl lias seldonier thus given up its aspiration at the end, 86 most frequently in apocopated ternu'nations, as in proper na- mes whose last member is shortened from STllT^ , ^iri;^ , as tl^TS^l; also in the root, as r;7:n72n-;T Gen. 19, 16. 11. The liquid consonants, which are formed by the 8T anterior organs , from the posterior palate to the edge of the lips, are firmer than the gullurals, but are only produced by a softer, laxer shutting of the organs. Their sound is there- fore more distinct and audible than that of the gutturals, but not short and hard, but drawn out, melting, liquid, easily lost and resolved. There are however great distinctions be- tween ihem, which may be reduced to three kinds: 1. The semivowels "^ j and 1 v are closely connected with 88 the voNvel sounds i and u, since they are properly nothing more than those vowelsounds hardened into consonants. The voNvelsound i, u when compressed in such a manner that the upper and lower organs are, at least, laxly shut, be- comes necessarily ), v; from the posterior palate, where i is formed, j also is produced, and v on the lips. Hence these semivowels, which are not so firm as our j (Y) v, stand al- ways very near to the vowels i and u in origin , pronuncia- tion , and reciprocal change : i, u become hardened at suitable occasions to ), v, and j, v are as easily resolved into i, u. In this respect they are, indeed, both alike: J however is somewhat harder and firmer than V in Hebrew, so that in many formations in which a consonant must necessarily al- ways appear, V has been supplanted by J. (cf. ^. 223 and else where). The general rule is that these sounds which float between 89 vowel and consonant, only become hardened into consonants where the vowel sound can not maintain itself, but must ac- cording to its position become cither entirely , or at the same time a consonant. 'J'his therefore depends intrinsically on the relation of the vowels and on their concurrence, as is explained §. 52 ff. Regard however must be always had at the same time to the laws of formation of the roots. On the other hand, softening has occasionally intruded into Hebrew, according to which the consonants also, contrary to the ori- 32 J. 90. 91. Of consonants. jiiiial necessity, have been clianged in certain common cases iito their vowels. According to all this therefore: DO I) At the beginning of syllahlefi, these sounds are most rounlarly maintained as consonants , because ihey must there be always pronounced immediately before a vowel sounii, according to §. 25 , and are consequently hardened by it inio consonants. And this rule again liolds : a) of the beginning of words most necessarily, ^vhere I "< can be pronounced with any vowel, even with the most fleeting fragmentarj' vowel ^. 26 , because even this preserves the trace of a vowel, as -ibpjalad, '2ri':i^ jiktob , n?"^ jullad, !r!"''ib'; jHadim^ tV"} v'lo , as this v is only more Heeling than vci. Yet there are some cases in which 1 "^ begia even here to be resolved into tiieir simple vowel sound. Viz. 1) the copula i *-' is regularly resolved in two cases into u, before another labial (1,5, S, •\) ^ to facilitate the pronunciation, as T^r) ^b'^^ ^"^ before every consonant without a firm vowel, in which case, according to §.66, a firm vowel must be spoken after the first consonant, only that here T does not assume the discordant vowel i and become a consonant , but is at once resolved into its own vowel u, as rj^i^b^ ul'melek irrni utVii. — 2) ji- or je- are seldom resolved into i since tlie vowel sounds i-i are identical and easily flow into each other, as in the proper name ^'vli'^N ''islia'i, according to later pronunciation, for 1^^ jisha'i 1 Ciir. 2, (12.) 13. and in tlie particle \T3j^^ ish for '^-t jesh , which however does not occur before Mich. 6, 10 and 2Sam. 14, 19 and only in close connexion with the preceding word, which easily produces a softer pronunciation. After a vowelless prefix, ji is sometimes more easily resolved into /, since the vowel can then attach itself more easily to the affixed consonant, tliis however only occurs where tlie pronunciation of the word is as the same time shortened (in stat. constr.) , as •jt'id'^T vitron for v'jitron Koh. 2, 13. Jer. 25, 36. Pr. 30, 17. 91 Z>) But, at the beginning of a syllable no tat the beginning of a word, 1 ■> are so much the more easily and regularly resolved , as the vowel which then remains can attach itself closely to the preceding consonant ; hence T "i are also most regularly resolved wliere they stand in the iniddle of a root between two firm consonants (cf. firther on these roots §. 218 ff.). There are only three possible cases liere: 1) wliere an u (or for it 6 according to ^^. 46 f.) , would come in con- tact witfi a 1 , or an i with a "^ there is a necessary resolu- tion of u-j-u into li, i -f- i into 1, according to ^^.53, as 0^"^ rum D"p^ fnc/ihn, — 2) wliere~an ci comes beiore T, a and II can be so united that a is first sounded, and tlius from a-j-u o arises, as Dip: naqom for C^p; , ^^^p'O; with ■< then ae (e) would arise. — 3) but where llie vow^cl after T* is immutable, either on account of its length or its iniportance, §• 92-95- Of consonants. 33 lliere it remains with elision of llie weak ii, bul in such a manner that even a shoi"t vowel then becomes long, jusl as il" two vowels had coalesced, as fiiipn, C2P ? f^?."^ ? n"*:"*!} are changed into Q'^p.^i , &j"?, ri/3 , n:u: . From this it is clear when T "i at llio beginning of a 92 posterior syllable must become consonants: a) if aredupli- cated consonant follows 1 "^ , because by tbis the vowel after T ■* is more firmly held , as 'lV>'ii7 ^). 1) Yet once, Ex. 2, 4 iiinni stands as a shorter form (§. 297) for nii^riri^ , i being indeed elided in its place as consonant, Imt tiirowing back its sound into the preceding e and thus maintain- ing it. — h) if 1 1 themselves must be doubled according to the for- 93 mation of roots, although this is rather avoided, and if it lakes place, T is easily changed into "i , as 'ibl'^ , t3|'.)P . c) if there is an immutable long vowel before 1 "i , as 9i £3';'i:j gdjhn, r^'^^Xii': nHhdj d ; in this case though, kindi-ed vow- els may unite befoi'e li become consonants, according to §.55, A short a then does not maintain itself after i 1 as 2nd radical , but a after this second radical separates itself from the preceding t 1 because i + a , u + a according to g. 55 cannot be contracted ; such formation how- ever is very rare in Hebrew, as D^Ji-" , 'J'^ll'^ §.334. "^ is most necess- arily maintained if no compound syllable goes before, since if a com- pound syllable does go before, it can also be elided, as t3"'D^'7?J : tn''Z'ri2 Prov. 10, 12 comp. with 18, 18, 19. 19, 13. If a mere aspirate (guttural), or vowel in the root, folloip , 1"^ easily remain consonants, as they do at the beginning of a word, as r^i:., 'Jl\, ?Tl'^, iTJ", or even go before, as !T1N3, Q'^intpJ^, r^inrit;!^ . This is just in the same way as u , i before a , or between two strong vowels in general, easily become semivowels. Such •] ^^ tlien form a tirra consonant in the subsequent formation, which always remains the same, as nrjii? ; ririii: , Thus also a guttural at tlie end of a syllable remains firm , if the following one begins witii -\ -> , contrary to §. 71 , as ^T'lJ^'^. , '^'Xl'^. > t|-iy:i Is. 11, 15, instead of which we should else certainly find n;'"", £31^3 . Yet lni"'rin with two gutturals. 2) 1 ■> after the vowel of their syllable (where there is 95 no ground for their being pronounced as consonants) gene- rally endeavour to sound as vowels and are only from special causes con\erted into consonants. To this then the rules on the concurrence of vowels §. 52 if. especially apply, from wliicli it is clear that : 34 §• 96. Of consonants. a) ■) always coalesces with a preceding u into ii, and "^ with an i i]ito i, witliout any possible exception. So that even a "I as appoggiatural consonant at tlie beginning of a word , if a prefix witli I is put before it, necessarily coalesces with this r, as iti ; i-ji^ Y'W^ : 'J">?Ji73 , and even after the copula "i / contrary to §. 90 prevails here because this vowel sound already exists there, ready to attach itself to any possible consonant, as "^Tit '•jiJ^i'i . b) I before 1 and u before i endeavour mutually to at- tract each other in order to coalesce, according as the first or second sound is the more important, as the principles of for- mation teach lis, as pyiTi hunaq from Jiuinaq, -where the u is the more important. An i merely shortened down out of a-e may return before T^ to its prmiitive sound, as ibi:: nolad for nivlacl :=z navlad. c) a before 1 becomes o, before i ^, v. ^.54. If "^ 1 are primitively diphthongal then they resist resolution {§. 96) : a however before i has been sometimes resolved into e, as in JlilJ, ^D according to ^. 222 for sa'i, pa'i. It is also possible, though rare, for the semivowel to be elided for the distinctness of the form , as in the case *^\,-i jeled for ib'T' where 1 is elided after i which is in this place an important sound for the form, but the short i lias not only become at once long in a simple syllable, therefore e according to §. 48 , but also in compensation immutably long. gg 11 accordingly remain unresolved at tlie end of a syllable only in the following cases : 1) if ^ i after a are originally diphthongs and conse- quently of stronger sound, as ip ^ I'^^-i ^ v. §. 5i ; cf. however §. 95, c, — 2) in the middle of a syllable of three sounds with a after the first consonant, in forms therefore like nV"2 §«4d; for in this case the short auxiliary vowel easily intrudes according to the firm nature of these forms , before the last consonant , whereby therefore i i are made conso- nants , as j-|i73 mduet , jii^ hdjit , in which the kindred i as being al- ready represented by the i js sounded instead of the auxiliary e ; in many words however there is resolution , as p-f-^rj '^•'^ . "Where the auxiliary vowel has fallen away on account of ^ as last consonant (§. 85) the rest of the vocalization generally remains, as NVilJ, i^">.^ ; the generally sotter ai however is sometimes even here resolved, jijiji ge. The forms rip beside ip , riT^S , NVilJ cf- §-54 show that a in order to resist coales- cence so much the more, has a tendency to be lengtliened before i when it becomes a consonant. — 3) in tlie final syllable after every immu- tably long and discordant vowel, as iji'^.t , I^DlzriS , "^T7Z , -l.T : to which also belongs the suffix ii — at- from ai-u, as from the compression of the two exterior sounds of this group the i in the middle is absorbed in the u after it without the primitive diphthong coalescing entirely with the following vowel '■). 1) Besides this, i remains as consonant after a discordant vowel in tiie ancient root iblU , ib'uJ to rest, concerning which v. §.222. §' 97-100- Of consonants, 35 From all llils it is clear tliat •) i are easily eliderl, on occasions, by 97 sharper sounds in tlieir neighbourliood , although it is rare. "Where it happens , if the following vowel elides them , no trace of them remains, Imt if the elision procedes from the syllable before, its vowel becomes long , and thus retains tiie trace of tlie vowel sound whicli lias been elided, cf. above t^-^ii^a and for the latter on tlie contrary '^'^1 ^ ii^nm . It is by a peculiar, rare kind of elision that 1 disappears after a strong inserted a and before the vowel of a postfixed syllable, viz. in the plural forms m\sni? , i=l\Sn.T from ""niw , "^nr, for m'init §. 382. Concerning another of their weaknesses v. §. 114. 3) 1 "I can by no means be sounded as semivowels when 93 they stand at the end of a trililteral syllabic ; then they must necessarily be pronounced as vowels i, u because they have no support there. Indeed "^ , which is much more frequent here, attracts the tone of the syllable so slrougly to its i, that the vowel soimd of the first consonant entirely disap- pears , as ">i-il3 (as to mere form =: -nhi , -rib'' , iV) "liip s/i'hl I'ns, "lina , and only the o-sound before, according to §. 5H does not easily suffer itself to be entirely expelled , as "^JOT d°/?d ; while T as vowel remains toneless and leaves the vowel of the syllable before it, as ^Unpi Jishtdchu ^ '^'rin bu/iic, ^iSp qdfla. On the other hand, as soon as ever a vowel becomes audible after such a 1 "^ , they become semivowels, according to §.55, as i^'lB, 'T\')yT'.') iT'.nvI"^''? '^'^%v'.' 2. Among the usually so called liquids 1 b uD "J, the 99 open , or palato-nasal sound "j n is the weakest and most li- quid, while the shut or labio-nasal D 77i is much firmer and nearer the third class of consonants ; at least so are they dis- tinguished when with vowels: but either nasal, when closely attached to a mute, most naturally accommodates itself to its sound, and if necessary is changed. The lingual b / is the most liquid and soft after n. The rattling, rushing ^n r, wliich is rolled out from the throat and posterior part of the tongue, must border on /, but be rougher and harder, especially in Hebrew; hence it partici- pates of many peculiarities of the gutturals , viz. r loves 1) a according to §. 76 ff. , so that it causes a discordant short vowel at the end of a word to be expelled by a, as 'nD^|l^'«/- Jdser, '^^'l vajjdsor .f 5<"i'!l pcijjir are changed into '^^l-' N'l^T ; and before the tone takes e or even d instead of z , as i3"i72 ; lD^sS'i?^ . — 2) r like the gutturals , is incapable of sharp reduplication, concerning which see farther §. 124. 3. Finally , the firmest are the sibilants , wliich approach 100 near to the T-sounds , formed by a propulsion of the breath against the lip of the tongue, whicli hardly touches the teelh 3* 36 ' $■ J 01-103. Of consonants. ami anlerior palate. The simple sibilant lias three gi'adalious in Hebrew, Avhich perfcclly correspond to the T-sounds \, 101, tlie usual hissing sound C s answering to the t^ the softer sibilant T z , pronounced with the lip of the tongue bent backwards, answering to di and the strongest and sharpest y JS like the gcrman lieijie^ corresponding to the aspii'ated tj tJi. But the usual sibilant 5, if the back of the tongue re- cieves the air also, becomes the broad, obscure sh, which, like s, onl}^ corresponds to the nearest among the T-sounds, the t. lot III. The firmest consonants are produced by a harder or softer pressure of one organ on another , by which the breath is for a short time entirely interrupted in order to be propelled stronger, more condensed from some point. Their sound is short, abrupt and hard, although in dill'erent de- grees. They ai^e therefore farthest removed from the vowels (hence called mutae cccfiora) , form the firmest, most imchan- geable basis of the sounds , and are least exposed to peculia- rities and weaknesses. The chief distinction betsveen them is produced by the three organs by which they are formed : K being palatal, T dental and P labial. But in every one of these chief sounds another softer or harder soiuid is again distinguished; the hard one is the shortest, most abrupt, the soft one is looser , more prolonged ; thus :. g soft , *] X- hard ; "7 fZ soft, n^ hard; l6 soft, Zip hard; these six are the sim- ple mutes. AVe also find in either of the first two classes another more peculiar, hardest sound, produced by the strongest pressure and with an aspiration added and therefore broader and longer than those six, viz. p (to be narrow) Am. 2, 13. j^nS (to strike out) lob 4, 10. 'r\'$^ (to take delight in), yy-) (to break in pieces), compared with nii^ 2) Forms like '■^'vr^l (proper name) 1 Chro. 2, 34. chald. ^^m, V'i2r\, y'^-j ^ which violate tlie rules of tlie formation of roots §. 226, prove that that y is not primitive here. 107 The stronger sibltents change repeatedly into the softer ones, viz. y- into 7, as pjjij (to cry), y-^y (to exult), ^^i; (to be little) into ■p-jy (very rare in the Pentateuch), fb^, "nyv (very^rare) and y and ^y into a {'^), 3S pniC , yby, »"d 'JCir, into pniD (not in the Penta- teuch), 5'9i»j, 150 or >j2iu (rare and poetical), fillip (coat of mail) and li-i^D only Jer. 46, 4. 51, 3. ouJl^ (to act basely) Am. 5, 11 for U3u3i2 ; cf. §. 170 on •ju. The liquids ^ ■: £2 ^ are more irregular in their softening, so tliat ^ as being harder and rougher not unfrequently , in the later periods of the language, is changed into '^ , as rii:?^^^ (of doubtful etymology) Is. 13, 22, b^i^iStl (to make bright) Ps. loi, 15, for 'j^'^i* , 'l^nilJ-;- b o" the other hand sometimes into the softer "j^ as ^3\l3b and Jis-iT;^ (cell), 'S"''iri;53 yi&n. 3, 5. 10, 15 (witlt t3 only v. 7) for ipakT?/(nov. ^3 is changed into the weaker ■? ^ but seldom at the beginning of words and in the root, as u2^5 (to tremble) Ps. 99, 1 = "^^12 , n^» , tI]"JU3 and 'JDUJ (to persecute) , frequently as the end of formative syllables , v. §. 360, 2. On the contrary ^Hz Is. 48, 10 ^^ )t\3 (to try) is a later aad Aramaic change. On the change of i into 1 v. §. 88. 93. 108 3) The harder gutturals are gradually softened, especially jj into js{ as Cj^n2 (in a moment) from yns (a moment), i^m (to abominate) Am. 6, 8". 'ij.x:, (to defile) Mai. I,'? for ^yn, b'J^' 109 2. Other commutations, which belong to the oldest period of the lan- guage , are most intimately connected with the formation and meaning of the roots. There is a manifold variation of the sounds observable in the most ancient period, as the root takes this or that modification, has the same sound as its basis, but changes it into many different shades and varities; cf. above §.14. It is seldom however that such permanent clian- ges are without an important dilfereuce of meaning, as yn3 , 'X:T)2, sel- dom J3i-|3 to destroy, SlIJS , Qll33 , fl'tUlD to bloir , JlUij? and HUJp (to be hard); there is usually a clear, definite dictinction of meaning con- nected with it, and we may also remark that tlie derived, remote, more $.110. Comm. of cons. §. 111.112- Sounds of etc. 39 limited sense lias usually the softer sound, as '^^lo to shut up ^'z>'0 rather to stop up; j-[itJ ^0 slaughter n^T tosacrijlce; rjj-13 to pour , rr'Qz ra- ther used of casting metal, or of libation; j-[j^3 tu be beautiful, ^i^i to be suitable. Such commutations are tlie greatest and most unlimited. 3. Finally there are many purely casual changes produced by the 110 near affinity of the sounds , partly witiiin the language itself, especially in isolated foreign words , and partly according to the ditFerence of dialects, which may periiaps concur again in one language. The following are some special instances of this and the former kind : 1) the firmer palatal , lingual and labial sounds are sometimes changed for their softer, aspirated representatives, as |nyn (to wander) hebr. for inyta aram. only Ez. 13, 10; "-its (to scatter) iiebr. , "-jf^ aram. only iu Daniel. These sounds however are very seldom changed into those of a different organ, as the pron. atta (thou) from the oldest time forms, as suffix, ka (§.305), cf. y.oiQavot; and TV(javroq. — 2) Aiuong the softer sounds r — 1, n— I are most easily commuted; ^750. ^"•i HN"^ ^""^ *^"'y com- muted in the root. — 3) The guttural and palatal sounds ip^.'iny . as ^u3' and "i^s (to be straight); '-my and 'inS (to surround). — 4) L seldom with the T-sounds as being Unguals like L, as ntiVp (Settle) Mich. 3, 3 from HTp ; bl3 (proper name) probably :r=: lO^D , in tlie root Jitjy andpi'i^y (to be dark), cf. also ^^f and '^^7 Gen. 30, 20. — 5) The labials ea.sily, especially at the beginning of a syllable, as "jliiT and ':i73'^'n (proper name) Is. 15, 2. 9. xSb^ ^nd tj'bl^ (to escape); but Ub5?7a always; p].;^^ ^^_^ ^a (back). C. SOUNDS OF A WHOLE WORD. The nature of the souuds and the general euphony of ill the language are first shown in perfection when the sounds of a word are pronounced in connexion. There are there- fore many general rules concerning this, which are yet to be collected. 1. ^t the beginning of a word, in the first sound and first syllable, the voice is most hurried and rapid. All kinds of aftixes to the root are therefore most rapidly pronounced^, ^•d tl,ie h of affix syllables is most easily changed into the simplest aspirate §. 238 etc. Very weak sounds also , which are entirely unconnected are also gradually lost before the stronger syllable, although this is rare and only evident iu the following cases: c) the j^ without a firm vowel in the pron. iDriS (^^c) seldom for ^:n3N . — ^) seldom also •> and -j without firm vowel in isola- ted substantives, which can also be explained from §. 223. 225, as b'iZ (produce) for b^i"* , Sf'to (elevation, greatness) lob 20, 6 for 1) This so called aphaercsis is generally extended too far and ad- mitted without ground. On the other hand, the word is inclined to begin soft, with vowels, i[2 if the first consonant easily admits such softening. Thus tlie sliort e is sometimes assumed iu Hebrew, if the first consonant is without a \owel 40 §' 113. 114. Sounds of a whole word. (§. 26), especially wltli sibilants, wliicli are strongly disposed to if, sel- donier witli liquids and mutes, but always only in isolated substantives, or adverbs, as ji'^vi; and !^i";^•^^^; , "JTnUw , awd more rarely y^,-l^:^5 (arm), always iu ^j^iiN (finger) and '^ir"»L"N (cluster); moreover always in :?2^N (four, the guttural "i seems to be the cause of a for e), and "bi^nx (yesterday) with "^ilzTl lob 8, 9. — This also takes place still more rarely, before a consonant disposed to it, with a firm vowel following, as D"^|PT and Q-j^tN (^^hains) Jer. 40, 1. JJ3 2. Wjieii two dilTereut consonauls clash immed lately with each otJier at the end of a preceding close shut syllable , or in the final syllable with two final consonants §. 29, one sound is easily changed into the other more important one ; and the softer, more attrited the language becomes, the more does this encrease. Accordingly , either the first sound may be changed into the second , or assimilate it , which is the most frequent case, or the second into the first. 1) According to the rule , only a soft weak consonant can be assimilated by the second ; the second consonant there- fore must be a firm sound, a mute, or a sibilant, and it is only seldom that the language goes farther in its aim at uni- formity iu the formation. Thus ": is most easily nnd fre- quently thus resolved, as ^d:,") jiggash {or jingasli, rn3 na- tatta for ?iatanta, nn tet for tent; much seldomer b, as nj?'^ jiqqach for jilqacli^ it is also possible for an aspirate, or semivowel , to be so lost , that is at the beginning of a word, where there is a tendency to hurry over such soiaids; but it is very rare, as nbb?3 (food) 1 Rgs. 5, 25, for nbiN': , is the only example of N ; concerning ^ "> in the root , where other influences at the same time affect them, cf. §. 223 if. n as a firm consonant is , in an affix syllable only , some- times assimilated with the radical sound ^. 242. That the language continued to go farther in such contractions in its later periods, is proved by the name of the town ri-V^ ^len. 10, 10 compared with j-;;^ Ez. 27, iSS.Jf^ . For some rare instances of « bounding off before t v. §. 175. 114 There is also a mode of facilitating the pronunciation m such cases of concurrent sounds, by which, just as the con- currence of a hard T-sound is avoided before an S-sound iu the root (^. 226), in the same manner, iu the formation, a T at the end of a syllalile followed by an S chauges places with il , because it is easier to pronounce ST than TS ; and the T-sound must then always accommodate itself to the ac- conqxinying sibilant; therefore according to ^. 100 f. V:p-i'np!7, "njan'^n , j7~l:!i:^j for Dnn, irniri, i^rin. Only in L:t:i^L"nr; Jer. 49, 3 iias the Iransposilion been avoided, (he ralher, be- §• 115-117- Sounds of a whole word. 41 cause ollierwise there would be too great a coiiciurencc of T-sounds. 