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Hence there are gradations according to which it takes place. At the end of a word without a vowel it is of course impossible, § 12. 2. Again, if the consonant to be doubled begins the following syllable without a distinct vowel, as in ,, it is more difficult, particularly in rapid utterance, to hear the reduplication distinctly, and it gradually disappears; as is evident from the omission of Dagesh in the above and multitudes of similar words, especially those of very frequent occurrence. Thus 72777 and he spake, for and they raised, for ; praise ye, for bb; his throne, for i; and often with, as

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§ 10. COMPOSITE SHEVA.

1. The essential nature and functions of all the Shevas are the same. They are a device for marking the various transitions from a purely consonantal to a distinctly vocalic utterance, which is effected by interposing the most fleeting and hurried sounds of a, e, and o, where the exigency requires them. Of these that of ě (simple Sheva) is the most spontaneous and frequent, and this occurs in connection with every letter of the Alphabet except the Gutturals. The pronunciation of these is so peculiar, that it cannot but modify in some degree that of the associated Sheva. The Gutturals having themselves a sound more open and kindred to a, they necessarily impart a portion of their own power to the accompa nying Sheva, making its sound more distinctly vocalic. While therefore the punctuators have properly left the original sign of the Sheva in its place, they have connected with it the sign of each of the short vowels ă, ě, o, to indicate more clearly the real character of the sounds to be uttered. These are usually termed by Jewish grammarians the Hateph-vowels (hurried, rapid), and form the class represented in the following table :

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For the reason to which it is owing that i and u ( and ) are never found

as Hateph-vowels, see § 25. 6.

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2. There are, however, some exceptions to the general rule of accompanying a vowelless Guttural with a compound Sheva, as

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they sometimes occur with simple Sheva, as instead of 27, instead of a Regard is had, however, in this usage to the comparative strength or weakness of the several Gutturals. As is the strongest of this class, it most frequently takes the simple Sheva; and but seldom, as , "; and , the weakest, seldomer still, as io.

3. No uniform principle appears to have been adhered to as to the kind of Sheva to be employed under the several Gutturals. The choice would seem to have been left entirely to the discretion of the writer, the same words frequently occurring with different Shevas. In general, however,,,, at the beginning of words are found with (-:), and & with (-).

4. Although the Composite Shevas belong appropriately to the Gutturals, yet they are occasionally found under other consonants, in which cases their use seems to have been prompted by a desire to guard against the danger of mistaking a silent for a moveable Sheva in the middle of a syllable. There can be no doubt or danger on this score with Sheva at the beginning of a word,

as

where מַחְשְׁבוֹת יִכְתְּבוּ or after a compound syllable, as כְּרֹב פְּרִי וְלוֹ

קָסָמִי,stantially the same reason

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1 Sam. 28. 8.

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Sheva may readily be known to be Sheva vocal by the necessity of the pronunciation. But in other cases, where this danger exists, the policy seems to have been to increase the audibility of Sheva as much as possible, for which purpose the form of a Hateph-vowel (composite Sheva) was given it, and more especially where this lengthening was at the same time favored by other circumstances of the sounds. Of these fleeting vowels the most natural and easy, viz. a (-:) is prevalently used; e(:) is never found; and but seldom does an o (:) obtrude itself, and that only on account of a powerful kindred o or u-sound in the neighborhood, as for y, Jer. 22. 20. So, for subEzek. 35. 6. Lev. 10. 5. The remaining particular instances are, (1) Where the design is to show clearly that the syllable is only a very loosely mixed one (§9. 6.), especially on account of the obscure heavy u, which likes to be separate, as roo-tă-phash (not root-phash), Job 33. 25, Gen. 2. 12. So after the sharp i, as ni, Ps. 12. 7, and with Dagesh dirimens (§12. 5.), as ba, Zech. 4. 12. More rarely after a, as (from the interrogative and), Gen 27. 38; and in a close compound syllable only where it is broken up by Maqqeph and Metheg, as - Gen. 21. 6. (2) Where the consonant has lost its reduplication, according to § 9. 7, and where therefore both syllables may be more easily intermixed, as, Judg. 16. 16. ♫p3 Gen. 3.23. (3) Seldom after a long vowel, as 3 Ezek. 4. 10, especially The influence of all

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with the semi-guttural, as

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Gen. 27. 27-31.

these causes to keep the two sounds farther apart, is increased if the same con

sonant occurs twice fn-succession, as, Ezek. 35. 7, 33, 1 Sam. 2. 25,

Ge: 28 3,8

PRAXIS IN SYLLABICATION.