2) The second, weaker sound iu assimilated by the pre- 115 ceding firmer one , in the termination ni-in T dt-hu , in which the aspirate is in fact harder to pronounce, which is often changed into in~ dtta, aiidinrinN dt-ha^ which on account of the affinity of the vowel a is regularly changed into lrir~ dtta^ V. §. 305. When the same consonants come together without a long IIG vowel to se])arate them, they endeavour to unite in a single double sound ; for the recurrence of tlie same consonants has something disagxeeable in it, and never happens at ihe begin- ning of roots (§. 226) and is only possible , at the beginning of woi"ds, in external affix syllables, as 'jlsnri ; but afterwards is always if possible avoided. It is however only possible for them to unite, wliq^n there is not an immutable long 'vowel either between-^), or before the two sounds , \vhicli keeps them apart and hinders their union; it is still less possible for them to be united, if the first of these consonants is iu itself double, since its vowel is then as lirmly supported as if it was long, as Wy\ ; the contraction is also more difficult , if the postfixes are not closely attached 2). If the first of these sounds is without a distinct vowel , the union remains without further consequences, as 1"2'1 1^ simply changed into ^"^l f. 297; but if it has a distinct vowel , the vowel is first displaced by the union, but presses forward and returns again before the dou- ble sound, as ih^j rahoh (tlie a of the first syllable is not essential §. 37) nh roh (for robh §. 118). 1) The preceding vowel, however, may be more easily sliorfened in tills eftbrt at contraction ; thus in a word iu which too many simi- lar sounds come together in an extraordinary manner, ;i*s:iD"ii lob 31, 15 for risasb"*} §-47. A parallel instance is :)3:n73rn Is. 64, 6 for n;;5^7:;ni 5 where tlie obscure, heavy u has opposed the audible reduplication of the hard consonant. — But these are perhaps the only examples, and according to §. 296 f. t is not without influence on this shortening. 2) Hence always before suffixes , as '^p*l!n']i without union. A very kindred consonant, however, is only resolved ti 7 into the following one, when tbey come in actual contact ^. 113, and even then, very seldom with a radical letter, as nnN lor ri'ini* f. 435; oftener and almost regularly with n of the affix syllable nn f. 243, as Ji/^-irT , Itit:?! for StK'inn; at the same time we jfiud pBinr! Jdgs. 19, 22. 42 §• 118-120. Sounds of a whole word. 118 On wliatever cause the rediiplicalion of a consonant may depend , still a peculiar and appropriate condition of the sounds themselves is necessary to render the reduplication audible. It is most audible between two distinct vowels , and firm con- sonants are moi^e capable of distinct reduplication than weak or liquid ones , the unaspirated ones tlian the aspirated. Hence there ,are gradations according to which reduplication beco- mes gi'adually less audible and distinct : 1) Reduplication is not distinctly audible at the end of a word williout a vowel; to which is to be added, that the final vowel, according to §. 33. must assume the longer tonic pronunciation , which removes all trace of audible leduplica- tion , cf. m'2D73 : 13073 ; tz:"»V.;^ ; "b-l ; 1~tl^'] .' li^":! • 119 2) If the consonant to be doubled begins the following syllable as appoggiatural consonant, and consequently <(^z7/i- oitt a distinct vowel, it is more difficult to hear the redu- plication distinctly and it gradually disappears, without altering the pronunciation of the word in other respects ^). This how- ever does not affect all sounds equally : most easily the soft, liquid sounds which are so easily extended , especially 'J T* "b ; with the firmer sounds it decreases by degrees. Reduplica- tion is also more easily lost in words and formations of very frequent use, just as when the same consonant occurs twice following {^. 116). Thus "'ii'^T, tn"'-}"iy , ">::rT {behold me) (but not in tZDOii-i) , ibVn {praise ye) ; with the 73 of participles, as ujjpn73^2'(^/ie seeker); not so often Avilh sibilants , as lr;"d"4:5D Is. 59, io. ^N"I5"; {{they raise), iNpS {his throne), y'l-fsiirT for 'j:n Ex. 7, 29; often too with the aspirated p, as "'SpQ {my stajf) d^ippn^; {seekers) ^Su3pi3 Cant. 6, 1 ; very seldom with t2, as "iJJtDn' Is. 17, 10 in some editt. 1) So that the short vowel before, and the fragmentary vowel after, botli remain. See some rare exceptions to the latter, in which the short vowel takes the following consonant entirely to its own syl- lable §. 122. The short vowel appears too to beome long some- times in a perfectly simple syllable, if tiie two examples Spbri"* 1 Ciir. 23, 6. ^niw^n Ps. 62, 4 are correct as to the readiiig; cf. tlie var. lectt. 120 3) The gutturals n y in N are absolutely incapable of audi- ble reduplication ^. 81. The influence if their reduplication, however , may be more or less sensible in two degrees : l) tlie vowel going before may remain short and sharp, as it was, and be pronounced on the guttural -without actually doubling it (this may be called weak reduplication); or 2) even tliis trace of audible reduplication may disap])caj' , so thai the vowel before becomes separated and long, in a simple s>]|;!- ble, so thai a, T, li according lo ^.48 arc clianged into a, e. §' 121-124- Sounds of a whole word. 43 u, e.g. fNM, fN70 , ^iijD into )ii12, "JwNJ.??. , 1^73. The complete separation of the syllable, however, produced hy the second method, does not take place if the guttural becomes the linal consonant by apocopation ; for then , as that consonant is in itself incapable of reduplication (§.118), the prolongation of the vowel may also not take place, cf. y'nnn from Jiy/inn Prov. 22, 24, "^^rj from n^S?n Ps. 141, 8 compared with 'n.T.nn .^"i.-^nin Dt. 2, 9, This distinction follows certain principles, in general, even though the transition from tlie first to the second mode be only gradual: 1) the harder gutturals recieve most easily weak reduplication, ^ regularly, J^ ■frequently, 5? not so often, j{ most rarely. To this must be added 2) tliat weak reduplication is only inclined to remain where reduplication is essential to a word §. 231. 328. etc., with external affixes it regularly, disappears entirely and without distinction of the guttural, as ifS'"' §• 2T7, and only very rarely then does the short vowel before n remain. If, in an instance of weak reduplication, a sliort a 121 would be to be pronounced before a guttural with a, then e is always used for it, as ti::nri, il^^lrrb for u^rDH^ , Mllri"b . The soft e appears to have been easier to the language tlian a, before so sharp a concvirrence of st guttural lind a long a, since the A-souud generally is inclined to change into E §. 45. The same change takes place before a guttural Avith a Heel- ing o ■^), as tZji'ili'irirr ; in this case too a descends to e, but it is to keep the following fleeting 1 more easily separate , since ao— would be easily changed into a* — . 1) Chatef-aamess. v. §. 168, The sliort vowel keeps itself, according to rule, separate from the 122 following vowel; yet some cases with the hard fi occur in which the short vowel has drawn over the following guttural entirely to its own syllable, so that :i73VT becomes riT^ni Gen. 30, 39. 41. Jdgs 5, 28, 1^'iDnin^; becomes LZitun^ri^. The same happens rarely in the cases mentioned in §. 119 7wte, in which the reduplication has entirely disappeared without trace; the only examples however of it are 'ttnd;^ from the word i^S3 (tlirone) of doubtful etymology, and in ;n's-| for rirji'^i §. 119. The too frequent concurrence of gutturals is avoided (as in the root 123 §. 226), in various ways; in inb"in?7 (.hape I caused to cease? Jdgs. 9, 9. 11. 14) for 'injii"! the middle one is expelled, but "jnlTt has not remained which would be indistinct, but the second a has been changed into ti 'inrr he-clw, to separate the interrogative more distinctly. An- other instance tDpiriN^ is explained §. 443. ■n , which , according to §. 99 , excedingly rarely permits 124 reduplication ^) removes at once all trace of reduplication and always lengthens the preceding vowel ^), as Tj'T'.^ ? m'^?' H^^ lor T]'^.?, T]^=, Tj-^izi. 1) Viz. (J remains sometimes in rare nominal forms, as Tl^'o 'niorrat 44 §• 125-128. Sounds of a -whole word. r:'r\'Xi schorrek (tliy navel) Prov. 3,8, 14, 10 wliich lias been oiice imitated in a verb n'^3 Ez. 16, 4 ior the sake of tlie as- sonance; besides there, only iTiJiXTi'ii; Cant. 5, 2 according to §, 479, and another peculiar instance ^. 129^ 2) Only Gen. 14, 10 'ri~'\'T], according to §. 121 for --^j-; from ^j-j, which however may be explained by §. 420. 125 It is also possible for tiie reduplication of any consonant to become gradually difficult to the language, by tlie too great protraction and length- ening of the vowel before. This especially happens in awkward, unpo- lished languages, in which tlie ligiit and sharp distinctness of the vowel disappears , as is always the case in Syriac. In Hebrew , this is still rare, expecially in the earlier period, in wliich it only occurs in proper names and a few isolated substantives; in general too only with /, u, whicli as sharp and heavy vowels are more easily lengthened, as uJi";^!"? 't*"" U3i'2p (a weed), i2^}1-)^?3 (threshing -sledge) iChro. 21, 23 t^^-nra 2 Sam. 24, 22; Qiuipn"* Ko'i- 9,12 according to §. ."Jol, participle ior a-illjpi . — It is also possible for a liquid, an r, on I, to intrude into the syl- lable thus becoming resolved, especially after a which is not so easily lengthened , but this is more rare and impure , as in tho proper name pUJ'Ja'n" according to late pronunciation i Chr, 18, 5. 6 for p\y73'l (Damascus) 2 Sam. 8, 6. 128 3. At the end of a woj^l, wlicre the induence of llie toue sliorleiis and llaltcns , a iiiial m is easily changed into n §. 360 ; and a nasal sound is also easily entirely lost after the vowel, as ^'r>^^ (name of a town) for "jil^T^ f. 341, Other examples of the kind see ^. 222. 127 "With regard to the vocalization of a word, the vowel of a syllable, in languages more rich in vowels;, often accommodates itself to the more important one of a neighbouring syllable. But in Hebrew, because it is generally poorer in vowels, there are very few examples of this change. The form ^^^12 , in which the original a is, according to §. 45, regu- larly changed into e before the auxiliary e, offers a regular and frequent example of it, and the original monosyllabic nature of the word is much better preserved with the redoubled e, than it would be with ditlerent sounds ; iience where the latter e is wanting the first also disappears, cf. n"^2 §. 51, ("j-iriS §• 78 proves nothing against this) and vice versa the second e must be'changed into a if the first is, t^y^ §. 79. Rarer in- stances are ipj'i::) Jer. 22, 20, Intipb Gen. 2, 23 ', where the fleeting o instead of a mere fragmentary vowel, merely depends on the lieavy u in its neighbourhood, §. 169. Gram. Arab. 1. p. 86. '-^ With regard to tlie transposition of the sounds of a word, the case is the same as with the more frequent commutation §. 104 tf. It is for tlie most part derived from the earliest period of the language, without the language in its present form being conscious of it, as e. g. ti;^ (hail) and -175 (to scatter) are originally the same words. Further, the frequent occurence of a vowel at the begnining or end of a root §. 21611'. depends on a particular cause. Other tiuuspositions may be explained on the ground of facilitaliug the pronunciation, as t/lS and 3u;2 (lamb) ^S^'k §' 129- 130. Changes of sound in a prop. Pause. 45 since tlie liquids stand more easily before the Mutes than rice versa. The liquids in general, and especially r, most easily change tlieir places. III. CHANGES OF SOUND IN A PROPOSITION. PAUSE. Two kinds of changes of sounds arise from the connexion 129 of words in a proposition. First, on account of the close con- junction ^) of two words, by which a monosyllahic word or at least a word with the accent on the fn^st syllable (^-34) becomes attached to another more independent word. This conjunction con- sists in the vowel which ends the word becoming shorter , by its shortness doubling the first consonant of the next woid , and being so drawn over to it that they are pronounced together. Only a however, or the kindred e (\^. 45) are most easily thus carried over ; it is much rarer with the sharper and hea- vier vowels. There is a difference too according to the words : 1) the particle f^jj what? (but not 1;^ who? though in otiier respects 60 like it) which, on account of its interrogative power, may be pro- nounced so rapidly and close on the following word, that its a becomes quite short, and the first consonant of the followiug Mord is doubled, as rijs{.f-^)jj "^^^S J^'^ ^^"- ^^' '^^' ^'^nce too in the ancient writing 57752 was sometimes joined on to tlie following word, especially if it was a short one, as J-;t73 , t2-V?^ Ex. 4, 2. Js. 3, 15. Ez. 8, 6. Mai, 1, 13. — 2) a monosyllabic word is easily attached to a preceding one, and usually in such a manner tliat the final vowel of the unaccented final syllable is not shortened before the reduplication , and the reduplication is therefore only weakly audible, as t^u? rr^by almost '■alitashshdm, a^^_ n:pbn, r|V-i-:/:V^r: Jo'^- 5, "23." iv-^^^-,., e, 5. 8, 11. "iSJ^S llli~iN ")j ^'ery seldom with the vowels u , i , as ^j^** lloip (two imperatives, wiiich are disposed to a rapid pronunciation) Gen. I'p, 14. Ps. 94, 12. 118, 5. 18 (where u, i-j coalesce according to §. 53). The particle $.53 (quaesof) is more closely attached, and its ■? is doubled even when the last syllable is accented, as N3~'ll3 Nu. 23, 13. 22, 17. Gen. 24, 42. and even with a complete shortening of e into e ii'2'~T,2'r: Gen. 19, 2. ^) — Witli the Ii^ ' (imper. I. -jijy ) ^^,3^ : ^^j^y Nah. 2,9." (y?:-^:) VJ^yi '. ^Tivi^ this is very seldom neglected, 'as .Tob. 17, 11. The cause why this is not applicable to tiie termination of nonns in general nor even of participles, is because their terminations have not become so weak as those of (he persons of verbs. — 2) Since the suffixes §. 304 become gradually shorter, Tcr- 'kd is changed into ^. — cka, in such a manner, tliat as a new vowel thus arises, the nearest short vowel is assumed in pause, as '^•p^in'b , ^:ju3 : 'riti^.s'b , 'n'^iiJ ; more- over, tlie final a thus losing the tone is sometimes entirely thrown back, as rj'7/:3T2:j;i Dt. 28, 24, whicii is regularly the case with the particles rj:::Vr]b, Tytv,, TjnN, TjniN (also ?-;:rnN Ex. 29, :i5 whicli occurs between "rpi^ and rrnj^). 3) Syllal)los of three sounds, which for special causes have thrown the vowel on tlie second conso- nant, assume again an accented vowel instead of the first, and most §• 132- 133- Changes of sound in a prop. Pause. 47 naturally short e; o only where the sound o is primitive, and r (§. 46) only rarely for a primitive i; thus tZj^lD Ps- 21, 13 for S3u3 §.319; of f«rms whose last sound is i according to §. 98, in the noun, as •^y2, "i^y, ■'nb, -^^n i Kgs- lo, t, -^-^^^ iV^, -^^^i-j from 1^73, "'l?!? T!^j ""^n. J """i^?? ^"i?ri. , ■*??.? "I the verb, 'as ^^|l^ iri^-t ^ i^r; Dt. 32, 18 from ilrr"! , irii , "'^n 5 t''6 pronoun s^j^ recieves a long accented a, 13 j^. The tone is more rarely carried back to the preceding syllable 132 if it is in itself already a full one: a) in the case n^'i'^UI l^t. 8, 10 for n!!>iiaT according to §. 298, where the tone on the last syllabic is weak. — b) in the particles i55N , JlPN, Siriy , which are, out of pause, "^ibi^ , InnN , Irrny. — c) very seldom does this aflect persons of verbs farther, as ri'^D - ;i'^3 , wliere the same word is re- peated, but tiie second time, on account of the stronger opposition, ia a new pausal form Ps. 37, 20. 137, 7. cf. Idgs. 5, 12. The longer, more protracted vocalization of tlic tonesylla- 133 ble ill pause, is only longer in comparison to llie usual one. The following is a statement: 1) for a in the usual tonesyllable there always stands a in pause, ^riD : in3 , ':u;"''"T : tUii'T Gen. 2, 21. — 2) where e =: i originally belongs to the word , it is often changed in pause into «, according to §. 46 while it may, out of pause, remaining in its original sound, be at once changed into e, since a has a fuller sound than e merely lengthened to support the tone , as f 2 (booty) Js. 8, 1. fj-17; (he lias shortened) 18, 5, 'b;!jp (intransitive verbal stem) 60, 4, n;S/2'nn 13, 16, is. 28, 3 '2VJ'n 42,22 instead of which out of pause 73 (not Ys), bwp , ii^i^j *^'''^ however only affects compound syllables (see the contrary :i'b?2p), and in the most frequent formmations we always find e in pause, as ir)3 §• 253. On the other hand, e flattened from other sliarper sounds always remains unaltered in pause, because it is al- ready without the influence of the change of sounds, as tSPN, tDninS, Snbiij 1""^ l2b^'b , 'b'2'2 §• 51 ; so also the other very isolated cases of e in the final syllable, as n?2N , Vt'^^ , from which we are to distinguisii the e arising in pause from a mere fragmentary vowel , as in iZl^UJ , 'n — §• 132. e arising according to §. 45 from a may return in pause to the original a, as Tlb'2 f^^^™ H^.'^ 5 however e remains some- times even here, as Tj'm a"d H'^'l j ^^'^ always in certain words, as the adverbial Q'lp (eastward). On the other hand an original a remains very seldom unchanged in pause, as in tlie adverb ^"j (^ahi^ays). — 3) o can remain in no tonesyllable according to §. 46, so that with 6 as with i , u the pause can make no difference. In apocopated verbalforms which end in two unaccented consonants §. 289 ff. , the pause may be distinguished in a peculiar manner by a vowel which is accented, but in otiier respects as short as possible, a, or 6 where o is the original sound, returning to the last consonant but one, as "b'T , b^p^^n, ?]Din , ^^^l for "V;:, b?3an, >iwin , tp"""!. T''''^ 's very regularly observed. 48 §' 134- Changes of sound efc. §. 135. Ext. hist. etc. 134 Tlie pausal pronunciation may he still more lengthened, if the con- sonant after the accented penult in douhled, which is only possible after the lighter vi.wels (not after i , u etc) ; and the liquids again are most easily prolonged by reduplication. Instances however are rare, as "?" ^'^S*- ^' '''■ ''\ll ^'^ -'' ^^- i^"t^'7"l''^ 21, 15 f. in which verbal forms the last radical is always doubled;^ only -^ of the suffix *; is more regularly doubled when attached to verbs or particles 1. e. when loosely attached, as '^inn Is. 38, 18. nS"N Gen. 3, 9. ---^ lob. 26, 4. ' '■ "'•" "'^ ■ On more rare and irregular effects of the pause, as the form 'j ^JS'^j;'; for ^N'np.";if§. 41 c, V. the theory of forms. SECOND SECTIOIf. OF THE LETTERS. 1. EXTERNAL HISTORY. 135 According to all liistorxcal evidence, the Semitic a]])liabct, of which the Hebrew is an ancient branch, was not lirst used or made known by the Hebrews , nor probably by the Phoe- nicians (Luc. Phars. 3, 220), who have only the merit of hav- ing communicated this alphabet to the Greeks, and through _ I them, to the other nations of Europe; but by the Aramaeans I Plin. Nat. Hist. 7,56. It must at any rate have been dis- ( covred by a Semitic people, because it is only perfectly ad- apted to the peculiaiities of the Semitic languages , and the name, figure and use of every letter can only be explained frojn these languages. (The most ancient mode of writing was undoubted!} b} pictures, Avliich represented tlie object to the eve and. al llie same time, recalled the name for it: and all alphabetical writ- i ing has proceeded from tliis. The inadequacy of such a mode * must have been, soon felt, since it could only represent objects f cognizable to sight, could only imperfectly signifiv intellectual ideas, and was totally unable to express the (po/yZ* of a foreign language. The insufficiency of a picture -character was still more evident, when a language became developed and extended its monosyllabic roots by llexiou and terminations for number, person, gender and case, and it was imjiossible to represent by signs the modifications of sound by which all those tlislinclions were expressed ^). ' 1) It is perfectly in accordance with what is here stated that the i Chinese language, which has no al|)habeticai character, but only a picture -character more or less faithfully a representation of ob- jects , has at the same time never advanced in its development, I but continues still utterly devoid of all flexion. §. ±36. External history of the letters. 49 From picture-character has the Semitic alphahct also pro- ceeded, but hi such a manner, that the definite image of an object and at the same time a word, Avhich had the sound to be expressed for its first sound, ^yas fixed upon for each of the 22 firm sounds (consonants) into wliich all the words of 1 the language may be resolved : e. g. with the figure of a ca- | mel J» its name also gimel would call to mind the sound g. \ Hence the signs of all the 22 sounds are oi'iginally signs of ? objects easily cognizable to the senses, and their names cor- 1 respond to this origin. These names indeed have been very faithfully preserved b)- the Hebrews, but the signs have been for the most part ver) much altci-ed and disguised, because in Avi^iting they retained the dead traces only from habit, with- out thinking of their meaning according to the intention of the first discoverers , and thus insensilily modified them. Siace the Hebrews recieved their alphabet from a Semitic people, it is perfectly adapted to the peculiarities of their language. It embraces just so many sounds as existed in the language of the early Semitic na- | tions, as for instance, tlie gutturals, a class peculiar to tlieni in their | gradations; and though it wants signs for many sounds, which other \ languages have, yet it never has recourse to joining different letters to express a single sound (e. g. c/i, s]i), as other nations do, who have re- cieved from foreigners au alphabet not adapted to the sounds of their language. A tradition of a fundamental alteration of the Hebrew 13G alphabet has been preserved in the Talmud and Fathers, which must at any rate have some historical foundation. According - to this tradition , the present character , Avhich is found with imimportant variations in all Mss. of tJie old. Test., and vv^as even in the time of Jerome (in the fourth and fifth century) , the same as we now have it, was brought by Ezra from the \ Assyrian, i. e. according to the later confusion of names , the 1 chaldaic exile, and hence it is called assyriaa character in3 s^Vtliii . The earlier, ancient Hebrew character, on the other hand, is called "''liy in3 Hebrew character. There is much Inaccuracy it is true in this tradition, especially as to Ezra's having introduced this alteration of the character, since the Samaritan Pentateuch, which was intro- duced into Samaria from Jerusalem about the end of the 5th Cent. B. C. , and the new coins of the Hasmonaeans , whicji were struck in the 2nd Century, afford sufficient evidence that the ancient character was still in use as late as the last century B. C. But Ezra is considered by the later Jews, in general, as the author of all additions and external alte- rations, which the text of the old Test., according to obscure tradition, lias xmdergone. If all the other historical traces 4 50 §• 137- External history of the letters. conlauied in ihat ancient tradillon are piil togellier, perhaps tlie following connected view might be gathered from it : l.^r The Semillc character, from tlie time that we have any certain knowledge of it, was divided into two very dilferent brandies. The western branch, which has become especially celebrated in tlie Phoenician character, was also the character of the Hebrews until the last century B. C. , was retained by the Phoenicians still later, and by the Samaritans even to the present time ■^). lis alpliabelical characlors are anlique, but stiil' and heavy, angular and uneven, without proportion and beauty. Tlic eastern branch, on the other hand, in Baby- lonia and the other countries on llie Euphrates and Tigris (hence called by the later Jews, according to ancient custom, assyrian) became by frequent use much rounder, more re- gular, more ductile and beaulifiil , and was, even at an early period, gradually modified into current character. These distinguishing advantages procured it the supremacy in the course of time; it extended over all Syria and Arabia, and the Jews were so much the less able to resist its inlluence, because after tlie Babylonian exile , the northeastern or Ara- maic language and litterature made deeper and deeper inroads upon them. This powerful influence, perhaps in the last cen- tury B. (J. and first A. C. must have abolished, or rather, only renewed and modified the ancient character. Soon after, how- ever, in the encrease of Jewish superstition and worship of the letters , it became consecrated in all copies of the old Test, and immutable, as it has been preserved through all centuries, without essential alterations, until the present time ^). 1) Cf. Correspoiidance des Samaritains de Naplouse pub. par Sitvestre de Sacy. Paris 18Si9. 2) Cf. Kopp Bildcr mid Schriften der Vorznit. T. 2, and among the earlier authors the Blxtorfs etc. The present character, arising from this source, has, ac- cording to its peculiar development, preserved a great regula- larity and grand simplicity in the form of the letters, and hence it is called, in distinction to other alphabetical cha- racters, i's'l'a Sn3 scriptura quadrafa. All letters therefore are equal in size except tlie three bp"", among which "» ap- pears to have been early so shortened, cf. Math. 5, 18. Moreover all letters liave either a broad stroke above, as it w^ere a foundation stroke , as ^ , 1 , "^ , n , 1 , or at least firm points of support, as y , N, t, it , b. In others where the stroke would descend too far, it has been bent inwards, as 3, 'Dy 52; not so however with p compared with the correspond- ing Q. From these changes some letters too, whose figures were originally more unlike, have become more similar, and §. 138. 139- Ext. hist, of the letters. 51 tlierefore more liable to be exchanged, especially T and '^^ which are often exchanged, and m and n. This character sliows some tendency to the connexion of letters, and capabilities for it, since many strol\es are contracted, and some bent up on tlie line; in some Mss. too we find bej^innings ot" connexion. (ieneral usage, however, resisted this incipient tendency, even from early times, so mucli the more, as the sanctity and dignity of this character appeared to re(|uirc the antique separation anrl distinctness of single letters ; for even the connexions of letters, which are possible, are forbidden in the Talmud. If this cliaracter had been already a connected character at the time it became a holy one , it would undoubtedly have remained .so, as the Kufic character in the Koran. This character has only very few figures for final letters. 138 In the progressive development of a cliaracler becoming more and more ductile , current and connected, there are always foimd peculiar figures for final letlcrs. This is especially the case in the more common Semitic modes of xvriting, in which the words are not separated, in the manuscripts, with sufficient regulai'ity and distinctness; for the involiuitary object and intention of final letters is, beyond all doubt, to distinguish the end of the word and sentence, by an external sign also. But as this tendency of the mode of writing also was only gradually unfolded, according as any letter offered a more or less con- venient occasion for its exercise , the extent of its influence depends at the same time on the peculiarities and history of each alphabetical character. Only five letters have been in- fluenced by it in Hebrew : 'j , '^ , y , ?] in which the stroke, which was bent vipwards on the line, is prolonged straight downwards, thus representing the abruptness of the end, iu distinction to their usual form; and t3 which, being shut on all sides, marks the end of the word in a different manner ^). I) Very rarely is a usual letter found at the end of a word, r.s Tob 38, 1 (where, however, the particle 572 is, in the idea of the writer, a part of the following word) and pice versa 'q not so unlike 12, i» the middle Is. 9, 6 through mistake. The alphabetical poems in the old Test. (Ps. 25. 34. 37. 139 111. 112. 119. 145. Prov. 31, 10-33. Lam. 1-4), in which the same arrangement is always found, with only unimportant variations, are sufficient proof that the 22 letters were early brought into a definite order. It is not clear, however, upon ■what principle this arrangement is foiuided; it certainly is not founded on a scientific one, as only the licpiids b /3 3 come together ; many of the others appear to have been arranged with respect to the meaning of their names, and at a time when these meanings were still undei'stood, as T and n (^fi^eapon and trcwelling scrip), " and S (Jiand and hollow hand), 70 and D {water and Jish) , 3>, 3, p, ^ and U) {eye, 4 ♦ 52 §■ 139' External history of the letters. mouth, ear, head and tooth') are certainly not untleslgnedly arranged ; but the Hebrews have only adopted this arrangment from some other Semitic people , as they have the names. The following is a table of their names and order ; the letters, when formed Into words, being read, according to Semitic custom, from tJie right hand to the left: i. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. i< n 3 ^ n 1 S:]Vn n^a "bm ^>:7. N!7. 11 'alef he% ^luiel rfalet /te vav 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. ? n to n ^' 1 ^ T.l rr^n a-ia '^'•^^ ^^ n/3b V IT sain c/iet thet\i jod fcaf /amcd 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 73, & = ' 1 D 5> B, ;] ^' r D''?3 r^ ?|tt!r '•: NS ■""^ mem »iun samek (/hsdn /je y?ade 19. 20. 21. 22. ? ^ il3 to n ;iip uj'^'i^ in T ^of resh sh'ia sin ta.v. The force of the letters has been more particularly treated cf. 5- 67 ff. and 1T3; concerning shin and si?i v. §. 170. To give a detailed expla- nation of the Jiames of tlie letters is the business of Palaeography, inas- much as tlie suitableness of many of the names is only to be recognised in the ancient figures; the following short explanation, iiowever, may be still not unacceptable. ' 1. fjbN. The name means hull, and the figure of a bull's head with two horns is still plainer in the Aethiopic alphabet. 2. rr^a. Tlie name means house ; the figure should properly be turned thus n 5 very like what it is in Chinese , and also in Aethiopic v. Kopp 11. p. 93. 3. 7^2J\. Properly camel, and the long neck may be still reco^gnised in the present figure. '^■A' Since it properly means door , it sliould be of a ]av,g qua- drangular form, and the Greek A st'H shows this figure abbridged, as also the ancient Hebrew alphabet. >^ which is only half of tlie figure, arose from the endeavour to write more rapidly. ^' ^'7- It means something deep, a hallon;, pit (cf. JU^ ^ tf^^.c) and the Phoenician figure (almost /^) most nearly answers to this. §. 139- External history of the letters. 53 from wliicli HH arose, find by clianging its posture, the Greek i*:. The Hebrews omitted tlie stroke on the left and then wrote fj. 6. 11. The name means hooh, to which tlie original, but rare, reverted figure J better corresponds, v. Kopp II. p. 92. 382. 7. 'JI'T. It means weapon, armour, perhaps sJiield, from whirh latter meaning its figure is derived, which was originally H, as it yet is in Aethi . jT'ni: cliald.) but tile figure has become hard to recognise, though its may be still traced from the Samaritan, ancient Heb. and Phoenician letter in Kopp p. 394, down to the present form. It is also not impossible for it to mean net from -[r',-^ . ^"lii ^^ hunt, lay snares. 19. >inp. Paulus Memor. YI. p. 124 explains the name by «_jt_3 eje of a needle , but it would be more in accordance with Etymology and the oldest Phoenician figure (Kopp II. p. 395) to suppose (J^_» circle (ftt^T^r] Ps. 19, 7) especially of an ear, to which the figure is not without resemblance. 20. Ui'i'n. The Phoenician figure q, which was easily shortened into the Hebrew •-) ^ perfectly suits the meaning head. 21. "^^'p- Tiie name tooth is clear; hardly any letter lias so faithfully retained its ancient figure Kopp II. p. 397. 22. Tn. The Phoenician and Greek figure T suits the meaning cross, and the present Hebrew form only arose late. The names, when considered together, prove that some other Semitic people, and not the Hebrews, invented them, and witli them, tlie signs of the letters, for ri''Z, "iZJ"'"! , D"3 ^"d others, are perfectly Aramaic, and the Hebrews have only formed 'jn^j and "jif according to their lan- guage. This people must have had a language still more unlike any of the now known Semitic languages, as the forms >|bN , nb"7 , and on the other hand "b":"i, 'J"''d, for fibN? b^^.T , 'JIIJ prove. It is also just as evident that the names were discovered long before Mo- ses, in the earliest period of the language, for all the names are still of the shortest, most simple form (§.307) even though longer forms afterward arose for the same objects, as '^'c.1 , 173^73 Jdgs. 3, 31 for V72.T , 'l'^^- Moreover, ni is a formation foreign to tlie usual analogy of tlie Semitic languages, as they are found after tlie Pentateuch; and hence this name almost entirely disappears in lie- brew (except. Ex. 26, 32 ff.) , and in the later dialects is utterly lost. On a review of the names we find too that the objects from which they are borrowed are I. animals, as ox, camel etc.; 2. members of the body, as liand, mouth etc.; 3. instruments, as hook, ox goad etc., all being from that class of objects which wtnild be observed and re- cicve names even in the simplest state of society. §. 140. 41. Ext. hist. eLc. §. 142-44. Intern, hist. 55 From tlie endeavour at distinctness and regularity, it is a constant 1 10 rule to finish the word at the end of the line, but at the same time to niake^ all lines of the same length. If the last word s , 1~T , ^ , tD , S~1 ; in Mss. still more. 2_) Or the superlluous space was filled up by always the same unmeaning letter or otiier sign e. g. with p in the editions of Boniberg; if the space was still greater, it was filled up by as many letters of the word , wiiich was to begin the line fol- lowing, as it would contain, but without points. The later Jews', after the example of the Greeks and 141 Others, used their alphabet as numerals also: N — '^ for 1 — 9; 1 — i£ for 10 — 90; p — n for 100 — 400 ; the numbers 500 — 900 were expressed either by n 400 in composition with other Imndreds, as "^ n 700, or by the final letters ^^, u2, 'j , s\, y; 1000 is N again; instead of tT" 15, which two letters can mean the divine name Jehova , and were therefore avoided out of reverence, TO 9-j-6 is used. 2. INTERNAL HISTORY. The ancient mode of writing was intrinsically very con- 142 cise and sparing, expressing only what Ayas most indispen- sable, prominent and firm in the language. Accordingly, it regarded the actual usage of fthe living language, and only expressed what was actually spoken, not adhering to etymological minuteness, nor writing letters which < could not be read (as the Syriac does, which at the same time has departed much farther fiom the original pronuncia- tion). There are only a few instances in Avhich a sound has been retained, in writing, out of regard to the ancient usage, after it had ceased to be audible or had been changed, as in the suffix "11 — «V according to §. 54, and in the forms ^3^5"^ jocal for jacal according to §. 50. Moreover, it expressed a double sound which was not 14J clearly and distinctly separated by an intervening vowel , but only prolonged and pronounced as if coalescing with each olher (§. 113 if.) by a single letter, leaving the rest to the living language, as bb^a millel^ ^Sn dabber, i::;2:j 7mm~ niennu; cf. farther §. ill. But as soon as ever the shortest vowel-sound, or fragmentary vowel, came between, the two sounds must be written separately, as "'Wn aVla'i n3D") /v«'- nat according to ^. 32. A fundamental peculiarity, however, of the ancient mode \u of writing was, that the alphabet consisted essentially of con- sonants only 1). As, at the time of the discovery of the al- phabet, the language was still very simple and poor in ilex- 5^ §. 144. Internal history. ion, such a mode of writing -was not so very Iiiadequate lor its purpose. Aiul allliougli llie language afterwards became more developed, still it was the more easy for llieir alphabe- tical writing to remaiu long stationary, without advancing above this imperfect rudimental method, since it is a cha- racteristic jieculiai'ity of the Sejnitic languages, that the meaning of the roots never depends on the vowels, nor on the change of vowels, (as in Sanscrit, Greek etc. ^) but always on three consonants, and the vowels change in all roots of three sounds in the same manner to express, according to laws as regular as they are clear and easy, the various modifica- tions only, of which a word is capable zVz a proposition f. 15; e. g. its modification as noun, verb, active, pass.^ intrans. etc. Accordingly, if an ancient Semite wrote only the chief sounds which are essential for the formation of a word, the fundamental idea was distinctly intelligible, and the reader had only to discover the peculiar modification of the meaning from the connexion of the sense of the words. And since the change of the vowels within the tliree radicals is very regular, e. g. "bi^p^, Vpp. , Vii:^^, any one acquanited ■with the language (and for the ignorant and foreigners they did not write) coidd at once supply the appropriate vocaliza- tion, without the least difficulty. To this is to be added, that in the oldest and most frec|uent forms of the language the vowels are, for tlie most part, very short (§. 203); that no syllable can begin with a vowel §. 25 those that appear to do so liaving at least an aspirate before it, and thus tlie language is not so ^yealc and diluted with vow els , since the consonants are still the predominant elements, and two vowels can only come together under very great limitation ^^. 23 iT. J) Ainonn; tlie Moderns wlio have maintained that an alphaliet of con- sonants is inipossil)le, and that i< t i were anciently only vowels cf. IIkrdcr Cei.st der hehr. Foesia. Vol. I. p. 28 (or in tlie spiri- te l, V O. Tliey recieved 1 as ii^ first (Di- gamma) and jr; as A; out of this latter tliey gradually formed the vowel >/ , and they left olf expressing the digamma in writing , be- cause every language , according to eternal laws , casts off its rough sounds more and more. IMucli, however, was wanting for this principle to be 143 observed with all rigidness. For cases nevertheless occurred in which it was absolutely necessary, for distinctness, to ex- press the vowel-sounds, e. g. iu case, though it is a rare one, that two vowels come together, as "^iTi hoi, ilb^ galu'i , cf. §. 147. The mere progress of time too, produced an endea- vour to rejuler the mode of writing more complete; tlie con- sequence of which, as far as regards Hebrew, Avas, that they gradually became accustomed, since it was absolutely impos- sible to do without the vowels altogether, to write them in places where they seemed most indispensable. Iu this manner there w^as a conunenccment of "writing the vowels , although so rarely and irregularly, that it is only a \ery distant ap- proach to a regular, systematic vocalization. No new letters, however, were discovered for this pur- li6 pose, but already existing signs for consonants, with whose sound a vowel easily accorded , were used as representatives of the vowels. Viz. T i were most frequently used as vow- elletters, because their soiaid , when they are consonants, is little more than a hardening of the vowels ii, i, and the softer pronunciation necessarily forms the pxu'e vowel sound §. 87 if. Hence 1 "< are usually employed to express t\, {; seldom for the mixed soimds u e, concerning which v. ^. 148. t? also may indeed be used to express a, since the gutturals correspond most neai'ly to u among the vowels (|J. 76), and N, as the weakest guttural, is at the same time least removed from the vowels. But the use of N, even for the longest a, is exceedingly rare ^), partlv because this transition is not so easy as it is with T^, but still more, because a, as the near- est vowel, appears least of all to require to be distinguished and siguilied in writing ^. 43. To what extent , besides , in, and rarely N , might be AAa-itteu at the end of a word on ac- count of a vowel, cf. ^. 153 f. 1) As tl,s;p qdm Hos. 10, 14. n'l?2N'-! rdmot Prov. 24, T i^N'n (poor) somewhat oftener. In these words j^ supplies the place of the second radical. Without the root, j^ is much seldomer writ- ten for a, and iu the later period, as rii^" "t (plural ending) Ez. 31, 8. 47, 11. In 'ij^iii: (neck) Raii'ar must be contracted into jlapuar, so that ^ has only remained because it is primitive. Tiiere is an occasional later use of }{ for e in the middle of a word: VN;*' , 1!3N"1, because its sound leans strongly to e §. T(J; a, in general, is gradually changed into ^. 58 §• 147- 148. Internal liistoiy. 1^7 'I'lic jKirlicular application of lliis method of ^vritiiig the vowels depends on the following rides: 1. If the \owcl, as is usually the case, immediately fol- lows the consonant, and is so closely attached to it that (the consonant cannot be pronounced Avithout it, it is genex'ally not written; the unity of consonant and its vowel in the written characters is so indivisible, that the firmer element alone is written. But when a new vowel follows a long or short vowel inunediatoly, the former must necessarily be Avrit- ten, because it is attached to no consonant, and is in an entirely new relation, as "^V^ Cdai pin Imuran according! to §. 54 nt. , in the same way n"^2 bdjib always ; after a long vowel, iin lioi, •^i.'i goL^ in clavvai , iiV:* galui. 148 Among the usual vowels then , i. e. those that are de- pendent on the consonant, the short ones were not at all written ^) ; but the long ones are so different on account of their length and weight, that they often appeared more im- portant and to require to be expressed in AAxitiug. The de- gree of frequency, however, in "\\Titing them, or not, de- pended chiefly on the nature of the vowelsounds themselves. For, according to §. 146, the rule was not to write a at all; .1, on the other hand, and x\, were easily and rather frequent- ly represented by ^ T , and especially in cases where they have a very sharp sound, or are primitive, as in U.n^3 nirasJi, ^"klji/j jnislior , from UJ'i"', 'ix'"'. And just as "» was \ATitten for the diphthong ai ,, and T for au, according to §. 147, so also 1 T Avere very regularly used to represent the mixed sounds e, o, vshich arise, accord, to §. 49, from the diph- thongs, as "^n^n hefka , Qma niotam, blp qol. This, how- ever, docs not hold of e, o, not arising in this -way 2), and 1 is only rarely Avrittcn for e, while for the obscurer o, -svliich is more prone to be lengthened , l is the more regularly AATit- ten , the more lengthened the o is in a word; as it usually is written with 1 in the stems V"n5 gadol f. 322 , ^in:* gibbor §. 328 , and in the interjection I'r; hoc, and is wanting in the stems nn^"" jiJctob "jrip qaton ^. 268 , 249. The ancient mode of writing adheres very regularly to this different relation of the protraction of the long vowels, but the later mode less closely, in that it uses the vowel-letters in general more fre- quently. 1) Sec some exceptions in the final syllables §. 149. 153 — The obsciiro // appears , only before medial syllables to have been so lt>ii;,'tliene(I , tliat afterwards it could be written by i , as ^V^S .ler. 31, 34. The case is dift'erent witli 'TirT'?2fn f*^"" hamtCli where the primitively lonp radical vowel resists couiplete shorten- ing, «.\cu after the contraction, as §. 288. §' 149~l5l. Internal history. 59 2) as Jinyn ie'ase Ex. 25, 31. In Ti"bli) shalei^ lob 21, 23 cf. Jer. 49, 31 it is more excusable, because e stands before the very weak Tj which remains there as consonant, cf. ip for "Ip §. 96. Moreover, since the tone of a word has a leaning to the 149 end of the word ^.33 f., and the vowels are the more length- ened by the tone , the nearer they stand to the end , it be- came a rule to write the vowels most frequently in the final and the tone- syllable, and to diminish the frequency the farther the vowel was from them, as ini koteb, Di^niD 16- t'bim, iD^t: si/n, iins katub, ^i^S kabbtr ^ MrV^in tiglend, iu which the penidt has a short, but accented and radical vowel f. 222. Hence this vowel which was so expressed Avas very often left out, when new accented syllables were added, as Ciinn:^ h'tubfm (CiinniD only later), V'^l-'^ gadol: ib"!."( g'dole^ bi>lTI5 : a"'7i''vl) schudlim, in which manner even the mixed sounds arising from dijihthongs may lie omitted in writing, although, on account of the greater indistinctness in certain forms, more rarely, as Dri.ry Ez. 33, 25 from "i^y §. 148 ''lTp."'!7. • ll^p-^ lieniqthu, ^^<•:l^^ ',M-i'2)-'\)'^ jolikuhu Ex. 2, 9. 10. 34^ 18. And because the recollection of the ancient inlrec^ueut usage of 1 "^ as vowellettei's was still retained , it became a custom to a\oid writing two T or i, the second of which was in a compound syllable, in two successive syllables, as p'^lii : Cp^^i: or 'n'^ij'i':! fiaddiqim , t]^p72 : n72ip53 or m?:p?2 m^qomot (although according to the most ancient method it woiild only be n?:p?2 Gen. 1, 14. 15); •^n-'i':! JJippiti :'Dn''^^ Jlwpitim. It is also clear from all this^ to what extent the mode 150 of writing was irregular and uncertain , and in what cases the use of Ti could be extended iu the later periods. In the most ancient writing, they are most rarely used; in those of the middle period a certain aversion to their too frequent use is observable; while iu those of the latest, the endeavour af- ter distinctness in w^riting transgresses even these limits more and more. The more sparing mode of writing is especially retained longer in certain words, which have remained unal- tered from the more ancient periods, as DNS (^oracle), and the proper name TTi Dauid^ instead of which we find in the latest books only (and in Amos, Ilosea, and the song of Solomon, on account of the popular dialect) ^"itt. 2. A vowel at the end of the final syllable, wliich, con- 151 trary to the general rule of a consonant ending the word, sounds free and uncompressed, is of a peculiar kind; tiie fi- nal vowel too is often one which has been originally an in- dependant, important word, but is converted into a suffix. For tliis reason , the ancient mode of writing regularly ex- 60 §• 152- 153. Internal history. pressed it in many cases, ^^ile^l^er is was accented or not. and in iiionosyllahic Avords it must necessarily be -Nvrillen. In paiiiculars however there are many peculiarities here. 152 1) Final ic and i are ahva) s expressed by 1 •> , since their use is so near; as i:2nD ka-t'bu ,, i"b li, ^"i"' jadf, •^V2'' fmarii, and in an unaccented syllable "^niins Icatcibti ^), -\1'^212 inimmennu. On the other liand, as soon as ever a sound is added, this vowel may disappear, since the rules ^. 