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melō, yerâh, shelë, kelū, qetōl, meri, derõ, hhō-rī, ĕ-mū, ă-rī, ĕ-lū

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1. This is a name given to Pattah when occurring under either of the Gutturals,,, at the end of a final syllable, and preceded by a long vowel not of the A-class, in which case it is to be sounded before the consonant and not after. This is not an arbitrary, but a necessary usage. For as those letters cannot be pronounced after the vowels e, i, o, or u, at the end of a word without the intrusion of more or less of an a-sound (hence termed furtive), therefore in such words as 7, 77, 7, since they naturally and of their own accord yield the pronunciation rẽ-ă, rũ-ăhh, mâ-shĩahh, the corresponding external indication of that sound is made As the Pat

מָשִׁיחַ רוּחַ רֵעַ to appear in the mode of writing, as

tah furtive, however, is merely a euphonic help and belongs not to the essential forms of words, it falls away upon the accession of

.רוּחֵיכֶם רוּחוֹת רוּחִי syllables, as

2. Pattah furtive never appears under the Guttural, because this letter at the end of a word is always mute.

3. Besides Pattah, Segol, and Hireq also, when occurring under the penult letter of a word, are often, from the office which they perform, termed furlive vowels (§ 8.7.), but they are then as usual to be sounded after their consonants.

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1. DAGESH ( i. e. hardening, strengthening,) is the name given to a point inserted in the bosom of a consonant, as , and serving the two-fold purpose (1) Of doubling the letter, as 3— Soup git-tēl, yăm-mim, in which case it is called Dagesh forte (17); (2) Of hardening the aspirates, i. e. taking away their aspirate or softer sound, in which case it is termed Dagesh lene (3), as mal-kah,yik-tov, hìn-dõph.

2. DAGESH forte. As the reduplication of a letter is most audible between two distinct vowels (§ 9. 7.), it follows that Dagesh forte has its appropriate place in the middle of a word, as 120 săb-bū,

mid-dim, qăt-telu. The final consonant of a word, as it cannot in the nature of the case be sounded double, does not receive Dagesh; but whenever in the course of flexion such a letter shifts its position and comes to stand in the middle of a word, the Dagesh due is inserted, as qal instead of bp (3), but pl. p qăl-līm; aph, (2), pl. ‡ àp-pìm ; "=" ytsăv, 777 ytsav-vēh, (§ 34. 4. c.). The Gutturals, according to § 25. 8. never receive Dagesh. As these letters from their nature are not susceptible of reduplication, whenever by analogy they would receive Dagesh, it is rejected and the omission compensated by lengthening the preceeding vowel, as pr

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4. Dagesh forte is distinguished into Compensative and Characteristic; the former being used to supply the deficiency of a letter lost through assimilation or absorption (§24 3.), as yìg-găsh for

212 gin-găsh, FP" giq-qánh for teen gil-qalh, -5s ip-pè for "Eas ăn-phi ; the latter denoting, not an accidental, but an essential peculiarity in the form of a word, as qit-til, the form of the Piel conjugation of the verb in distinction from Kal, § 32.