148 f. lake ellect, as ■in"'"!:: : ^n"i^::c fiivvitika. 1) Very rarely is niinD written, which is probably not to be read full but shortened kataht. v, §. 281. 153 2) To express the other final vowels n Is used, a mere aspirate, showing that the word ends in a vowelsound Milhout tlie proper vowel ilsclt being more distinctly signified; only it can never be u or i , because T '^ are the nearest signs for ihem ^, 152. This is a very ancient, concise method which is characteristic of Hebrew, m can accordingly be so "written a) for a, Avhich however is never expressed in the middle of a word, but is necessarily written at the end, where it be- longs to the root, as t^b.'i gala §. 222; or where a alone distinguishes the meaning of the termination , as in ilSb/O vialhd §. 360 J l^inrN ekfbd §. 293. 433; and could only be omitted where a does not alone determine the meaning of a tennination , as niniD is written more frequently than nn:inr) Jcatdbta, and ']sV;2 for riisrib'3 malk^kd. In Ttr.in attd {thou msc. sg.), where a is not radical, but also not suffix, in is more frequently written than omittted. In the later period only, and very rarely, Is N used in the same manner, the more customary it became to write N in the middle also for a, as N.-n cJioggd Js, 19, 17 cf. ^. 360, 1. — h) 1-, is written for e and o, as well for e in itself long, as for e only long by tone, as ?T>N ajje (where?), f^i^D Calne , J^T ~e, Tv^ me §. 45, rib:in iigle§. 222-, i^y^D ^IhcQcao, riraV^ SJilomo. n"« can indeed be also written for e , o according to §. 148 : and where the mixed sound ae has arisen from ai , and Is very clearly and distinctly soiuuled , ^ was regulaily written at the end, as "^^b:: inalke §. 414, "^Vy «7e (preposition) ; but for the simple e, and the flattened o, whether flattened from a or from ae , !i was always rcgidarly "s-vi-itten. For o , on the other hand , ii is \ised rather as the ancient mode of writing merely , Avhich has been longer preserved in certain words, without any dilFercnce whether o has arisen from a-u , or not; in general i was more frequently written for every 6: thus always riyns , l-^lzVxi (o being shortened from the ad- jective termination on ^. 341); but "b'»U and ■i'b\D irregularly, rr^: and ir:, always rrD c6 {adv. t/iu^) ; but in the usual suf- §. 154-156. Internal history. 6l fix o (from a-u) Irr- is only anciently written , but usually , 1- §. ^05; always 11573 AVgiddo beside M'giddon. Still more rarely was !S i. e. a in the later period written also for o: SrjO /o, in Ezecli. often id, and ND lob 38, 11. All these modes of writing with rt cease, if the vowel is no longer at the end of the word, and then the common rules f. 148 f. come into force, as !n2"'b5n or rr^b^n tiglena from lnb.u-i tigle^ in^p^o miqneha DlDi^p?^ miqnekein from Jn^pa miqne. 3) An N could also be written after 1 "^ at the end, stand- 254 ing for the long protracted sounds u, I, if the fmal syllable was at the same time strongly accented; this J< marked that the word ended in a strong vowel, just as if a strong aspi- rate was uttered after the vowel, (as h in german is written after a vowel, as a sign of its being lengthened, as in JEh re). This mode of writing, however, has remained more rare in Hebrew, as X^pD Joel 4, 19. Jon. 1, 14 compared with the more usual ip3 naqi , Niibil Jia-Vku once ^. 281. This is also sometimes extended to 1 written for u, as iiy and NT12!' Zach. 1, 1. 7. Nlil ribbo ^.346, iDi< and NISN ejo (adverb). 3. If the vowel itself is sounded at the beginning of j^^ the word , its presence is so much the more consistently ex- pressed by the softest aspirate N ^. 68, as N is there a sub- stitute for any oilier possible harder consonant, to which the vowel attaches itself. Unless tliis i^ as aspirate was written, the vowel must be represented alone, by itself, since it has no firm consonant to attach itself to at the beginning of the word; but by thus writing N as introductory of the vowel and indicative of its presence, the mode of writing preserves its consistency with itself. Whether the vowel itself must be written, or not, depends entirely on the preceding rules, as ^?3N clmar or emor , possibly also ^omer , for wliich, how- ever, ^?3TN may be more disliuclly written; 1>1^TN ezrdagh ^. 112, liJN 'es/i, IN 'o f. 148, ^1N 'or. When therefore a semivowel at the begnining of a word has been resolved into its vowel f. 90, it can be more distinctly expressed by N, as 1U51N ""Ishai 1 Chro. 2, 12 for i\2)^ Jishai v. 15, and with a short vowel T23N ^ish JMich. 6, 10 for ^i jeslt. Only the very frequent prefix u {and) is always, more simply, written with T, where it is softened from the consonant p, as ni^T libet §. 90. According to all this , whenever the same letter would 155 occur ill the same syllable, as consonant and vowel, in the ancient sparing use of the vowel letters, they regularly wi^te the consonant only, even though they would have written 62 §• 157- 158- Origin of the signs for reading. tlie vowel In any oilier case. Laler writers imleecl gi\idually give lliis practice up, in accordance Avilli tlie general pro- gress of the mode of vvi-iting. Hence 1) we find examples like i3"'Tb Vi^ijjitn, Lr3"'p3 n''c/ijjifn , liii^-.^ go/f/n ^ sometimes even at the end inbl floje Jer. 38, 11 ; double "^ remains often, but' only in the forms H")'"'' Jirci, §. 271, where i is very sharply sounded; although we also often find N-i"' Jif'd, IN-i"" y/-/''/^, "Ci-^ J/rash, but not iXin, "in-i: for N'l^n, u-i'':. — 2) for ^':J«N ''omar ^ Avliicli avc should exi)ect according to §. 142, we always llnd T:N (1st. person sg). 3. ORIGIN OF THE SIGNS FOR READING. 157 According to this then, tliis ancient mode of writing is still very defective and imperfect, contenting itself vvith ex- pressing only the hrniest and most necessary elements of words. All advance to greater clearness and perfection is , indeed, observable according to §. 145 If'., but its effects are so in- significant, that tlie characteristic peculiarity of this mode of writing remains unimpaired. For the ancient Semitic mode of writing is, according to its nature and origin, only the first step from a picture -character to a regular alphabetical character, and still retains the freshest traces of its early in- fancy. And since the peculiar nature of the Semitic languages rendei'S the imperfection of this mode of writing very tole- rable, (\^. 144) that primitive mode, which has been inherited from early civilization as something sacred, has remained in aU Semitic nations and languages essentially unaltered ^); just as the development of the language itself has rather stood still at a certain stage §. 12 ^). To decipher the writing then must have always cost more trouble and attention , and only few possessed the requisite skill for it (Js. 29, 11. 12), although as long as the language lived, no reader of any reflection conld be in doubt as to the sense of what was written. 1 ) For such isolated exceptions as the mode of writing used by the Aethiopians, Sabians and European Jews, in which eacli inno- vation must l)e historically traced, cannot be used as evidence against this trutli. 2) It is perhaps not a casual coincidence that the most perfect lan- guage, tlie Sanscrit, has also the most perfect and concise mode of writing. 158 Even during the gradual decay of the ancient Hebrew language, the mode of writing remained for a lojig time with- out essential additions; for the 'memory of the sense and jiro- nunciation of the text of the old Testament was preserved in the very flourishing Jewish Seminaries of that time, as far as it was possible for it to be preserved by the mere strength §. 159. Origin of the signs for reading. Q^ and uninterrupted succession of tradition ^); for tlie faithful- ness of tradition does not extend to the uncorruptcd preserva- tion of particulai'S. But the deficiencies of sucli an imperlect mode of writing for a language already dead, Avliich were even in themselves very sensihly felt in the progress of time, were still doubly so , when after the composition of the Tal- mud the learned seminaries in Asia fell to the ground , and the Jews were more and more scattered abroad and dispersed. Many causes thus conspired to furtlier the endeavour of sup- plying the deliciences of tlie ancient mode of writing in such a manner , that the reading and understanding of the sacred text might be rendered perfectly easy and certain, and be established immutably for ever. This complement of the an- cient mode of writing could not be a further development of the alphabet, because tite basis of the ancient mode of writ- ing was already considered sacred and inviolable , and the firmer, more essential elements of words -were already repre- sented by it; but the nicer, more minute shades of the pro- nunciation, which was all to be yet supplied, was superadded as a external complement by means of little signs , fnie points and strokes , as a commentary for the interpretation of tlie ancient text; hence too, these additions to the text, or signs for the reading , agree most intimately witli the marginal observations, or Masora. So gi'eat a reverence for the an- cient litteral text, as it was handed down by tradition, Avas preserved among the Jews, that the Grammarians, Avho made the ncAV additions to the text, left the written text still un- changed , even in cases where they believed it necessaiy to follow a different reading and interpretation. Hence arose the distinction between the ancient text, the written or KHib w^hich they conscientiously preserved inviolable , and the text wldch was to be read or Q''ri, for which the punctuation was accommodated , and which not uufi'equently departs from the other. And though the Masoretes appointed for public reading the text which they had establislied and rendered in- telligible, the Qri, yet they did not venture to introduce the signs for the reading themselves, into any but private manus- cripts of the old Testament; while the public manuscripts, or rolls of the Synagogue _, were obliged , as in every thing else, so also in the omission of the points, to preserve the an- cient foi^m. 1) V. die Ahhandlung i'lher Geschichte der Vocalization ron Hup- FELD, in den theologischen Studien und Kritiken 1830 S. 552 f^. When once attention w^as tiirned to this endeavour at 159 perfecting the ancient mode of writing, a boiuidless field was opened for the minute observation aiul distinction of what 64 §• 159- Origin of the signs for reading. ■vvas defective; for it is, in fact, an endless task perfectly to comprehend, and distinguish by signs, the sounds of a language in all their most delicate shades and relations. Ttie greater the former imperfection of the mode of "writing was, the more comprehensive and unlimited was the attempt to supply every tiling, with the utmost minuteness and preci- sion ; to which is to be added , that the object of all this minxiteness, was the i^reservation of ^vhat Avas most holy; and even in the execution of this attempt in the minutest and most insignificant particulars , the deep reverence of the later Jews for the very letters of the sacred books is display- ed. Accordingly, this so called system of punctuation Avas farther and more minutely developed , and applied with more regularity and strictness by the Hebrew punctuators , than by the Syrians, and Arabians, in whose sacred books, and osjiecially in the Syrian Bibles , a very similar system is found. jNot only the accurate pronunciation of every letter, every syllable , and every word by itself, but even the inex- liaustible variety in the pronunciation of every word in a eentence, according to the sense and connexion of the passage, Lave they endeavoured to determine by fixed signs and rules, so that the voice of the reader , folloAving these directions closely , can no longer anywhere err , either in what is greatest or what is least. All manuscripts, however, do not perfectly agree in these points ; for first , the very task is an infinite one , and many new developments of this system are still possible , as is evidently shown by a comparison of differ- ent manuscripts. Secondly, precisely in the more minute observation, and most delicate distinction, a variety of views and methods are unfolded in this very complicated province, and not even the greatest severity of the IMasoretes could prevent the copyists from adopting them. Finally, the sys- tem, as it is developed, "with its immense number of little signs, has something so heavy and awkward in it, and is, moreover, so loosely connected with the wi'iting itself, or the letters, that the scribes often sought to lighten their task, and either usually, or occasionally, omitted many of the least necessary signs. This system in its present state of development is found in all known manuscripts , which have signs. Psone of those tliat are known, iiowever, are older tiian the 11th century. But it may be assumed ascertain that this system has been preceded by more simple ones ; as is partly proved by tlie figure of the signs themselves, partly by some, even now, distinct liistorical traces. The rudiments and lirst attempts may be dated in early times, and tiiree epociis of the signs for reading may be now distinguished. Tlie most simple distinction for the vocalization is a stroke over words of uncommoa nieaniug, merely to attract the attention of the reader to something uniisual, e. g. 'ni'^ i. e. that deher {pestilence) §• l60. Origin of the signs for reading. 65 h to he read nnd understood , in distinction to llie usual "-i^-; , as noun (lahdr (word), or as verb dibber (to speak). Such strokes may Iiave been occasionally used in some Hebrew manuscripts at an early period, jnst as tliey are now found in the .Samaritan copy. The second sfape consists in a point ditterently placed to disfinjjuish tlie sounds in a gene- ral way; a point ahoi-e, tlierei'ore , lor tlie bij^ii and strong \owcl sounds, like (J, c; one helow for tlie lower and weaker ones, like /, < ; a point in the middle of a letter to denote its hard, heavy pronunciation, in dis- tinction to it's ligiit and simple one (§. 171 tf.). Immediately from this staj^e then, because it is a beginning of signifying the sounds in a riglit way, ti;is the third gradually arisen, in wldch every thing is developed, as far, and with as much minuteness, as is possible; and from that simple point, a number of more determinate signs has been produced. The raphy in kis ITistoria unte- idmnica) , and even the fact of the name Qaniess being common to the signs fora and o is a sufficient proof of this; bnt it is impossible that the punctuation, wliicii, in other cases, distinguislies long and short vowels so minutely, can Iiave originally set out with this utter confusion of d and o, a;id sucli total forgetfulness of all forms. Great indistinctness and per- plexity lias actually come into liie ot!ier«'ise clear system by tiie confusion of the signs for d and o ; for if we attempt to distinguisli a and o in ])ro;!!:!!ciation , as we ought, the sign ~^ is of no service, nor are even a reference to the rules for the sj liable and tone, nor a consideration of tiie other signs in the neighbourhood , sufficient to decide the (|uestion with certainty, but in the end it must be delermined Ijy a consciousness of the etymology alone, and an intimate knowledge of tiie language; the object of tlie sign tliereibre, wiiich is to be intelligible to the eye, ia frustrated. We will give a statement of particulars as regards the signs for reading, thougli we must in so doing anticipate a knowledge of the accents etc. 1. With regard \o tiie final sylhthle , tlie accent, in accordance with the rules for the syllable and tone, shows that ~ in a syllable with the tone-accent must be a (§. 46), in a compound unaccented one o, as \_ . t_ 'liT dahcir , I^^^J'J jasJioh ; so also -^ before Dagesh forte is [always o in an unaccented syllable (g. 47), as ^S5 kossu, but if the penult re- cieves tlie accent, a, as iTlSb Icim-mcl. ' ' X IT According to §. 198 the vowel before Maqqef in a compound final syllable is usually short, as t3^^?~55 Lol-adani, nb^TSCn . -" there is an immutably long a in the final syllable, it usually recieves Meteg ac- cord, to §. 198, as "iV~n"i^ shat-li Gen. 4, 25; but as Meteg is not al- ways written in such cases, §. 198, we must read ~ as «, where the form and the meaning require it, even without Meteg viz. in -n:"^ Ps. 16, 5 according to §. 401, -^ip Ps. 55, 19. 22, -hp Ps. 74, 5 (if we are not to read r-i^p Gen. 22, 13) accord, to §. 3.'>4. There are also, on the other hand, a few cases in whicli ~ in a final syllable with a cojijunctive accent (because it is very like Maqqef) is to be read o, as "TTzb li'p Jdgs. 19, 5 (8). Ps. 35, 10. Prov. 19, 7. 2. For syllables whicli liave not the tone and do not stand imofiediate- ly before Maqqef the following rules hold: 1) unless Sh'va follows, ~ is always « in a simple syllable ; except c) in very few words in which an o which ought to be shortened into Sh'va remains (§. 58) viz. in )2y-""^ip Qohul-am 2 Kgs. 15, 10. D"'UiTp kodashiin QiUJ-i'vlJ §■ "82. If) before Maqqef in i':r'~riip kohal-lL i'b"rT°1J5 Num. 22, II. 17; 6. 23, 7 because it is derived from -np ^^^^ with very loosely attached ^ ' §. 293. — 2) If a Sh'va follows ~ it may be S. mob. or S. quiescens. or S. medium; but only with the first, where there arises a pure simple syllable, can ~ be read a. «) wherever ~ stau^^is in a simple syllable, Meteg must always be placed before the Sh'va mobile accord to §. 181 and this always distinguishes ~ as a, as r|^j-|3 , "^P^'lIJi 1 Chro. 2, 58. i) if ~ stands in a close compound syllable, which, however, .strictly .speaking can only be the cn.sc in the middle of a word before Dagesii 6s §' 463- 164. Signs for tlie vowels. lene, it must be o; and since tlie vowel there never lias Meteg accord, tu §. 181 ~r niay ^y this too be known to be o , as ^riX. if ~ stands in a loose compound syllable it must also necessarily be o; but since .iccord. to §.181 Mett.;j: also can be written in such syllables, we c;iu only conclude from the iiieaninfr and form whetlier Sh'va is S. mobile and ^ consequently a, or S. medium and ~ tlierefore o. Meteg is however often not written in the editt. and the cases which occur are: before suj/ixes TiTT^y ^moiVka accord, to §. 310, Obad. 11. 1 Sam. 24, 11; before ^— §.'2'J3, as rr^j'rj slwnCra Ps. 86, 2. 16, 1; in ';:2-;J?, 'j;^'^-. lor''haii according to §. 341 ;' before a consonant not admitting Dag. lener as i-iHn doh'ro Mich. 2, 12. Num. 24, 7; and especially in the penult, before IMaqqef §. 198 Ps. 3n, 4 (where another influence acts at the same time) and Ps. 38, 21 where the accent, conjunct, is not ri^'ht. — 3) Since Metcg is written beiore every Chatef-vowel accord, to §. 181, may be o) 00, if the O-sound belongs to the first consonant accoriling To the form, asiDS/S^for ^0^r3 , and therefore before Sii'va mob. !;ryN"3 vinos'kein Am. 2, 4? Js. 30 , 12; and if the O-sound is transferred from tlie Cliatet-vowel to the preceding properly vowelless consonant, as ■'Vri'l, ■i^J^::: §• 462. i) but d-o if tlie first consonant with ~ .«tands per- fectly unconnected with the succeeding one, in a simple syllable, and the consonant with the Chatef-vowel belongs to the syllable after; this can ciily luippen from the article being put before, as "^^x^ baoni §. 464 /;^ 163 The names for the 8 (9) signs are for the most part l)orrowed from the nature of the sounds in pronunciation whicli tliey are intended to re- present, and so far resemble the names of the Syriac and Arabic vowels very much: 1) f^p^ « opening of the mouth; 2) ^t^ c fracture, p-)Ji * rent, from the fine, as it were, broken, trembling pronunciation; 3) y^Zp " gat/iering and V^^p o («) contraction from tlie contraction of the mouth in u, 0; the appellation Qamess for a and o arose from those ■wlio read o for a incorrectly; to distinguish the short sound o it was afterwards' called J:j1t;n V^-^.p QdmeR acceleratum (§. 168). Moreover Cbin ^ abundance, strength, from the full, rich sound of o, and pl^UJ " hissing; 4) one of the last signs only is called from lis form : b^5D ^ duster. The names Patach^ Ssere, Chireq ^ QdmeJ] ^ Shiireq, Sego'l have been altered from nn5 , '"Is: , p'-^n , yi^Ji,, p.T^ , ViSO that they might have in the very first letter the' Vowel-sound which they are intended to represent. 164 After tl.ey began to atlach tliese signs for tlic vowels to the text, tlicy often came iu contact w'liXi tlie ancient vow- elletters §. 147 ff. e. g. nins , ^''ns , and although a double vocalization often thus came together, yet they both remained unchanged beside each other; the ancient one, because they could not omit tlie ancient vowelletler §.158, tlie new, be- cause it far exceeds the old one in perfection. \^lien 1 or "» for instance llins concur -witli a sign for a vowel, as in nins, it is called scriptio plena ; when tlie sign for the vowel stands alone, as in 'zr.'z, scriptio def'ectiva; which names however easily lead to the misconception that "» for instance is necessary with Cliireq, and that the ancients must have §■ 165- Signs for the vowels. 69 -vvritton "^ to express i §. 144 IF. The Grammarians La\e called •< — (Viireq longuniy aud -7- Chlreq paruian ; names wlucli are rallier superfluous and easily lead to misconccplion. All inferior signs for tlie vowels are placed before , or in the middle of the consonants to Avhich tliey belong ; but abore , Cliolcni, to avoid its being mistaken for tlie accent Pi'bia, is Avrilten afler its consonant; yet for disllnclion sake a little before T where T was A,\-i'itten as vowclletter for o, as nT2^y ^vonot. In the same manner the inferior vowel- sign is Avrittea before its vowelletler, as else it be might be incorretly read as a consonant , as ''"b , 'J'^b . 2. The sign "7" called *SAVa ^) is the direct opposite to 165 jhe signs for the vowels and expresses the absence of a fall i. e. distinct vowel. Hence for accuracy sake, it stands in general under every consonant not followed by a vowel; but from the laws and nature of the S) liable \. 24 ff. it is clear that this is only possible in tlie following instances : 1) It is often indeed written N"i"i3 wliicli must tlien stand for t^lUJ (as f alack for Fitadi §. 16;^); but the meaning notliingue^ss^ va- cancy is not very appropriate. The otiier orthograpliy N3U3 that is rest (softened for ni\l3 as Joa :^:::: sabbath) expressing the contrary to tlie motion 1. e. the vocalizing of the sound, appears to be tlie more correct one. l) SlCva is placed under that consonant wliich, attaching itself to \\\Q preceding vowel, closes the syllable, and accord- ing to §. 29 there can be only one such consonant iu the middle of a word, as ^:nTl3733 ; but letters wliich from any particular cause are not sounded after that vowel, do not recieve this sign), as pa'^n , riNnp^, the •' in ni'ny ^.54. A vowelless consonant at the end of a word too does not recieve Sh'va, as tDN , Cnn''3p_ because according to the principles of the formation of stems all words almost end \\\ a cor.sonant without a vowel, so that the last consonant may be almost assumed to be vow^- elloss. If therefore the rare case occurs that the word ends in two vowelless consonants (§. 29 i.) tliey hot It. recieve Sh'va for the very raiitr, as n-2^ 7"/^ nili"^ jeslil ^ to wiiirli also properly speaking cases like tJt:rt §. 85 belong, where i< lias no sign because it has also no sound, in tlie verbalperson nin^ , which regularly ends so accord, to §.30, 1 Sh'va remains under the n even in cases in which the preceding weak sound lias been resolved into a vowel, as r'^-'rT nNi 2 Sam. 14, 2. 1 Kgs. IT, 13 (it is wanting , however , in other places) or where it is contracted , a» r.ns, PN of. §. 175. Sh'va is written with "^ ' e^«" when it is the only vo-.veiieps consonant at the end of a word, from a mere cnllip-raphirnl rea.soH. Cerause th. <' preferred writing the vowels, which are usually placed below, in the 70 §• 166-168- Signs for the vowels. middle of tlie long 'r , tliey wrote Sli'va alao ia its middle as a similar caliigraptiical improvement: rj2 like 'rs . 166 2) Sli'vu is likewise written under that appoggialural con- sonant wliicli, accoriling lo ^.26, may go before any syllable, although the pronuncialloii is o1)ligecl to attach it to the fol- lowing syllable with the most hurried vowelsound, or the shortest e. The Grammarians have tlierefoi-e called Sh'vu iu this situation Sh'vu mobile i. e. pronuuceable , audible, and the Sh'vu of the first kind §. 165 Sh'vu qiiiescens (because it rests i. e. is without all Aowclsound); tliis may be more ])ro- perly called Sh'vu closing a syllable ^ for Sh. quiescens, and Sh'vu beginning a syllable , for Sh'vu mobile. From tlie rules of the syllable \. 55-62 it is already evident where we are to find Sh'va mobile , viz. besides at the beginning of a w^ord, after every complete syllable in the ^vord itself: there- fore after a simple syllable with a long vowel , as tS'inis Jco-t'bim; after a com]50und syllable, as n^'^b/O"^ mam-fjcot, and tlierefore after reduplication, or Dageshforte f. 171, as iSp:3 hit-Vbu. 167 3) Ta certaiu cases a consonant wliicli is witliout a vowel, and wliicii is therefore to recieve Sii'va, belongs neither to the preceding nor to the succeding syllable entirely, but, being as the end of a hclf .shut sylla- ble, lioats in the middle between both; such a Slfva may be very a[)pro- priatcly cvi\\&(\ Jloating Sli'va, or Sh'va medium, as in i't'^i {not Ja-l'de nor jcl-de, but as it were jal'de) '2t\'DZ : cf. §. 32. 173. 168 3. The great iutcrmediale gap, Iiowever, between a full vowel and its direct opposite .is filled up, in some places where it appears necessary, by WiQ fleeting or Chatef-vow- els , as transitions from the promuicialion Avhicli is Avilhout voxels . or has only obscure ones, to the distinct vocalic pro- uuucialion. In such cases we are properly always to expect an absence of the vowels according to the analogy of forms ; peculiar circumstances liowcvcr introduce instead a vowel- sound which is indeed distiuct, but absolutely ileeting and rapid; hence the punctuators leave Sh'va indeed always in its ])iace, but place the distinct short vowel after it. Only a, e, o Iiowever are found as ileelirig vowels, proceeding from the three pure short a, e, 6 §. 161; for /' and u are too sharp. These compound signs have recicved corresponding compound names 1~ Cliatef- Pdtach , ~ ChateJ-Segol , ~ ChateJ-Qd- niefi . These Ileeting vowels are used 1) most necessarily and frequently with giitlurals : Viz.. according to a correct feeling of the punctuators, the more fre- quently for simple Sli'va the more Sh'va itself without the guttural would be inclined to be obscurely audible. Therefore a ChateiVowel must al- ways be used for the Sh'va beginniug the syllable §.70; so also for Sh'va §• l69' Signs Ibr tlie vowels. 71 iiKciiuni §. 167 always, on account of tlie loose connexion of the syllable, as nir;'i^ . ^triN , ips>i: 1= ^IznS , "lins ; at llie end of a clu.se com- pound «v liable, on the other hand, the' harder pronunciation i. e. with simple Sh'v;\, may remain, and does so very often, but is also clianged under favourable circumstances before the tone (g. 71. 74) into tlie softer pronunciation not uiifrequentiy. These circumstances are tlie following : a weak jjuttural , and consequently most of all N , prefers the softer pro- pronunciation ; it is also more frequent ie/ore a liquid especially ^ ^ "-^ ^• cl\ TilrflJ , T~irii, ^ISS'I'' Hos. 9, 2. 2 Sam. 21, 6 compared witli 'rrinv'-,"' • the vocalization is also easily resolved if the vowel accordinjr to §. 198 acquires a new retention by the emphasis or Metcg before Maqqef, as -'h-'^-^ri-' from nuin;^ 2Sr:[n. 19, 20. Ps. 40, 18. To all this, however is to be added that the fleeting eclio-vowel is very easily ^!lortelled again, if the following vowel is shortened by flexion and the form favours a more rapid pronunciation according to its force, as rhu;ri73, in'nara from ninUJn^J, 1hi:3 "''"'e in ^.y^-j-oj-^ (wmy^^p-^'' ^. 73 this rajjidity is not according to the force of the form, although it can still take place, as tip'^jin"' I'roni P'^ni. Tim Heeling «, liowever. wiiicli iiitriules alter a discor- dant vowel, betbre tlie guttural at the end of a word ^'*. 78 y, is in most ]Mss. and in our edilions not expressed by ~ '^ul by full PalacL itself and bears the particular name f^i"35 n»"nD Pdtach fartipwn , as ^'2ti} , V'^jyi^ . 2) They are mucli more rarely and irregularly found 169 with non-gutturals , since the BIss. and even the editions stretch many possibilities to a wider use. The only general cause whicli favours ileet- ing vowels here, is the easy exciiange of a Sli'va to be read with a mere fragmentary vowel for a silent Sh'va in the middle of a .syllable. There is no doubt or danger of mistake whatever with Sh'va at the beginning of a word, as i'bl , ■'13, '^^ D or after a compound syllable, as^j^^ni'^, nill^in^a where Sh'va may be known to be Sh'va mobile by the necessity of the ])ronunciation. But in other cases, where tliere is this danger, the audibility of Sh'va is on tlie other hand rather encreased as much as possible, i. e. it is spoken as a Chatef-vowel , e»[>ecially where this lengtli- ening is at the sametime favoured by other circumstances of the sounds. Hence too the nearest and easiest only of tiiose. three (leeting vowels, c, is most prevalently used ; e is never found ; and only seldom does an o iiitru-;3-1in (from the interrogative n a"*! In^'i:!) Cren. 27, 38. in a close compound syllable only M'licre it is broken up by Maqqef and Mcteg , as "I'^-pT-ii,:" Gen. 21, 6 (it is to be observed that a guttural follows thcie). — 6) ii the consonant has lost its reduplication, accordiiig to §.119, where tlierefore both syllables may ha more easily intermixed, as rini^bKri Jdgs. IC, 16, J-;npb Gen. 2, 23. — c) seldom after a long vowel, as 72 §. 170- 171- Signs for the proii. of the cons *:b2Kri Ez.4, 10. especially wit!i tlie seiiiiguttural ^, as 'I";"!:'' Gen. 27, 27-31. Tiie iiinueiice of all lliese instances is htronf^er if the same consonant occurs twice following, to keep the two sounds farther apart, as ^;72':t3 Ez. 35, 7. Zacli.ll, 3. iV)VD ISam. 2, 25. 3, 13. r'^ra Gen. 29, 3. hV Wherever else o is found f(ir n possible Sli'va , that sound , acconiinjj to §. 58, lias on account of its weight at least remained of tills length without being resolved into Sliva, as "^rricp :^^ '^2113 1 Sam. 28. 8, '^2'JI'! ^''^-3^5 ^- r,T:n3 §. 38y. 170 II. Signs for the pronunciation of the consonants. Under lliese is iiKliuled tl e point over 'ii SJiin and 'O Sin. According to all lra':es i»j was originally the broad, obscure sound sJi, not tlie clear thin s. IJut as many nations and tribes always avoid that obscure sibilant and resolve it into .t (as the Ephrainiites Jdgs. 12, G) , '^ sh appears to liave been gradually softened in /^ of the words in He- brew , without the ancient orthography l)eing altered. 5 however is often written as 5 for -^^ especially in the later period, as -^j^D Ez. 4, 5 for *^3'(2J ; more rarely vice versa ly as .s for 5^ as n*/bp'p Koli. 1, 17 for m"^2D' i' tlie.V wished however in the ancient period to distinguish clear- ly the sound s from .■;/;, they were obliged to write 5 ^ as n'bzD, D^iSUJ Jdgs. 12, 6. The punctuators then distinguislied t!ie \») to be read s by 8 point on the left, as \y .s, in opposition to ^ sh. — If tJilg point conies together Avilh a point Avliicli onglit to be \vriUen in the very same place to express Choleni (without 1 , ^. 164) then , inslead of there two points concurring together on the sr.nie leg, one only is wrilten; hence l) tJ, is to be read so il it begins a svUalDle and has no other vowel-sign nor Sh'vu, as N2iD sone : 2) UJ must be read osh, if the preceding letter has no olher vovvcl-sign nor Sh'va, as b"il3"3 mo-shel. 171 Tlic most frequent and Important sign for tlie ])roiiuncia- t!on of the consonants is a point in the middle of a conso- nant , producing ils heavier or harder pronuncialion. This mode of jironnnciation however may be very variously modi- fied according to the nature of the syllables and sounds, and three chief varielics may be observed; in the first two the ])oint is called "ii;:." Dagcsh i. c. contundens, clashing, there- fore hanler, heavier pronunciation. 1. The most general and imporlar.t kind is, when a con- sonant is sounded double alter a short vowel, that is lo say, not surces>ivcly repealed , but only prolonged and llierefore pronounced harder; and hence in the ancient mode of "writ- ing only written once ^, 143; this ])oinl is therefore called Dagesh forte. As this pronunciation can only, according lo ^. 119, i)e perfcrlly dislinct and strong between two vowel- sounds, it follows fiirllier tlial Dagesh forle has its most pro- per place lu the middle of a word, as ?,2D sabhii ^ "VpJ^. ji- §' 172' Signs for the pron. of the cons. 73 qallii; ii! final lellcrs ^vItllOut a vowel il camiot be wrillen, ;n;cordiiig to ^". 118. il can only be -\vrilleti iu tlif» first con- sonant of a -word on account ol" tiie connexion oi the sense, according to f. 129, and has there a much weaker power; this ])eculiar kind may be distinguished as Dagesh eiiplioni^ cum , or belter corijiinctivuni. The gutturals according to f. 120 never rccieve Dagesh. Modern Grammarians (1isti;igiiis!i two kinds of Da'^esli forte, a Dafresh jy^ characteristicuni i. e. essentially belonging to tlie stem, as in "li^i; , !1PS 3"d a Dagesli comjieitsathurn i. e. representing a sound wliicli is contracted or resolved, as ri^D from 'Z'ZO , nn3 for n:n3 §• '13; these names Iiowever, are rather sn|)eriluous and at the same time in- appropriate. The distinction of Dagesh diriinens on tlie other liand , is important: when tlie final consonant of a syllable iu the middle of a word is not attaclied closely to tlie following syllable, but floats between both witli a short vowelsound (§. 32) , the voice doubles it after the preceding short vowel almost spontaneously; and hence a Dagesh forte is sometimes placed in this consonant to point ont this separation of the consonant with Sh'va from the following syllable, and to distinguish the Sh'va (as Sii'va medium accord, to g. IG7) from Sh'va mute. This use of Dagesli dirimens is not quite regularly observod ; it is however properly found c) most frecjiiently , where the consonant witli Sh'va, although attaclied to a preceding (just arising) short vowel, and tiierefore floating over to the preceding (just arising) syllable also, still sutt'ers an original Sli'va mobile to be very distinctly heard. The principles of formation sliow where and how such very loose comiyound syllables arise; the prin- cipal cases are «) with tiie interrogative ^7^ wiiicli is most loosely at- tached, as n;'n!S!n ("Ot to be read hak-to;iet 1-1:3^7, I'nt hak-k''to7iet, because it is derived from k'tonet~) Gen. 37, 32. 18,' 21. Am. 5, 25. /?) in the construct state where Sh'va as being shortened from a full vowel al- ways remains as Sli'va mobile (or at any rate as S. medium ^) and the preceding vowel is only a.ssumed from the necessity of the pronunciation, as '^'Zl'J' t)eiit. 32, 32; nin'ilip , ipVrt Js. 5, 28. 57, 6. Gen. 49, 10. Am. h, 21. J/) so also "^nTriiy jdnatotensis Jer. 29,27 from Jiiriy . — h) A vovvelless consonant in the middle of a word does not attach itself so closely to a liquid as to a firm consonant -); hence to point out this looser connexion the same Dagesli may be written; it is most freciuent before *^ as !rT"i3N '^*^^- 3, 2. more rarely before other liquids in are unaccented syllable, as rij-jtiipni Jdgs. 20, 32. Ps. 58, 9; for in such an accented syllable tiie pronunciation is firmer, while in an unaccented one it is resolved (cf. :i;:^'l"> with ini;""i°' §• "^- 7'!). — Moreover, -^ itself sometimes recicves this lighter reduplication 1 Sam. 1, 6. 10, 2i. just as it does Dag. conjunct, also Prov. 15, 1. 1) Viz. Sh'va most easily remains as Sh'va mobile where a rather long vowel like c is shortened, according to §. ilG- 2) This is very clear from §. 29 ; just as it is easy to pronounce Ti^r-^ and impossilile to pronounce •5^"'. so rrrc , is easier (since n attaches itself very easily to the preceeding vowelless couso- iiant) than J^;f , hi which this atlachment is not so close. 74 §' 173' Signs for the pron. of the cons. 173 2. The six nnUes n 2 S n a S have , according to f. 103. a very strong tendency to a softer, that is, an aspirated, vo- calic pronunciation, by -wliicli b, k, p, t especially are gra- dually changed iulo v, ch, f^ tJi, and tJi slill fiulhcr, is pro- nounced lisping, as in other languages & , tli. In Hebrew, according to the dislinclions Avhich the punctualors have esla- blished, this tendency is only connnencing and has its limils ; but as the aspirated pronunciation of these letters appeared in the laler period to be the prevailing rule , the punctuation lias therefore considered the cases in which the original , or liarder pronunciation remains, as a hardening ralher , and has tlierefore marked t'jem with Dagesh, which is distinguished by the name Dagesh lene. This influence of Dag. lene by which {3 q etc. are pronounced un- aspirated at flie beginning of a word, but the instant anotlier consonant or a word ending in a vowel goes before (^^iJ'ns iiaroh, but j-;ir~is"5 J^i-'"l!3 "^^tb t'f^roh, lifjie faroli') become hardened, is onh' in accor- dance with tiie pronunciation of the f)eriod when the points v/ere esta- Mislied; it cannot be niaintaiiied t!iat it was t!ie pronunciation of the (inie of Moses or David. On tlie other liand, we iiave traces from the sixth Century B. C. that 2 ]> must have been sounded /' ia certain words , in dependently of the distinction produced by Dag. lene. These words can- not now be pointed out; I)ut it was probably sounded y in ^^'^j: . as t!iat word occurs twice in two alphabetical Psalms (Ps. 2a, 22. 34, 23) at the end of the aipliabet. In both i is omitted, because, except the conjunction, hardly a single word begins witli that letter; but rj occurs the iirst time in its right place as ]> > and the second time at the end , to supply the place of •) ^ as f: tiie distance between / and v is not very gojat. In Arabic, 3 is always sounded as /', while in Syriac it foilovs the regulations of the Masoretic punctuation in Hebrew. The prevailing z'ule is that the softer pronuncialion can only take place from its nearest cavise, that is after a voively tlie soft a.spiraied sound of \vhich influences the mute fol- lowing il. Cousetpieuliy 1) in a single word, Dagesh lene can only occur after a close compound syllable wliere the following consonant is in inunediate contact with the one before, as i2n"::p_, ii^p'?? anil in llie llnul syliuble PD^, ~~lN according to §. 29. AVhere any Vowel, however, even the shoriest fragmentary vowel, comes between, the pronunciation is at once softeneant properly without a vowel assumes one before tiie con.sonant whose vowel is resolved, on account of tiie necessity of the pronunciation (§. (36), as ?,-;-in from 'T^n , 15^75 from ti^qh'^ cf. 291, 415 f . ; or with very loosely attaclied and separable prae - and postfix syllables, a.s with the suflix Tjri-ilr; §• 62, with the preposition l^n^Z. l^i cases like 'rranS from ihD J- 62 the preceding syllable is indeed more closely at- taclied by force, but the softer pronunciation still remains, because the stem-vowel o lias hardly disappeared entirely from the consonant before; in the same manner ;:ip=iri Prov. 30, 6 from fiD/Ti. — ;') with gutturals the peculiar case siTy-i from iry^ according to §. 73. 2) The same inQiteiice is also extentled to the first soiuid 174 o^viiPord, ill siicli a maimer, that the soft ))ronunciation takes eil'ect Avheiiever the first of two words dosely connected iu sense and pronunciation ends in a simple vo^ye!, as ')5~"ri';'l Gcu. 1, 7. Jn all other cases the hard pronunciation remains; at the beginning of eveiy single word and of a sentence there- fore; moreover, wlien the preceding word ends in a conso- nant : to Avhicli class of compound syllables those too which end ill a full diphthong are for tlie most part attributed (v. on the contrary Js. 34, 11, Ez. 23, 42. Ps. 68, 18); lastly, after a word ending in simple vowel, but sepai-ated and disjoined by the sense (and consequently by a disjunctive accent ^. 184 ff.) 3) It is remarkable that a double sound is not capable qf 175 being softened, because the softer, or aspirated, pronuncialioii according to its nature, only easily affects a single sound, but Avith a doubled one is difficult and disagreeable (cf. in general on the proper aspirates ^. 81). Dagesh forte in the middle of a word, ^. 171 lliei efore , becomes at the same time Dagesh lene, as iJ'':^n rahbifu ^ '^'^d sappir (allhough the Ancients wrote ca'jr(f{:iooc:). But since a double sound is only sounded single at the end of a word §. 118, tlie hard pronuncialion is also resolved there, as i^i, ?]!D kaf, >]T0. In the forms riN [thou fem. sg.), nn: {thou gapest feni. sg.) Dagesh with Sh'vu §. 165 remain unaltered, because they have only just so arisen from ri'N natant that the soft n becomes mule and bounds off before the hard t in the final syllable. This singular effect only occurs besides in the dual fi'^ntp fejii., from &';>r;i3 two for rauJ , where Dagesh remains in the same manner, cf. f. 435. It IS to be read ^sJildjiin^ almost eshtajiin. Moreover, tlie effort to avoid too great an accumulation of aspirates causes the mute , which ought to be soiteaed at tlie beginning of a word, to remain hard, if it stands wiihout a firm vowel (vvidi Sh'viJ mobile) 7() §■ 176-178- Signs for the pron. of the cons. b<^fore the same, or a very similar, mute, as 2~ rz; this fiirtlier exti'iision of tlie principle, liowrver, is not regularly observed in tlie Mss. aixl editions, cf. Gen. :^9, 12. Jos. 8, 24. 10, 20. 15, 18. There is a still more uiiusuai application of this rule to two words closely connected together, as t-j^.^ !-7n:»~"iD Ex. 15. 1. 1 7G 3. If ^r at the end of a •word, where it generally Is not soinuled as a consonant (v'. 1/)^), is to be pronounced hard, tliat is, as a coiisonant , it is there Avrilten with the same point, Nvhich is also properly of the same force, but in this peculiar application is called p"'i:"3 Mappiq i. e. prodnceus inovens liilcrani , causing tlse letter, therefore, to be actually heard as a consonant ^ as "r.z bah, rr^.l gcibali, r;~3 gabo'^h. if this ft liowever , has a \o\vel of its own after it, at the end of a word, like i^^rx ele'/ia , INIappiq is not written be- cause H liere, from its vei-v j)Osition , can onlv be sounded as a consonant. A point wliich occurs four times over N > where tliat letter stands between two vowels, and must tlierefore !)e pronounced harder as a con- sonant, almost like j, must have a similar force: ^i*;*;^'^ Gen. -lIi, 26. Lev. 23, 17. Ezr. 8, 18; ri^^n lob 33, 21. cf. §. ,'j5. 177 The direct contrary of this point for liardeniiig, and negation of if, is an iiorizontal stroke at-dr a lette.'" , called J-;^'^ itea^, nuj't jironiincici- tion. Tills sign, however, is not very regularly found in the jnanus- cripts, and in the printed copies (except tiie oldest, cf. Jdgs. 16, 16. 28 Masora) is almost entirely omittetl , without any great sacrifice of clear- ness; it is however designedly sometimes properly placed wliere it would be most easy to fall into a mistake: 1) most frequently as a sign that Dofresli leiie cannot stand tliere, e. g. after Sli'va medium , where one might read incorrectly, as ;-;pi2 baj'ta, not haila^ fii'iV 'oz'ho . and even besides, as j;i:n:, riTnN, — 2) more rarely as a sign that Da- gesli forte cannot stand there (because most of the cases in which Da- gesli forte cannot stand are easily distinguished by the division of the syllables) chieliy only where one might easily erroneously suppose Dagesli forte necessary, as ri"5'i ^en. 7, 23 (active, then he destroyed ; j-;;3it would be passive then was destrojed'), :!•»;; p2 seel: ^e, imp. Piel , ct'. §. 119. But this sign was never placed over the gutturals and -5 because they can neitlier recieve Dagesli lene nor, properly sjieaking, Dagesh forte either ; there exists therefore no object for the sign over them. — 3) in the same manner, as negation of AJapfu/ §. 176 ai:d is found even in our editions in places wliere an ^ — ", which one might easily mistake from the connexion to be the suflix fem. sg. and read accordingly yr; — is not to be so read, as ^rjij 1 Sam. 20, 20. lob 31, 22. 178 All that is here said from §.171-177 upon the hard and soft pronun- ciation of consonants, and the signs for it, is not contirmed by any tliiiig so much as by the exanjple of tiie Syrians, who o!)serve the same mi- niUene.-s in the co[)ies of their sacred books, v. t^^wr.n's .■■''•fjandLiuf^m zur hihi. i/nd oriental. I.ilterctur p. 82-90 riuoted above. Some traces at least of similar N ^i, when they lo^se their power as consonaiiis and stand immediateiy after the sign for a vowel, and thus appear to rest in that vowel, litterae quiescentes , as T^ in a^p, S'lp, "ib, Nn in N"ip , T'h':^, but if they are sounded as consonants, litterae Ttiotae or mobiles, as 1 In J^^l^. They also call one of these letters, which looses it power as consonant and stands still farther removed from a vowel-sig)i , littera otians (which therefore peculiarly relates to n) , as in N"^li?^;^ §-8.5, Ni"^ §. 154. These names, however, have little meaning, and are in- appropriate. 2. ACCENTUATION, OR SIGNS FOR THE TONE OF WORDS AND PROPOSITIONS. Tone is the particular raising of the voice which is ad- 180 ded to the natural sound. For it properly proceeds from the sense and life of the sentence, distinguishing that which is most important and prominent. The tone of words in a pro- position is manifestly regulated by the sense of tlie whole; but even in a single word, the tone of the syllables must be originally determined by the meaning of the form and compo- sition. The concurrence of particular sounds in a single word may, indeed, also influence the tone of the syllables, since through it, many syllables must in themselves be raised, and definite laws have been established for the tone of words (§, 33 f.): this iniluence, however, only modifies the former, more general law, without destroying it. Opposed to this raising is sinking, or tonelessness; this however has various grades. For according to the law of the rhythm, only those .syllables are naturally sunk before the raising which are in its immedia[e neighbourhood; but in the remote members there arises again a gentle rise, a counter- tone, according to the same natural law, which can exert a more or less sensible influence according to circumstances, as for instance iu the last syllable of the word livelihood. These three things, therefore, are to be clearly distinguished: 78 §' 181- AccentLuition. tone, 'hi'j^h tone, the ruling one; sinJcing , uUer tonelc?s- iiess; and couiiterto/ie ^ or deep tone. As lliis liolcls of pol}- S3ll;ibic -svords, so also it holds of propositions of large and small extent, in the most manifold way. The raising is indeed often attended by a new one of a similar kind in its immediate nclgbourliood, since the peculiar concurrence of sounds may favour this in a single word , and the sense favour it in a proposition ; but this does not desti'oy that general and natural principle. How the tone then thus governs the single syllables of a word, and how it regulates whole propositions Avitlx greater freedom and variation, every whei-e giving the sentence fa-st unity, colour, and life (f. 19) all this has tlie accentuation endeavoured to determine with tlie greatest precision and mi- nuteness. It is equably extended therefore as well to a single word , as to the connexion of words according to the sense and rhythm , and has established a number of signs to attain this end as precisely as possible. The most general sign for any raising of the voice is ~J~, usually called an;;] Meteg , fraetium , retltiaculiini, to denote the delay, the lingering of the voice. It stands, as all these signs pro- perly do, after the vowel sign, by way of showing what is added to the natural sound of a syllable or word. 181 I. Tone oj a single word. Every word has one chief tone whicli according to delinite laws (the particular appKca- • tion of which is shown in the theory of forms) has established its position always towards the end of the word f. 34. Ac- cording to the law of the rhythm however, and, occasionally, on account of certain sounds , a deep tone , or more gentle raising, may be also heard before it, which is denoted in the punctuation by ~. 