5. Another distinction of Dagesh of considerable importance, termed by some grammarians Dagesh dirimens, arises in the following circumstances:— When the final consonant of a syllable in the middle of a word is not closely attached to the following syllable, but floats between both with a short halfvowel sound ($9.6.), the voice almost spontaneously doubles it after the prece

IHence a Dagesh forte מִקְדָּשׁ for מִקְדָּשׁ וּסְבְכוּ for סְבְּרַךְ ding short vowel, as

is often placed in this consonant to point out this separation of the consonant with Sheva from the following syllable, and to distinguish the Sheva as Sheva medial or floating (§ 9. 6.) from Sheva mute, of which the above are apposite examples. This use of Dagesh dirimens, which is closely related to that of Dagesh lene as explained § 12. 10. a. is not very regularly observed; but it is properly and most frequently found where the consonant with Sheva, though attached to a preceding short vowel, yet on account of the adventitious nature of such vowel in that place is but very loosely attached, and so suffers an original Sheva vocal to be quite distinctly heard. The principles of formation only can show where and how such very loose compound syllables arise, but the prominent cases are, (1) With the interrogative, which is most loosely attached, as in (not to be read hak-thoneth, but hak-kethoneth, because derived from k thoneth), Gen. 37. 32. (2) In the construct state, where Sheva as being shortened from a full vowel always remains as Sheva moveable, or at any rate as Sheva medial, and the preceding vowel is only assumed from the necessity of the pronunciation, as

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הַפְקֵי ,32 .32 .Deut

Is. 57. 6. (3) So also, a man of Anathoth, from

in, Jer. 29. 27. (4) A vowelless consonant in the middle of a word does

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not attach itself so closely to a liquid as to a firm consonant, it being easier, for
instance, to pronounce than
hence to point out this looser connexion
the Dagesh dirimens is sometimes employed, particularly before, as,
Hos. 3. 2, 7787 1 Sam. 28. 10, p, Deut. 23. 11. Moreover itself, con-
trary to general usage, sometimes receives this lighter reduplication, as
1 Sam. 10. 24; comp. Judg. 20. 43, 1 Sam. 1.6.

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6. There is in addition to the above another use of the Dagesh forte which may be called euphonic, or perhaps better conjunctive, as it depends upon the close conjunction of two words, particularly by means of Maqqeph (§ 16.), by which a monosyllabic word, or at least a word with the tone on the first syllable, becomes attached to another more independent word. This conjunction consists in the vowel which ends the word becoming shorter, by its shortness doubling the first consonant of the next word, and being so drawn over to it that they are pronounced together, as

and măt-tov; whence in the ancient writing

in, pronounced măz-zōth
was joined on to the following

The מח־כָּכֶם מַכָּכֶם מַה־זֶה מִזֶּה word, especially if it were a short one, as

above particle what? from its interrogative power, which naturally forms a tendency to hurried pronunciation, is peculiarly liable to have its â-sound shortened in this manner, and the first consonant in the following word reduplicated. Other instances are the following:, Gen. 31. 36, 7, Ps. 133. 1. Again, a monosyllabic word is easily attached to a preceding one, and usually in such a case the final syllable, which is for the most part, though not always unaccented, is not shortened before the reduplication, which is consequently only weakly audible, as by âlithâshsham; son,

,Cases like the last, however קוּמוּ צְאוּ אַרְצָה כְּנַעַן יִרְאֶה-כּוֹ הָשְׁלְמָה־כָּךְ

with Shureq are rare, as seldom any vowels but Qamets, Pattah, and Segol,
are employed before Dagesh conjunctive. The following instances of a pecu-
liar kind are usually ranked under the head of Dagesh euphonic, viz.,
hhâ-del-lu instead of hhâ-delu, for ann, abap, abang, &c.

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7. DAGESH LENE. The six mutes, or Begadh-Kephath letters, 2, 1, 7, 3, 5, 5, have a strong tendency to a softer, that is, an aspirated sound, by which, b, d, k, p, t especially, are gradually changed into bh (v), dh, ch, ph (f), th. It would seem, therefore, at first view, that as the hard sound of these letters is the primitive and genuine one, the proper way would have been to consider them as having this sound whenever there was no indication to the contrary; in which case the insertion of a point would naturally have denoted the secondary or soft sound. The reverse of this, however, is the fact; Dagesh lene being employed to indicate the removal of the aspiration and the return of the original hard sound. This apparent anomaly is accounted for by supposing that in the later periods of the spoken language the softer enunciation predominated

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