1. According to the law of tlie rhythm, tlie souad immediately be- fore the tonesjliahle must sink , or be toneless. But tlie vowel which is separated from the final .syllr.bie by even tiie most ileetinj^ vowel or.ly can be ajjaiu raised, and consequently recieve Metepj; and if a full sella- ble goes before, it is a rule to raise the second syllable from the tone. Meteg however is very rarely written with a close compound syllable here, because its vowel is already sharpened by the nature of the sylla- ble, as t3nir;;n:^ Jdgs. 5, 1). riT,r"i;'l (var. lect.) Gen. 33, 7. :)'^-7";,n?T 1 Kgs. 18, 28 (others have not Meteg at the l)eginniug) it is only'fre- »iuent in t3D"^R:2 because it is to be read in an unusual way botwkem according to §. 51. Meteg always stands on the other hand with tUe vowel closing the syllal)le wiiich might easily be too faintly pronounced as ""isbv^ , fn:n, trnxn , L]3^ni::N , cn::u;in, a"d even with a short !■ IT ^ J ITT I ' I. T n ' ..• •■ I -: ' IV : - I ' vowel, as tlrnrr , r;"'"blii:r;n , D""U;Tp qodaslilm §. 162, although the r\ wiiich arises out of t §. 90 as being unempliatic does not recieve Meteg. In the same manner also if a fragmentary vowel precedes tiie tonesyllable, as well wlien the vowel is long, as in "i^rib , n'lnbn : ^ailj'"! , ^N"^". it §■ 182. Acccnfiialion. 79 ill wliicli word Meteg is at the same time very importnnt for the dis- tinction of ji-r'u from {^"ti (to be afroid) from riNT' jir-u from InJ^'^ (to see); as when the vowel is short, as n^blTi , r;VD":b Jer. 31, 21 for ^•UjV;- ^V^jr^ • according to §. 119; rarely is Meteg found in a loose compound syl'aiJ'e , as ^'z'l'0_ ^s- 1i' ^''^ purpose of distinctly raising the vowel w'iiicli in itself is veiy difficult in this combina- tion §. 94. — 3) to give the siiort vowels of many al'tix words a parti- cular empliasis especially the interrogative 'T, TT;2i':'£53 Js. 22, 19. la this however and also partially in the above the editions do not all agree since some go farther than others. — Concerning Meteg with Sh'va as the beginning of a word v. §. 198 nl. II. The tone of a proposiiion on tlie oilier hand is iu- 182 finitely nianirold and more difficult to determine. For it de- pends on the ever varying sense of the proposition , and con- sequently on the unfettered liberty of combining thoughts and v/ords in a whole. And it cannot be suHlciently kept in mind that the IMasorelic accenluation , which has undertaken to point out the place and connection of every word in a proposiiion , is yet in the end entire!)'" dependent on the sense of the thought, the internal life of the sentence, and endea- vours to signify this by external signs, as much as it can. It is not however so loosely and extrinsically connected with the interpretation of the sense as the usual punctuation of modern languages , from tlie nature of which it is very far removed , as is sufficiently evident by the fact that it has no signs for interrogation , exclamation , or cpiotatiou of the words of another. Its object is not to determine single im- porlant, or prominent, shades and parts of the sentence, but to mark the motion , connexion , and colour of the whole sentence, from the greatest to the smallest member. The sentence has by nature, and es{)ecially in the life of ihe an- cient languages, a vicissitude of rise and fall, of raising and sinking of the voice, which by being rejjealed throughout all l)arts, or members of a long passage, produces a rougher kind of rhythm. In more elevated, solemn lauguage especially, 80 §• 183. Accentuation. tlio flow of the setileuce spuulaiieoxisly forms itself into a natural rliyllim , since the tfiouglit resolves itself into a number of similar tlironging members, each member then risfc'S and falls after llie same manner , yet are all again subordinated to a loftier ayIihIc , in Avhicli alone they fmd their completion and rest ^). In the prophetic diction, and in elevated passages of history (like Gen. 1.) this natural rhythm is spontaneously produced ; but as , in the eyes of the punc- tuators, the "whole Bible appeared to have the same elevated language, and the same solemn tone, they liave accented simple historical narrative in the same manner also , -witliout regarding the dilference of style; only for the pioper poetical books have they introduced a pecidiar mode of accentuation, the so called poetical accentuation §. 192 if. 1) Cf. sometlijng similar in Arabic, Ewald's Gramm. Arab. §. 777. 183 It follows fioni this, that there are t"vvo ruling principles in the so called ])rosaic accentuation: the sense, and a kind of r/iyt/im, or regulated raising and sinking of the voice. The first and highest authority is the sense, on it depends the di- vision and direction of the Aerses and members, as also the particular emjdiasis of single Avords ^). But the rhythm has also its iniluencfe , beaulifidly and appropriately articulating the members , determining the flow and rest of the diction according to just measure, and collecting and ordering Avhat is loose and disjointed iji a higher Avhole. These ruling princi- ples, thus conspning in their influence^ produce that regulated, solemn kind of declamaiion -which the punctuators considereil to be suited to the dignity of the contents of llie sacred volume. 1) To give a minute explanation of tliis iiere would occupy too niiicfi space. Sufiice it to remark that iLc arrai!p:emt'nt and power of tlie words of a sentence, as they are tanglit in the S^^n/ax , is also on the whole entirely the l)a»is of the accentuation. The accii!.a- tive, when it is placed fir>t, always has the enipiiasis, and produces therefore an impediment in the flow of tiie verse, wliieh may be in the liighest degree intiMise, where siicli an accusative contains some- thing particularly important Js. 1(». 23. cf. beio'.r tlie Syntax where all tliis is particularly explained. For this purpose the text is first reduced to verses of the most ec|ual measin^e possible, shorter ])roi)ositions being combined into a higher whole wherever the sense will only pennit it; but propositions which are too long are divided by suitable pauses, and resolved into tlieir larger component parts; for a verse winch is too short is more tolerable than one which exceeds bound and measure too much. If ilie ?euse alone was to determine tlio division, the verses would be obliged to be of exceedingly unequal length: but since J. 184. 18o- Accentuation. 81 iiotwitlistauding their great variety , a certain equality of measure is still aimed at iu the compass of the verses , it is possible with the utmost precision to arlicidate and arrange all their parts according to equal laws of declamatory rhythm. — Within the verse then 1. the raising and sinldng of the voice Is first shown on 184 a small scale. For there is a natural tendency to sink the word before the tone, or raising, or to luuTy it ^ver ra- pidly and without emphasis. But while the raising remains always limited to one single word only, the sinking can em- brace many; as in mcti'ical rhythm many short unaccented syllables can be made to correspond to one long accented one e.g. yy_L; only that there is a much greater license here. Tlie ninnber of words wliich ai-e sunk has its limits however, since where too many are accumulated , a counterpoise , or deep tone , is necessarily added of itself. ]\Iore than three words never stand so deprived of all delay and tone. It is not indeed necessary, on the other hand, that the raising or Ligh tone should be preceded by a sinking, where the sense or rhythm does not admit such a siukiug of a word, but this absence of the sinking always produces a violaation of the natural ;teuour, arising from very peculiar causes and only permitted within certain limits. This relation goes through the whole accentuation. The accents are accordingly either called conjunctive, that is, dis- tinguishing words which must be more rapidly read, and Luriied over, or disjunctii^e ; eveiy disjunctive accent has regulai'ly a conjunctive one before it; but can also have more than one When a word with a conjunctive accent is to be read with a countertone, the sign of delay i — called P''siq i. e. section, separation. Is placed after that word. We have therefore the three essential distinctions again: tone, toncless- ness, countertone. 2. We call that which can be embraced by a disjunctive 185 accent, a member. For It is evident tliat the series of words which thus comes together has neither svifficlent compass nor force to form a rhythmical verse, it is therefore merely a member in the series of the words of the verse. There must Indeed necessarily be many such members in every verse ; but in such a manner , that a higher unity again shows itself In them , holding them all together in an appropriate succession. That Is to say, the verse Itself as a per se per- fect and complete whole, which tlierefoi-e does not attain its full rest and completion until the end, and the pawse (^. 130 ff.) as the expression of that completion, produce tliis unity. The 6 82 5- 185- Accent nation. members of a verso, therefore, ore so arranged in grada- tious, that llic voice asceutls from llie deepest rest and bi-eadlh to greater and greater motion, rapidity, and shortness, or taken in another sense , descends more and moi'e from eleva- tion and lightness to depth and heaviness. Hence this pro- gress , or the series of the members , lias necessarily deiinile limits and nimibcrs, since allliough the most manifold variety is permitted in tlic single members, the wliole still preserves its appropriate progress and its limits. The verse willi its jnendjer must be like a net , ^vhich can. encom])as8 few or many according as its extension is necessary, ■which can con- tract ilself to tlie narrowest span, and stretch itself to the widest compass, but slill always has its limits. The farther a member stands removed from the end, the more must it expaiid and relax ilself, being lighter, the more words must it be able to embrace; but the members themselves have their limits. And on the contrary , the shorter the verse is, the more contracted are its members, the more condensed is their power in itself. In unimpassioned diction, only four members properly can go before the final member wilh gradually encrcasing rapidity and expansibility , so that the thrrd member from the eiul can extend itself, but still more, the fourth and fifth. In these five members, or in. four new raisings of the voice on to tlie jiausc, the compass and power of a sentence of unimpassioned ilow is exhausted. But neither are all sentences, v.hich woidd be M'illun this compass of so tranquil a teuour, nor is eveu this compass Avide enough for longer verses. Hence the di- vision into sections may be further added to the division into members, which does not do away with the latter, but only varies it, and supplies ils deficiencies. These are not flowing members like those in tranquil diction, but standiiig ones, from the momentary delay, since they oppose and hinder the usual current, either on account of a greater abruption of the sense, or on account of a more particular cjuphasis. But the section then, being thus oidy a stronger, firmer, but dis- connected, independent member, accommodates itself in other respects entirely to the order of the members. It may be therefore first various according to the graduated order of the members themselves. That is to say, a section descends one degree, comes down one preceding actual or possible member, lower, so that oven the smallest may at least have one mem- ber before it. But as there arc in general only five members, il follows, that, corresponding to this number, there arise four sections, with the last which is equivalent to the last member and the pause , wilh gradually decreasing power : 1-4 as sections to a-e as membcio. Each section according §• 185- Accentuation. 83 lo Oils gradatioii can have the members which are possible for it belore it, as 2cde, 3cZe, 4e; and as the anterior section is only a stronger, jnore retardcscent representative of the corresponding member, llierefore ihc order of the members after it jniLst be continued ou the same scale, as ab2, a6c3; bnt it can also go back a degree, as abc2, just as also from the greatest section there can be no going back except lo the next smallest, as from 2 to 3, not to 4. Each anterior section however (4-2) as an independent and iniconnecled, though not concluding part, may be repeated once or oftener successively with its circle. And thus the sections produce indeed the greatest variety and expansibility of a sentence, but in such a manner, that the order nevertheless remains al- ways the same on the whole , since the voice returns after the interruption to the same degree again, and always continues in ecpiably descensive How to the end. There is nowhere an abrupt, unconnected transition. The preceding members, which are varied according to the section , acquire therefore a different power in different connexion, since c as Ic is stronger than 2 c ; although the section-member is always stronger than the flowing member of the same degree, e. g. 3c has more emphasis than 2 c. In the last two sections , however, the final member (la and 2b) has so much power, that l]u> nearest preceding member only serves it as a support and preparation, like a stronger deep tone; lb and 2c therefore might be appropriately called foreniembers. With regard to the application of tlie sections , it again depends on the sense, as well as, on the compass of words which are lo be bi ought into the rhythm. If tlie sense, for instance, proceeds tranquilly from a to e, but tliei-e then occurs a more important word, 3 may be put, or still stron- ger 2 where it appears suitable; just so before d there may be put 4 , or stronger 3. But the case is different if the sense requires a division into many equal parts. In this case, 2 or somewhat weaker 3 , serves properly to make a divi- sion, that is two half sentences, the second of which, according lo the nature of the rhythm, is the heavier. If there are three equal parts according to the sense, the third part is nevertheless subjected to the second as its half, according to the rhythm: as ABC. And when four parts come together, the rhythm takes them in pairs , but so that the first two form the lighter half. And so on down to the smallest divi sion. But as the sections are always at the same time depen- dent on the order of the membei's, therefore, if they are obli- ged by the sense to be placed in a situation too far removed for this order, they must necessarily be repeated afterwards with their possible peculiar circles, until the right order of the 6* 84 §• 186. 187- Accentuation. members can again return ; and this is the true and only cause- for the repetition of the sections, or of members corresponding to them , by wliich , according to the power of the sections themselves, nicer distinctions in particulars may be occasioned. From which it is also evident, that when a section is repeated, it has most power as to tJie sense the first time, as it is after- wards more dependent on the rhythm *). 186 3. Although the series of words in a verse can be thus very much extended by the sections, yet only rarely d >es tJie verse consist of one simj)le succession, with, or without, sections. Where the sense will only permit it, the verse is rather di- vided according to the law of the rhythm into two halves, each of whicli is perfectly equal to the other as to intrinsic power, and the former is only a little more hurried at the very end ; the latter has a great tendency to be of shorter compass, and thereby stronger and broader in tone, although the sense may even make the former shorter. Sometimes, however , from similar causes , a new part again becomes se- parated at the beginning, so that the vei'se consists of tliree intrinsically equal parts ; but this part according to the com- bination of the rhythm is only considered as the first half of the first half of the verse , and is therefore nothing but the intension of a second section. \Tc distinguish these tln-ee pos- sible parts, which in the end embrace the whole great system, by I. II. Ill: that is, verse, half verse, third of a verse. The principal order however is, that II and III as parts of a verse are not dependent on the order and scale of the members, since they begin a new order again ; they may therefore have the longest and the shortest order of members behind them, in which the only limit is this, that before la and 11/), b at least endeavours to find a place as foremember ; although II in itself, when obliged by the comjiass (consequently only with a longer series of w"ords) takes III before it. 187 lu this manner therefore the members become very va- rious and diverse: I, ia-e, 2b c, 3 c, 4d; II , i a ; III, be. As many dilferent members in all degrees as there are, so many dilferent signs for the solid ground and delay of a mem- ber, for the raising and place of tlie tone, consequently so many disju/ictiue accents. For this raising is just as mucli the ever necessary part of every member as it is, according to its variety, the sign of the degree of the member. In the *) The three terms in the original, Einschnitt , Ahsclmitt ^ Durch- schjtitt (a culling into, a culling oJJ', and a cutting tlirougJi') convey a much clearer idea of the kinds of division than member, section, and division, which I have been obliged to use ^''propter egestatam linguae et rcruin iioi'iiatem.'" IVans. §. 188- Accentuation. 85 sinking , or in those words wliicli precede the lasi word of a member , on tlie other hand , there cannot he so great varia- tion ; hence there are only live kinds of conjunclive accents, which are marked in the table a-e. They are certainly ori- ginally different according to the five fundamental members, since J* corresponds to d , y to c , and so on ; but appear liowever to be regulated among themselves in the great whole after a still more artificial manner, partly according to the degrees of the members , and partly according to rhyth- mical laws of the alternation of the sinking in its course. The most important facts are: a remains for the last, broa- dest membei'S of the first section, and is only seldom used besides for the broadest sinking; yd'e are always most pro- perly confined to the corresponding unemphatic members of their degree (i. e. those that do not form sections) or at least for cases of a similar kind; /? however, as of moderate com- pass, is not only used with members of the second degree, where that degree is to be especially raised, not only with all sections, and in all cases whex-e there is a certain emphasis opposed to the smaller degree, but also always after yd'e, since , after the least sinking , the voice raises itself again to its usual tenour. For which reason ^ is also the most fre- quently used disjunctive accent. Where a particular word for the sinking is wanting in the connexion of a member, the siuking may establish itself in the last word of the member itself, in the place of the regular first Me'teg §. 181. This extensibility of words, how- ever, only extends as high as 4, and ceases at that smallest section. "With 1 and 2 the foremember also can be so used. A word itself, however, may appear too heavy for a con- iunctive accent, being carried over to the following word with- out the least delay. The sign for this is a horizontal line after the unaccented word, called J]p;3 Maqqef i. e. connect- ing. The cause of this lies ])artly in certain particles, which according to their meaning either always , or at any rate not unwillingly, admit closer attachment: e. g. iXi"', ""^^^ 5 the pi^epositions and conjunctions , as "by , TiN , ""^S ; in part and chiefly in the rules and within the bounds of the whole sy- stem of accentuation, which are often most easily applied and preserved inviolate by this skipping over a word. Only Avords however, which are closely connected by the sense also, can be so attached, and at the utmost, never more thati four at once. Finally, there is an internal doubleness possible with li many accents , according to delicate distinctions of various kinds, since it appears necessary from a particular rhythmi- 86 §• 189- Accentuation. cal cause ihc'.t an accent which is necessary iu a place should be written a. second lime wilh particular emphasis. Blany new signs are produced by this', as will be explained below. If we consider then tliat every word lias thus its sign , the reader is never left in uncertainty from the very beginning. If for instance the verse begins 'with d, this may either lead directly down to a , or first go aside to 3c or to 2b c; nevertheless the reader is guided with certainty from the iirst word to the last. If we wish however by examining and counting the appointed eigns to discover the principle of tlie whole arti- culation of Ihe members, we sliould first observe whether the verse may be resolved into members in direct regular succession. If not, tlie proper place for tiie a|)propriate section, cr }>art , must be found out; the first question again therefore is, whether a division of the sense is to be made iu the midille, so that I and II, or 1 and 2, or somewhat weaker 1 and 3, are divided. "NVIiere a division is not necessary, a peculiar emphasis may be nevertheless given to different passages by sections, or by parts of the verse, or by single words. Thus the structure is raised with order and proportion from the greatest to the least part, and correct measure is visible throughout it; we can scarcely say that some fluctuation of the Masoretic accentuation is discoverable in the extreme parts , since many possibilities come together. The variation of Mss. and editt. is often especially between a sinking and Maqqef. 189 After this, it is now easier give an explanation of parll- culars after a representation of the whole yvhh all the signs and possible subdivisions has been given. The signs themselves arc significant both in their form and tlieir position; and it is not only instructive, but conducive to a knowledge of their use, to observe these peculiarities attentively. On the whole, it may be observed that the accents for members towards the end are all written belon' , and those more removed from the end are all written aboi-e ; by which the height at the beginning, and the sinking of the voice at tlie end, is clearly expressed. Just in the same way the accents for sinking have tiieir place appropriately under the word ; with the exception of d too closely connected with d. It is moreover clear wliy tlie most important accents for sections, 2 6 and 3c-, are points over the word, and the others straight strokes. In and similarly id, and tlie accents for dependent members , on the other hand , crooked strokes, wiiich represent the incomplete state of those members. The strokes which are bent outwards are also manifestly signs of separation (I 6, J); those bent inwards of connexion. How more definite signs arise out of more simple ones is often shown by the form and composition tiiemselves; for instance, from the single point above, the double point j_ first arose, from this latter J_ with still greater force. Lastly the power of some signs is encreased by tlieir being placed before or after ; while they are usually written precisely with that syllable of a word which lias the tone by way of answering the object of marking the tone of the word at the same time: thus ~I" ; T'lisha wlien placed after, is the lesser, when before, the greater; the signs for 1116 and c, which have proceeded from 2 b and c with an increase of their power, are at the sametime made stronger by being placed after; and _1_ as 2 c (Pasiitha) is distinguished as being stronger than _Jl as t) (Qadma) by being placed after. So deeply is the disadvantage under which this last very common sign labours (of the proper distluctiou of the place of the tone being lost where it is pla- §. 189» Accentuation. 87 ced after) felt, that, where the tone occurs ia an unusual place, the sign is twice placed; once in the place of the tone, and again in its proper place as accent, as in the penult ^f^in^^:;^ ^ also before Patach fiutivum (§. 168) nq\ Gen. 8, 1, or even witli the unusual termination in two consonants, as ri'dj^'^T : the other signs of this kind are also found so repeated in certain Mss. — From all this then it is also certain tliat tlie punctuation , as we now find it , cannot possibly be the work of one man nor, of one century; but that it lias gradually been developed from simple and insignificant beginnings to its present astonishing perfection and precision ; the most complicated signs are precisely those which from internal reasons also liave arisen latest. See the description of the still simpler syriac accentuation in Ewald's Ahhaiidl, zur hibl. u. orienlal. Litteratur p. 103 IF, • The names of the particular accents hfive been lianded down to us from the .lewisli schools, among which are many for tlic same sign, or for the sign under diiferent relations (v.Spitzisi^r de accent. V. T. p. 31 f.). The following are tlie names at present most in use, according to the connexion and sense which may be found in them: 1) :~ (!«) P^VD Pause with pi03 JllD <^'"^ °f the verse; IT (Ho) Ji^riX rest; ' (3 c) yii'n resting; _^ (2 i) Jipf raiser, wliich causes tlie voice to be raised; 'its (-1^0 <^!irider, dividing into sections; wliicli are all ap- propriate names for final and sectional members. — 2) (I ^^^nMSU prolongation; J_ (2 <) J^^^^ps expansion; _^ (HI c) Np'HT dispersion, from the broad, prolonged, interrupted accentuation of the foremembers; - (2c) i-ipi sitting, firm; ~ (I c) nisn hroken^oi i\\Q smaller di- vision; ^ l^d) UJ'^.T and _ (J'f)) i^-^l3"<^n drawing, pulling (cf. 1 ^ X / for IatIDm Middeldorpf curae hexapl. in Job. p. 53) from tJie slighter interruption and division. — 3) Accents for the sinking: ' («) ^l^^-j ('from '^^n) prolonging; {p')t\1M2 demissum, deep; T (I/) iS.lT^ step ; 2_ (J) i??J'lp hefore. To these are to be added tlie names deriv- ed from the figures: •■• (III i) i^nV:i3 '''"^^ Segol ~ among the vowel- signs; J_ nVi23b"il5 chain; ~ (2}') "^Sri/^ inversion, since the figure is — inverted v (g) i^^ti "'3'lp co if- horns ; ~ (A 5-;-,-, new-moon. Lastly , tliese signs can never come in collision with (lie vowel - signs : J_ as R'bia is placed higher up and is larger than _l_ Cliolcm. 88 §• 190' 191- Accentuation. 190 The following is a tabular \Iew of tlic whole, as far ar itmay be distinctly reprcseuled with all its accessory signs and possible varialions: > 4 J91 o J . . . * . . . l( P III. .-V' J . J I. a p ,± ■) > 1- A -» • a ti h c -/ II. III. One poiul denotes a single possible repetilioii of the accent; three points a possible more frequent repetition. I. la S'llluq with Soj-Fasuq-, a Me-r'ka. b Thijchd. c T''bir; accessory accent Me-r''ka iPfiila (double M); / Darga. a Atfidcli; ^ Munacli etc. as in I. 1. b S'golta postpositivus ; accessory accent Shahhelet with P^siq. c Zarcja postpos. 2 b ZaqeJ ; access, ace. ZaqeJ gadol. c Pashta post- pos. ; access, ace. J''tib praepos. y Mahpach. 3 c JVbia. d Geresli j access, ace. GVashdim. J' Qad- ma. d8 T^lisha k'tauna (little) postpos. access, ace. I^Hisha ghlola (great) jiraepos. Ad Pazer. e Qarne-Jara ; e Jerach. Modern Grammarians have called la and II a Imperato- res ; mb , 2b and 1 b Reges ,• 3 c , III c , 2c, \c Daces ; Ad, e, T'lisha g'dola, d Comites ; all these again Domini and on the other hand a-e with T'l. kt. Serin; which names are partly inappropriate , partly incorrect. 1. The sentence may flow on tranquilly in 5 members, which are to be counted backwards from the end, au example of whose most simple compass and sequence is shown in this verse Jer. 38, 25: 'ri'^bN ^iXlS^ nnin-Vi* ribaJn-'bN' n'nri-rftt ^"ih N3-m\')ri v^n ^'itint $. 191' Accentuation. 39 '^r!'^?22 !^b"l ^i?2?3, i" which the 5th member only embraces more than one conjunctive accent. But let as examine the members singly: a and h are always so mutually connected , tliat a must necessarily have b before it as its fore-member. TJierefore they both have only one sinking, since c. , or the sinking of the first degree, stands before h also. a and b may indeed be compressed into one word , since b stands instead of Meteg, as Lev. 21, 4. Num. 28, 26. Ez. 10, 13. 1 Chro. 2, 53; but if the last word is too short for the space of an ordinary Meteg , the last word but one cannot be carried over to another section ; a however is sometimes found alone as part of a verse Gen. 1, 3, — II « is only dis- tinguished from this in that being somewhat shorter it introduces fi and sometimes even repeats it (Ex. 3, 4; on the other hand the same occurs with Maqqef ia many editt. Js. 48, 11. 54, 4), while c remains for \\b, and in general all the rest holds of II as of I, c ~~ is the second foremember to 1, but not a necessary one; to judge from its figure, it is formed from the sinking-accent of this section ~ by augmentation. Where it would precede b immediately, i. e. with- out a sinking or Meteg intervening, ~ Me-rka k'fdla i. e. double M, is used for it, as Gen. 27, 23. Lev. 10, 1. 2C!iro. 20, 30, and it appears to be somewhat weaker than "~ on account of the contracted space. "7 is used as sinking y for both (a somewhat crooked stroke for ) instead of which however, wlien one syllable only, or none whatever, comes be- tween, ~~ is often again found as the longer sinking of this section, Gen. 1, 17. 24; cf. Js. 5, 19. d is used as member as well in 1 as in 2 and 3 , and consequently as for 2 so also for III h ; so that all tliat follows holds of each of these three beginnings; how far there are special laws for 3 see below under 3. It is a very remote member and tlie usual prelude to long series; hence too it is very expansible and light. Tiie most important result of this is, that it may have a number of sinkings before it, the remote ones of which are always /?, accord, to §. 187. d however has stil! so niucii power that when before t)\ it must be preceded by dti as a gentler raising of d and a countertone to it, wiiich in the figure also ('^) represents an intension of d ; this may then be preceded by many p. Whence also it happens that where tlie series of d embraces only three accent-words , /? with P'siq may come in just before d and d as sufficient. Gen. 28, 9. 1 Sara. 14, 3. 47. 2 Sam. 13, 32. Jer. 4, 19. 38, 11. 40, 11. Ez. 9, 2. Hag. 2, 12. 2 Chro. 26, 15. ^), When a word, however, occurring where _^ has its rhythm- ical place, has somewhat more empliasis, the sign __ TUishd g'dold which is stronger, is used for it; from which we percieve, that the dis- tinction according to riiythnj and sense which pervades the whole system is also repeated on a small .scale in this first remote member. The basis of the member, d and d' , only occurs in this connexion, when the first word is very closely attached to the secoml , as Gen. 11, 31. 12, 5. 14, 8. 13, 14. Num. 14, 34. Jdgs. 11, 17. Js. 8, 14. 10, 16. or even in the same word, where d can stand in the place of Meteg, as Gen. 48, 20. Dt. 7, 13; in a single word wiiich cannot recieve Meteg, d stands alone also, if it can come in the penult Gen. 7, 14. 50, 10; in all opposite cases however the signs are joined together, as JL G'rashaim, wiiich is there- fore stronger tlian simple d, and can be preceded by a word with the accent at the beginning wit!) ;V, and is even besides not unfrequeutly pla- ced as being stronger as to the sense , especially alone (without sinking) 90 J- 191. Accentuation. after the stronger T'lislia g'dola , but always on the tonesyllable , that is, ou the last syllable of a word, because the enipiiasis is to be rendered more prominent there than when the penult has tiic tone, Gen. 1, 20. 31, 3. 17. 11. 19, 11. Kx. 3, 16. Jos. 2, 1. ISain. 15, 1H. 29, 6. 25. 7, 8. 14, 2. 8, 14. 11. 12. 1 Kgs. 20, 9. Jon. 4, 6. A word with the tone at the beginning, as being shorter, takes tlie usual [1 even before tlie simple d, as Gen. 14, 9. Mai. 1, II. Ez. "45, 4, except when T'lisliA k'tanna goes before and the heigiit of this member already begins witli it, Gen. 9, 23. J) Tlie dispute whetlier T'iisha k'tanna is a. conjunct, or disjunct. accent may be accordingly thus settled : that it is in itself indeed of less power than any disjunct, accent, but that after one or more j9 it yet has a certain retention. It has P'siq like a con- junct, accent 2Kgs. 18, 17. If however its in itself slender power is to rendered more cmpliatic, T'lisha g'dola must be used, |as a complete disjunclifc accent. Cut this member can also occur before c of 1 and 2 witli diminished compass and force, that is to say, from d onward. For the usual tran- quil c sutlers itself also to be extended beyond the narrowest compass; M'iiere tlie sense then permits this expansion, there may be a leap from cy to 6' (or instead to [> , according to what is above said) at once, wiiich is a lighter, more flowing transition ^) than that abrupt one to (/, as tZ3"^nbN Ti'Ti"^ 5ip~n;^> (»en. 3, 8. 13, 19, 32. Js. 7, 4. (with a penult whicli has the tone, however, there is tlien often (/ itself, if it does not liappen to go before Gen. 43, 34. 2 Sam. 14, 9. 30.) t)() can tiien at once go before Gen. 3, 14, or the stronger dd' Js. 7, 16; instead of 6 too and the usual W, the stronger dd (T'lisha g'dolA) may be used at once where there is some stress, which however is still weaker than d 2), as bNr; ir2-'U;:x'b p;-f Gen. 19, 8. 7, 7. Jos. 2, I. ISam. 1, 1. Jer. 39, 5; but a longer series cannot be added. Hence it is further possible for this weaker, dependent part of a member to be preceded by the complete member d with greater emphasis and with all its possible compass, while d' and T'lislia k'tanna can then at the utmost have one /< before them. (Ex.5, 8. 2Kgs. 5, 1. 2Chro.22, 11), as Gen. 19, 35. 21, 23. Ex.22, 9. Js. 8, 14; Lev. 4, 7; Gen. 1, 12; iSum. 3, 39. Hence too as before, instead of 6 and the weaker dH ^ the stronger dd may be used at once with an emphasis and be then preceded by d, as .Is. 9, 5. Gen. 13, 1. 1 Sam. 17, 51 ; Dt. 26, 12. Neh. 5, 18. By this therefore great variety and expansibility of this member is produced, and without occasioning in- terruption or ambiguity. 1) cf. Jos. 22, 10 with v. 11 , where the same words are arranged before 2c y as d W /?, but before the stronger 3r, as d d' cW. 2) This T'lislia g'dola and G'rasliai'm however are so near tlien, that botii are considered possible in some places , and are therefore combined by the copyists in the same word, as Gen. 5, 29. Lev. 10, 4. 2Kgs. 17, 13. Ex.48, 10. Ref. 2, 15. The case is difte- rent in i^>j< Ex. 32, 31 cf. Koh. 4, 10, where two accents wliicli are possible according to tlie connexion are indeed united in two .successive syllables, but in syllables wiiich may be also divided into two words: ND-f^i^. T T --if, Finally e is the extremest independent member . and as its form shows, an augmentation of the power of Jl and _1 by tinion for a new member; its sinking ~ i appears to be the same single sign _ placed below , with some trilling alteration. If it has a flowing member before it therefore, it must always follow cither entire d (Num. 35, 5. 2 Sam. -41^ §• 191' Accentuation. 9I 4, 2. Jer. 13, 13. 88, 25. Est. 7, 0. Neli. 5, 13. 13, 5. 13. 2Chro. 24, 5. 35, T) or <) with dd in an expanding .series, for even in tlic latter case, f/ could not be placed, but sometLing smaller, tlioufrii independent, con- sequently e, Jos. 19, 51. 2Kgs. 10, 5. Ez. 48, 21. It is on tlie wliole not frequent, because the sentence seldom extends itself so far in tranquil sequence, 2. The first anterior section 2h lias 2 c as its foreniember, which however it not so necessary as h is with 1 a. Eacii of t'lese members lias usually only one sinking; nevertheless /5 is sometimes repeated before 2 1) where the sense favours it, as Gen. 3, 12. 4, 11; and 2y according to what is stated above can be enlarged by d etc. Instead of ~ as the proper 2/, however, n is rather used, as being longer (cf with 1 c) if there is no syllable at all between the sinking and 2 c, as Gen. 1, 2. Js. 6. 13. Instead of 2c too, T (being changed to a praepositive and then called J' til)) is used as weaker, if the word lias no other word whatever before in this section , and has at the same time the tone at tlie beginning. Where the section consists of two words only, the former recieves 2c if it is possible, though also [> merely where the sense is too unimpor- tant, as Gen. 1, 2. 4. (J. 3, 1. AVhere tliis section consists of a single word however, 2 6 is then found together with 2 c if the second or third syllable of the word before the tone is a firm, compound one, wiiose firmness adapts it for the the strength of a foreniember, as Gen. 12, 7. 17, 17. 24. 25. 19, 27. 21, 33. Jos. 6, 23; if not, (i only has space for a possible ]Meteg before the tonesyllable , as Gen. 3, 7. 4, 1. iKgs. 20, 5. 32; although Meteg also remains where it is placed extraordinarily Dt. 26, 10; but lastly, where the word is too sliort for it, a stroke is placed after the sign __ thus _I_ to detain the voice sufficiently even iit this little space ; for the name Zaq'[f gadol does not mean that the sign with P'siq added to it has intrinsically a higher power. — If this 2 b stands too far otf from the end (for at the utmost it can come before 1 c with t) 1 Kgs. 20, 1. 30), it may then according to §. 185 be repeated as often as is necessary for it to come to its right place, and since the rest of the measure after 2 b preserves greater evenness, 2 i is often repeated even with a very small number of Avords , where the sense will only per- mit it, Gen. 1, 14. 18. 20. 3, 1. 7. 12, 7. 2 Sam. 7, 29. Ezr. 7, 26. 1 Kgs. 19, 4. 18. 20, 5. 32. 2 Kgs. 1, 6; though 3 c witii its compass may also come next, if it is more suitable to the sense, as Dt. 30, 20. 2 Sam. 15, 21. IKgs. 18, 36. 44. Ill i and c perfectly correspond in nature to this 2 b and c, just as the signs also of the former are nothing more than an augmeutation of those of the latter. But the foremember lllc is always necessary here, as with I and U. p can sometimes occur twice in the last member, Gen. 3, 14. 2 Kgs. 1, 6; there is also a gentle augmeutation of this part when p recurs in the la.st but one , by which equality of the sinking in both members. III becomes more like I and II. The longer u however is not imfrequently found instead of p before IIIc, if a longer series of syllables comes between, or somewliat greater emphasis is expressed, as 2 Sam. 7, 7. 1 Kgs. 1, 19. 25. Gen. 30, 20 although the Mss. and editt. often waver between both. In dependence on this a or /j, even d' may go before in the same word. Lev. 10, 12. Jdgs, 21, 21. JSeh. 12, 44. Sometimes too p is found twice in short words, Jos. 24, 15. Jdgs. 9,2. Lev. 17, 5. 1 Chro. 12, 18. 2 Chro. 23, 18. "Where this part consists of only one word, J_ is used as a new sign , perhaps not of less accentual power , but always with P'siq (cf. Zaqef gadol) without other distinction of the length of the word; it occurs Gen. 19, 26. 24, 12 39, 8. Lev. 8, 23. Js. 13, 8. Am. 1, 2. Ezr. 5, 15; its figure reprerient.i tluec strokes instead of three points. 92 §. i()i. Accentuation. 3. Tlie middle anterior section according to its sign j_ and its power, is notliiiig but a weaker power of tlie first; therefore where tliey are both possible according to the compass, a trilling tnrn, wiiicli follows from the consideration of the whole, often decides which sliall be used , cf. Ut. 27, 19. 26 with V. 16-18 (cf. .something similar 27, 22 and 25). That 3 c may easily enter into 11 for 2 l> in 1, is proved by lob 2, 3 conipd witli 1, 8 (where III is put for 11 by mistake). 3 c has no foremember, and can never have d in the same word instead of Meteg, hence d is in- deed apt to go before, when a member can be formed out of tlie words going before according to the sense, but where only a ligiit series of 1-2 words goes before, the sinkings are tlien sufficient; and if d fixes itself 3 5 words further suitably to the sense, tlie number of the sinkings of 3 c may also be extended so far. The second word before 3 c takes y, which exactly suits this member, as its sinking, and indeed tiie same as 1 y, while the last word before the word of the section must have /? accord, to a general law, Gen. 3, 6. 4, 15; as somewhat more empiiatic however />' witii P'sicj is always used instead Gen. 2, 5. If it is enlarged, a tiiird word cannot go over directly from /to d , as with 1 / and 2/, for 3 c has more power; but it is put with fl again, either alone or with Psiq Num. 4, 14. Js. 5, 25. Gen. 31, 29; but every word wliich follows a /J withP'siq, then takes u somewhat longer, and tiie next word may then have d Dt. 13, 6. 1 Sam. 12, 2. 2Sani. 15, 21. iKgs. 14, 21; Jos. 19, 47; />' however remains witii P'siqGn. 7, 23. Dt. 31, 16. This;-j witli P'siq and a is also so.metimes found before 2cy as being somewhat stronger than d (which v.ould be the usual one accord. to what is above said) as soon as d has before found a suitable place Lev. 10, 6. 21, 10. Ru. 1, 2. — Where this section is too far from the end so that all cannot in arranged in tranquil order after it, it must be repeated if there is a suitable place for it accord, to §. 185: yet still another poss- ibility otters itself. For instead of 3c, 2c wiiicli corresponds to it, may be repeated , since that too has a strong tendency to the end ; the only difference is, that 2c although possessing no less delay, is yet less ab- rupt and stiff; but this very thing is often more desirable in this con- nexion. Consequently 3 c itself is only repeated where there is greater power and independence, elsewhere the softer 2c is used, especialy in shorter more unimportant repetitions, or rather floating continuations; (iius 1) before 2 b, as 2. Sam. 7, 29. 14, 7. Ezr. 7, 25. Ex. 8, 13. 29, 20. 22. 32, 1. IKgs. 3, 11. 20, 39. Jer. 13, 13; — 2) before IIU, there- fore where Illc must stand at tlie end as foremember; but as this comes into contact with 2c so as to be also able to stand for it, the distinction is, that the weaker 2 c is used where lllc as foremember already em- braces a series of more than two words, and 2c itself only one word, if not, the foremember immediately before it is repeated, as Dt. 12, 18. Jos. 18, 14. IKgs. 12, 10, Gen. 42, 21; — 3) before Ic, where a simi- lar distinction takes place, that instead of 2 c before Ic, the same Ic may be immediately repeated , whetlier only the one regular sinking se- parates both, or none at all comes between, as Dt. 30, 20. IKgs. 17, 36; Lev. 8, 26. IKgs. 20, 9. Jos. 10, 11; only Dt. 26, 2 the latter Ic lias two sinkings before it. Moreover 3 c can of course be also repeated immediately before Ic where the sense requires it, as Gen. 38, 12 so that all other interpolations and members, which are possible accord, to what is above said, may admit of the most manifold application. 4. It is not possible to have the smallest anterior section before the sequence has arrived at d or at least at dd ; it is very frequently found before dti where tlie sense and compass favour it , and indeed naturally in every possible connexion, as Jos. 2. 1. 7, 24. 10, 11. Ex. 29, 20. Dt. 5, 23. 6, 22. IKgs. J9, 11, from which it appears that it can also stand >&: §' 192- Accentuation. 93 immediately after 3 c and as its substitute. Where it is possible to ad- vance by counting short similar sentences, from d to dd', id is then put after tliis last, as 1 Kgs. 10, 5. 4f/ may indeed take e as an inferior member under it, this however is only very rare with longer series before 4d and e, the only passages of whicli kind are INeh. 1, 6. 1 Clir. 28, I; 4 f/ is usually found at the extreme end, since it may have a considerable, but by no means an unlimited and altogether unsuitable member of sink- ings before it, among wiiich P'siq alone can make a distinction. AVIiere id however must be placed at too great a distance on account of tlie sense, it can be repeated often in succession until the gap is (iiled up, and as the smallest section it may return at the snsallest distances and where the least rest is possible, as Gen. 27, 33. 1 Kgs. 19, 11. J Sam. 14, 3. Dan. 3, T. Jos, 7, 24. 1 Chro. 12, 40. 15, 18. Js. 6(5, 20. Ez. 43, 11. (var. lectt.). Thus tliis infinite variety may be clearly explained from a few laws, aud it must be admitted that the punctuation, althougli the growth of years, and only a progressively developed system, is yet built upon principles, and appoints to every word of a sentence ^its allotted place. The poetical accentuation lias two peculiarities wliich 192 intrinsically tlistiiiguisli it from tlie prosaic : l) it is calculated for shorter aud lighter propositions, since poetic cliclion is in general hurried and short, and its menibeis are therefore of more limited compass than those in Prose^ which are at one time very short, and at another very long. The members therefore ascend, in flowing diction, at the utmost to three only: a-c ; and the corresponding sectional members are only 1-3. Every section and part of a verse has indeed a foremember, but it is not so necessarily attached to the final member. — 2) With- in these circumscribed limits, however, there is more mani- fold variety and more nice distinction in particulars, since this accentuation does not prescribe an invariable recitalivo dependent on the sense and rhythm simply, but a mode of canlillation ever varying according to the position and com- pass of words and propositions. Parts of the verse, members, single words , all are more accurately distingiushcd after melic method , and yet are all again brought into harmony. An accen- tuation which is actually more suited for Poetry has thereby been produced, which the punctuators however have not ap- plied to all poetical pieces of the Old Test, but only to the great poetical sections of the Bible, the book of Psalms, of Pi-overbs, aud lob 3, 2-42, 6, but in these pieces, have also extended to the few intervening passages of prose , for uul- formit)^ — The substance of this accentuation is entirely borrowed from the former, since the same signs are found again with selection , and with many new modifications and compositions. Its force is essentially the same, but it oflen acquires in this system a new application. These peculiarities and licences, as also the many compound signs in this system, are also the 94 §• 193" 194- Accentuation. cause that many more variallons and mistakes are found in it in INIss. and ediU. than in llie usual accentuation. Tlic ^ollo^Y- ing is a particular statement: ^93 1. There is no such tranquil, regulated progress in mcmhers, as in the prose accentuation. Every part of a verse has ratlier only one single forememher properly , which indeed always tries to mark the conntertone towards the end, hut as it is at tiie same time dependent on tlie rhythm- ical compass of the word and only exists in a limited space, it cannot alway do so, so that weaker kinds and expressions of the same then arise. Where the verse or its parts, however, are of wider extent, tiie two anterior sectional memhers must be at once called into service, the stronger one 2 ft corresponding to the 3f of prose, and the weaker 3 c to \d of prose , whicli are moreover exactly so distinguished from each other as in the accentuation of prose. 194 2. The sinkings however are much more manifold and important, first because they occupy tiie greatest space in this more hurried accentuation, and secondly, because tlie changes in the mode of cantillation, ever varying according to circumstances, are particularly expressed in them, as it holds as a rule liere that many sinkings cannot come in succession with- out distinction, as in prosaic accentuation, but every one is adapted for its place alone. All these more delicate rules and distinctions cannot be now accurately and completely given; tiie leading principles however are clear. Above all things , three kinds of sinkings are to be distinguished : 1) in the first place, the two bases of each part of the verse have one usual sinking, dittering according to the nature of the part; 1 has «, II has (■?, Ill 6 the same p, but 111 a, like 3r, has the smallest sinking, the prosaic f, see fartiier below. — 2) Next in importance is a group of sinkings, whose intention essentially is to denote tiie progress to /, or the sinking whicli, standing on tlie third degree, becomes more isolated and unconnected; and ~ is tiie usual, but _2_ the stronger sinking here, wherefore we distinguish tlie former by /, the latter by //, It is thereby also clear beforehand why these sinkings, especially;-;', so often Iiave P'siq. To descend to particulars, it is now easily understood wliy they never come immediately before I« and /;, and before 11 «; tiiey can however distinguish tiie third word before tliese ; tiiey can also stand immediately before pp, ph wliich is a weaker substitute for 115 and lb, as Ps. 24, 10. lob 12, 8. 15. 13, 14. But in tiie more remote members 11 i. III 5, 2 6, 3c they stand either in tiie third place, as Ps. 34, 7. 24, 10. 125, 3. lob 14, 7. 16, 4; or even in tlie second, immediately before the accent, of the section, or anterior part, if tlie sense ratiier favours tiie separatitm of this part, as Ps. 10, 14. 45, 13. 71, 18; the common sinkiug of 2 Z» is a, but witii greater separation / , cf. Ps. 1, 1, 2, 8. 8, 2. 40, 5. 7. Pro. 32, 17. lob 14, 7; it is also observed to stand more easily before 2 6 and 3 c, if a stronger separation goes before Ps. 125, 3. yy witii P'siq, thus possessing tiie power of a smaller sectionnl member, can be suc- cessively repeated in the remote members, \yitli / for its sinking; but wliere this yy would fall upon a word accented on tlie first s) liable , y with P'siq is used instead of it. Sometimes however « is also found as pure sinking, in remote parts, altliougli tiiere is great variation in Mss. and editt. in tliis point; cf. var. lect. Prov. 6, 3. Ps. 90, 10. .T. H. Mi- cHAELis not. crit. ad Ps. 35, 10. Prov. 30, y. 13nt still stronger than yy is _l_ (generally with P'siq) whicli is found in similar situations, but only before I and 11, not before HI and the sectional members; we call it fiiercfore simply c, — 3) Peculiar sinkings are: 1) a word immediately J. 195. Accentuation. 95 before a stronger or weaker sectional accent often recieves a /? above (Muiiacliiis superior) probably to show that the word is to be read with an elevation of voice, but yet abruptly; it is found before the final sectional accent I and 11, if the connexion of the sentence gives occasioa for unusual lightness and How (see below) ; and just before 2 b and yy with P'siq (Ps. 7, 10. 10, 9. 22, 29. 30. 27, 3. 9. 40, 11. 42, 3. 5. 9. lob 14, 13. 19. 28, 3), as also before tlie light "pi) and /^ (Ps. 4, 8. 78, 25. 119, 84, 10, 17. 32, 2) as being ligiiter than y wiiich is usual here. 2) a- word witli a single open (i. e. ending in a vowel) syllable before the tone oi'ten recieves the sign of a raising j^l. at the beginning besides tlie vsinking, because the uncompressed vowel before the sinking spontan- eously raises itself, althougli it appeared to be still proper in the melic accentuation to raise it, especially where there is some emphasis in the sense; and indeed s — - only is always used with the chief sinking of the heavier parts for all cases in la, b and lie, and r^^ — - for all other cases without further distinction; a small word can also be so attached to ano- ther; cf. Ps. 10, 5. 17, 3. 18, 20. 65, 2. 69, 2 (where two syllables go before and j^ is upon the farther one). lob 31, 34. 35. 3. Since the verse is for tlie most part determined by the nature of 195 tlie poetic diction, it is seldom simple, i. e. consisting of one single section Ps. 25, 1; in unimpassioned diction, it regularly falls into two halves of similar sense, and of similar kind, 1 and 11; but in impassioned diction, a new part may be placed before, merely as preparatory and in- troductory, and therefore lighter and less independent, which is indeed usually followed by 11 and 1, if the sense permits it (the ciiief part being divided into its two equal halves, in such a manner that II consists some- times even of a single long, independent word Ps. 3, 6. 5, 13. 15, 5. 29, 9. lob 27, 5) but is by no means necessarily followed by II. The verse tiien thus presents a Iieaviness and depth progressively increasing from the beginning to the end, since 111 is the lightest and most expansible, I the heaviest and deepest. Hence 1 is also the shortest; but where it stands without II it can expand itself. Since then III stands thus alone and in- dependent before I, and lias a greater importance than III in prose, as it corresponds to c, and not to b, accordingly, the new sign rj — 3. has arisen for it, __i_ i. e. j' = 3 being placed above and, thus rendered stronger, being moreover compounded with a which directs to the end. The rhythmical foremember (or b) to 111 is Jl.? from IIIc of the pros, accent.; to II, the praepos. b of the pros, accentuation, distinguished by the very fact of its being praepositive; bnt to I, at once stronger m . that is 2i witli tlie prose d; hence too where I standing without II ex- pands more freely , many Mss. and editt. leave out the Geresli over tlie first letter of the word. The use of these foremembers, however, is primarily dependent on the rhythmical compass of the last words: 1) The strong \b \s only used when there are two syllables between it and the tonesyllable of the last word, or at least somewhat more than one full syllable; under this condition then, it stands immediately before la, on account of the sense, or because the whole part consists of two words only, as Ps. 24, 2. 27, 5. 11, in which case, however, the mere sinking can stand even before a short word Ps. 18, 50 ; or even , for the sake of a better sense, with the third word from the end, in which case the requisite num- ber of syllables is determined by both the following words, as Ps. 1, 2. 4. 22, 2. 4. These cases are the most frequent; and « is found as sinking before 1 a (instead of which we find the lighter /7 in a word witii tlie tone 96 §■ 195 • Accentuation. on the first syllable, as Ps. 1, 1. 2, 10) and once or twice before 1^, lob 16, 8. But if the last word is a short one, i. e. without that requis- ite member of syilabies, and tlie last word but one must be nevertheless separated from the last and drawn over to tlie preceding one , in accor- dance with the sense, then a smaller foremeniber is used viz. /5/J before II, and somewhat stronger iJ l> before 1, tiie prose h in its usual place (lience too tills instead of ftlt'teg lob 12, 19) cf. Ps. 18, 5. 6, with the corresponding words according to the prose accentuation, 2 Sam. 5, 6. Lastly, if tlie division as to tiie sense is at the fourth word from the end, tlie strong foremember lb can be used with great emphasis, (j h remaining if the last word but one has again a sligliter separation, Ps. 3, 5. 46, 8. 12. 56, 3. 75, 4; if the third has it, this must rather recieve y (with P'siq) , but the last but one the abruptly raised p- superior, Ps. 3, 1. 10, 14. 20, 2. 45, 2, 56, 8. AViiere however, this fourth word before the gentle pb does not, on account of the sense, admit the strong foremember, then there is occasion for y, yy and c, and c is used with some emphasis Ps. 7, 6. 10, 2. 13, 2. 3. 66, 7. 67, 5. 77, 4. 131, 1. — These measures are almost always sufficient with I after II; it is only very rarely that the second « extends itself before 1 h so as to begin a new member, with three words Ps. 18, 1 (cf. with two words Ps. 31, 22. where :2_ is equi- valent to c, 66, 20, where however we must read ^;; — ^) or that , in wiiich case tlie second and tiiird word are more easily pronounced witii ,'j-superior and y Pro. 8, 13 (wiiere "^ is wrong). — 2) 3 c stands .siiorter instead of c before 1 b with some empiiasis Ps. 58, 3. Pro. 1, ]0; and still more so, c merely Ps. 34, 8. 68, 15. 137, 9; just as smaller, but still with some separation, y Ps. 71, 21. 109, 28. On the other liand, liowever, even tlie strongest 2 b may appear ne- cessary before in every place , as Ps. 49, 15. — 3) Lastly the series be- fore such a 1 may resolve itself still more, and especially if III does not go before. Two words whicli alone make up the verse with 1 a recieve two p'-superior Ps. 36, 1. 44, 1; or the tiiird, on account of the separa- tion, recieves yy P'siq, preceded by a, and fartiier back, and stronger, by c Ps. 125, 3; or in a short sentence, c stands with tlie fourth word so that the raonosvliaI)ic tiiird word is drawn to it Ps. 3. 3. §. jQO- Accpntiiatioii. 97 3) The foremember III h can only occur when tliere are at least 3 or 4 sjllal)les between it and the tonesyllable tor 111^/, us Ps. 1, 1. 3. 3, 3. 49, ];'). lob 14, 7; it occurs in tiie shortest conipas-s, compressed by 2/^ wliich suitably precedes it, Ps. 5, 11, lOG, 47; this 111 /> is also repeated sfter 2b, just as in the pros. ace. 1 c after 3c, Ps. l^, 14. AMtli a smaller interval, tiie more tnuKjuil 2/' is indeed at once used instend of 111/', as Ps. 1, 2. 2, 7. 3, 6. 4, 5. 15, 5. 60, 8; but IIU; can .still find a pace before tliis where tiiere is a suitable member (just as \h in the fourtli word), as Ps. 13, 6. 15, 5. 22, 15. 35, 10; where three words, however, intervene on account of tiie sense. 111/' is rare, and 2h is usually found, Ps. 28, 7. cf. 20, 7. 52, 9. In ca.se 2/' thus precedes \l\(t, its sinking f is also changed into the more tranquil n , just as tlie sinking of 2 1> when preceded by 111/;, Ps. 15, 5. 32, 4. 35^ io. Pro. 30, 9. lob 30, 1. 15; the ,-j of 111/' also is sometimes ciianged for this «, Ps. 1, 1. 4, 7, 9. 6, 5. 40, 4. lob 31, 7. Moreover 2b and 3c, the above limitations excepted, maybe repeated precisely in the same maimer and from the same rea.sons as in the pros. ace, as P.S. 20, 7, 42, 5; 32, 5. 41, 7. 46, 5. 59, 6; lob 33, 23; Pro. 30, 4; concerning 2 b before I without 11 v. Ps. 31, 23, 49, 15. 148, 14. lob 32, 5. 33, 24, 27. The foUoNving is a table of the poetic, or inelic accent- 196 uallou , as far as il may be briefly given 3c I. 1: I. 1« SUluq: a Merka. b Whia and Geresh. fJbM/i/iach -with Thifc/ia postpositive. _±. Munach superior. _^ Merka with Zarqa. II. rt Alnach-, /$ Munach. & TAZ/c/za praepositive. fi^ Mil- nach with MiinacJi. III. a jMerla with Mahpach', £ (pros.) Jerach. h Zarqa. 2 b R'bia. c SkaLshelet. y Mali pack. yy Qadnia. 3 c Pazer. — - Mahpach willi Zarqa. 7 98 §■ 197- 198- Accenliialion. 19T III. The accentuation , applied tvIiU such severity and In- violable regularity, is al\va\s in Intimate connexion ^vilh the pronunciation of single m ords , since tlie connexion oi' words in a proposition, the rapidity, or heaviness and rest, of the voice can also exercise an Internal inlluence on the pronun- ciation of words {§. 129 ir.). 1. The shorter pronuiuiatioiis, opposed to tiie pause, are found in the ttow of the diction. INIoreuver it also produces in certain cases ///e attachment of a sliort word ljy reduplication of tlie first consonant, con- cerning wliicli V. §. §.129 and §. 171. 172 at tlie end. Tiiis is however most strongly shown when, before a word which has the tone on the first syllable with a disjniictii-e accent , the tone of the preceding word closely connected with this member of tlie sentence is tlirown back from the last syllable to the penult, for the purpose of preserving the chief rule of the tone §. 180 f. inviolate, as j^^;-; r^z'^Z for j^^t; r'.''P_ , r!""l "'<.Tri , CnV V^NP , i"b 'ib'i^S shortened from 'ib'^rtl (r ~ nsb^a 1 Kgs. 10, 10. 13, nb ~ MVnriln Gen. 6, 9. The countertone can then easily fall upon the, in itself, very weak sound of an appoggiatural consonant at the begin- ning of a word, if there is no place for it fintlier on in the word, as i<3-y::ii; >^ach. 3, 8. lob. 2, 5. 3, 4. 5, 1. 9, 24. 19, 6. Js. 13, 2. Jer. 37, 20.' Num. 14, 19. Ru. 1, 11. Est. 3, 12. =). On the other hand, if the last .syllable before JVInqqef retains its long vowel and the tone cannot be drawn back, the one immediately before the tone must also on account of its iieaviness recieve Meteg, as Vn ~ r'H Gen. 35, 1. 3, n" ~ N'Vn 1 Sam. 21, 12. Although in this, as in other cases, M.'teg may be placed where it belongs accord, to the rule, though for convenience it is not §• 499- 200- Accentuation. 99 uniformly used in all Mss. aiul editt. , and tliis is tlie cliief cause of tiie many discrepancies in the placing of it. In luonosv liable words, liowt. er, witli a sliort vowel, Meteg is better omitted, as n^^~^^, SZ^^^~?D. 1) The distinction is often very trilling, as for instance e is oftener retained in monosyl.abic substantives, as ~ ; — r'; _ 2) On the otlier hand, this INJetep: with Sli'vA is mucli rarer in a word without Maqi|ef, and is only sometimes found where the syllable wliich should li;ive Meteg is not a sinijile one, and there- fore does not easily admit Meteg, so that it hnrries over to the weak ojien sound at the beginning, as !^p,»^r-. Ps. 2, 3. '^""^'^'5 Est. 7, t). ^''~:^?.;^ Ps. lU, 14. Jer. 49^ 18. 2. The j^auscl fonnr. §. 130 ff. are not only found at tlie end of the 199 verse i. e. pros. I« and \\a, poet. ] <; , \\ a . \\\.u, but even in llie ni'.- terior members where it happens to be suitable. For the cliief thing to l»e considered in these is wliether, (lfi;eudlng on tlie riiythm, they only form a member of a proposition which is not jar m.' indei>endent in sense ai;d therefore can liave no pause, or whether in the division they end a sliort independent proposition which properly has the pause. Hence' too the pause is nio-,t frei|uent with tlie scctionary members 2 6 and oc pros. Jer. 4G, 28, sometimca even with 4'/ pros. 2 Kgs. 3, 25. and 3 <• poet. Pro. :'•(), 4; but also not rare with the foremember, as \ b , 2c Dt. 13, a. I Kgs. 20, 40. Jes. 33, 20. Jer. 8, 6. 25, 30. and poet 1 h lob 9, 20. 21. Ps. 45, 2. On tlie other bandit is very rare that there is no panse at 11./, Ez. ly, 4. Therefore the Masoretes always particularly note .such paus<,'s in unusual places, or their unusual absence, in the margin, to avoid poss- ible mistakes. A similar distinction is sometimes mnde with D.itre.ih lene §. 174 ac- cord, to which tlie established rule generally indeed holds, that it is only wanting after a conjunctive accent, but can also be absent on a suitable occasion after a very weak disjunctive , as is expressly remarked after "„* Ex. 5, 15. Ez. 14, 4. and on the other hand is found after ^ 1 Sam. 13, II (Dan. 3, 3). Tlie common editions of tlie Bible exliiblt the whole ac- 2G0 cenliialion, and especially tlie more complicated poetic one, rather according to tradition than Avith kuo^yledge and discri- mination, and therefore \ery inaccurately and imperfectly; the editions of Jablokski and J. 11. JMichaelis alone appear to be more accurate. The Jewish Grammarians too have only an imper- fect knowledge of the sul)ject; among the man)" works of christian scholars who have endeavoured to understand the system in modern times , 1/istitutiones ad analyticain fin- er am V. T. ex accentihusj auctore A. B. SriTZAEiio. Hal. 1786, is slill the best. 7* 100 Ji- 201. Of forms. S K C O X D PART. OF FOR M S. 201 1. It is the duty of llie lexicon to sliow minutely liow every sound, consonanl ami vonvcI , of llie roots, or primi- tives, oi the language is signilicanl as the expression of pai"- ticular iecling; but llie (jrajiimar begins with observing how these roots, as to their meaning and formation, pass through essejilially three stages: 1) some have remained stationary at the lowest degree, exjircssing liic immediate outbreak of mere feeling, and therefore, for the most part, siiort and hurried, consisting of vowels , aspirates, and -weak sounds, and still continuing, for the most part, without formation and internal j-egularity; tliey may be called roots of feelings or iiiter- ji'.ctiunal routs. — 2) Other roots refer to a place, or to some definite direction , not yet naming the object according to its nature, but only referring to its relative j)osition to the speaker; they maj' be called local, ov indicative roots, they and as they progressively split into ramifications, the pronouns and very many adverbs and coniunctions arise from them; these roots are of a much higher kind, since they are founded on the perception of the diffex-ence of space, and consetpiently on judgments of the understanding , but for as nuich as they only indicate, or imply these, they stand nearer the roots of the lirst stage, and are alieady more capable of flexion, but not yet in all its kinds. — 3) The largest class in number, and the most capable of ilexion, are the roots of idea, which express the idea according to tlie consciousness of the nature of things , clear, perfect ex])ressions of the thought. In tliese the complete form , which ])reserves ils regularity in ail single M'ords , is fn-st found, which is in this respect very strongly expressed in SemUici in that these roots have always an establish- ed compass of at least three firm soruids (radices triliterae, sometimes quadrililerae) §. 14. As the highest roots, tliey may indeed be derived from lower roots, or be related to them, as t-;nN to howl, r;:N (auken low German) to sig/i-, from the inlejjoclions TN , HN ; !^:p to stretch, extend, con- nected wilk the t wbich points to tiie distance, aind as ^N father, 'd^ luother i) may be borrowed from the first labial soimds of an infants lisping; the distinguishing feature how- ever is this, that such words, when they leave the sensuous and material ground of the language , and become fixed for for the expression of the idea, first forjn a perfect human langiiage. 1) cf in Sanscrit pitii (pSfri) mdtri iVoin tlie same roofs; the IMand- §. 202. Of forms. 101 scliii liovvever is most like Semitic lieie; in it, the origin is still [)laiiier, since uma distinguislies tlie male (fatliei) eme tiie female (mutlier), accotiiiiig to tlie uniform distinction of a as the stronj^er, and e as tlie weaker vowel, of. von dkr Gabklkntz Gram. Mand. p. 138. The root has iu itself no form as yet, i. e. , no definite 202 conception of its meaning and pi-onunciation in tins or that direclioii. But as soon as ever it rises aJ)Ove the stale of a mere interjection, either as expressing an idea, or giving signs of it, it can split into manifold conceptions and forms, and from the principle of the formation of roots , a second faier formation arises which modifies and divides all roots uniformly, namely that of stems, from which finally, by the last im- pulse of the (lexiou , the tpo/'^s, as they now exist independent u\ the language, proceed as branches from the stems. Tlie most general division however is this, that the idea is either concievcd at rest iu itself and unconnected , or as acting and determining: the first is the noun ^ as naming the mere bexng according to its nature , tlie second the verb as describing motion^ action, and becoming' (^ fieri) according to the dis- tinctions of lime. The noun therefore is more limited, slug- gish, and lifeless than the verb, which is the ruling, most animate and com]nehensive part of the language, and hence too the most developed: the noun represents the idea isolated, conlined witliin itself, the verb represents it acting and de- termining with animation in a time. The roots of idea are thus almost all developed to verbs, so that all impulses of the formation may display themselves in them ; only a very few have been stamped as nouns merely, and preserved so. With regard to the whole form then, tlie verb and the noun make the tw^o chief parts of the language, in which the living form- ation has stamped itself in all directions in a peculiar manner : some Avords, however, are excluded from this class, either because they have remained in the primitive rough state, as the interjcctional roots, or because they only approach the cullivated part of the language, as the local roots come very near to the nominal formation, or because they separate them- selves again from the living part of the language, and rather indicate certain ideas brielly, according to a permanent, and therefore, more or less inanimate form (adverbs): all these, under the general name particles , make up the more im- moveable, inanimate part of the language, Avliich keeps itself apart from the ruling development; in which this rule gene- rally holds , that the newer and more powerful the formation is in a language, the more does it raise its particles to a higher degree of animation and formation , or retain them in it. 102 §■ 203-205. Of forms. 203 11, Tlie formations wlilcli arise from tlie roots, and indeecl, from tl>e roots of idea cliiefly, are the folloAving three: 1. Formations of stems, or ^vords "wLicli proceed from the roots in such a manner tliat tlie naked idea of the root e. g. to hear, is concieved -svitli many new more particular, and suhtler modifications, and tliereby assumes the form suited to every one of these variations of the sense; but because these accessory ideas are the general ones of augmentation, or diminution , of the diiference between noun and verb, active and passive etc., accordingly, the formations which ex- jiress them pre\ail through ail roots uniformly, and it all depends on the usage of the language whether this or that stem of a root is developed. Tlius the root has regularly branched out in!o stems, and is no"\v only discoverable iu them. ^Vherei^ , however, the distinction remains, that one stem may stand nearer to the root, or sprout up more di- rectly from it, than anotlier. 204 The external increment and development of stems runs tlirougli the foHowing three stages : l) The deGnite compass of three, and somptimes even Jour, firm sounds wliich exist in the root (v. 201) forms, even willi the internal vocalization Avhich adapls itself to the shades of llie conception, the si/Ji- p/e sti