B-Hebrew: The Biblical Hebrew Forum

Hello, I’m curious if there is a reason Zechariah 14:10 uses an א in the word ‎וְֽרָֽאֲמָה֩? Through a preliminary lexicon search, it seems this is the only usage of the רוּם origin word with an א in the Hebrew Bible.

I found a few רוּם variants in the Hebrew Bible:

‎תָּר֥וּם (tarum) - Psalm 89:25 “[it] will be raised”

‎יָר֧וּם (yarum) - Isaiah 52:13 “he shall be exalted”

‎תָּרֹ֥ם (tarom) - Micah 5:8 “[it] shall be raised”

I also searched out the conjugation of the word לְהָרִים (root: רוּם) for future tense:

‎יוּרַם (yuram) - he/it will be raised

‎תּוּרַם (turam) - she/it will be raised

https://www.pealim.com/dict/2414-leharim/

These future tense words don’t even match up exactly to what I’ve found in the Hebrew Bible. Am I missing something? Have I looked up the wrong word to conjugate? What are the normal ways to conjugate “[it/he/she] will/shall be exalted/elevated/raised up”?

And is there a reason Zechariah uses an א? (Is it spelled like this any other time in the Hebrew language, or is this a one-off?)

Thanks in advance for your insight.

Carolyn Burns

stargirl wrote:And is there a reason Zechariah uses an א? (Is it spelled like this any other time in the Hebrew language, or is this a one-off?)

This appears to be the one instance (at least listed in Brown-Driver-Briggs) of this spelling, but they caution that: si vera lectio 'if it is in fact the real reading', then it will be from רום. In other words, it could be a scribal error.

These future tense words don’t even match up exactly to what I’ve found in the Hebrew Bible.

We can tell by the given lexical form, which is not the Qal 3rd pers. sg. masc. (such as we get with a 'normal' verb like שָׁמַר) but rather the infinitive construct, that this verb is "irregular", and so the listed forms are bound to seem a little foreign. This root was originally "triconsonantal" like any other, but it underwent monophthongization and so became 'biconsonantal'.

I'm certainly no expert in these matters, but it doesn't seem unlikely that this is just a scriptio plena variant of the usual Qal 3rd p. sg. fem. רָםָה. However, I would wait for the forum masters before making any final judgement.

Best,
Max

Carolyn:

What gives you the idea that this is from the root רום?

This spelling is found only in this verse, a happax legomenon.

There is a name ראומה so is this also a name that is mentioned only once? Possibly a neighborhood in Jerusalem?

Or is this a verb whose meaning has long been forgotten?

Right now I lean towards the understanding that this is a place name, mentioned only once.

Anybody else have a good interpretation?

Karl W. Randolph.

Hi Max,

I don’t have an extensive background in Hebrew, so I appreciate your insight. From my understanding, א is not often used as a medial mater lectionis, at least not as often as י and ו‎, which is why I was curious about that word functioning as a scriptio plenal.

@Karl I was given the idea because in Zechariah 14:10 it seems to reflect the same meaning as the verb רוּם. It seems to function as a verb rather than a place name.

I posted another inquiry in the Hebrew Bible section, so it might be best to leave this discussion there, but I ran across an article that was making an argument for כָּאֲרוּ being a variant of the word כָּרוּ in Psalm 22:16/17. The author gave the example of וְֽרָֽאֲמָה֩ (Zechariah 14:10) as having an א as well as the וְקָ֣אם (“[it] shall rise” - Hosea 10:14) having an א, vs וְקָ֥ם (example: “[it] will arise” - Numbers 24:17). Similarly, I’m curious if the word וְקָ֣אם is used elsewhere in the Bible (I am only seeing וְקָ֥ם), or elsewhere in the Hebrew language.

If they are not used elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible or Hebrew language, I’m curious why these two words are acceptable as verb variants but כָּאֲרוּ is seen as a non-existing word and therefore a non-variant of כָּרוּ.

Of course, there is a whole debate on what the actual original word in Psalm 22:16/17 was depending on various manuscripts (כָּאֲרִי vs כָּאֲרוּ vs כָּרוּ), but I’m wondering about this matter in particular.

Carolyn Burns

Hi Max,

I don’t have an extensive background in Hebrew, so I appreciate your insight. From my understanding, א is not often used as a medial mater lectionis, at least not as often as י and ו‎, which is why I was curious about that word functioning as a scriptio plenal.

@Karl I was given the idea because in Zechariah 14:10 it seems to reflect the same meaning as the verb רוּם. It seems to function as a verb rather than a place name.

I posted another inquiry in the Hebrew Bible section, so it might be best to leave this discussion there, but I ran across an article that was making an argument for כָּאֲרוּ being a variant of the word כָּרוּ in Psalm 22:16/17. The author gave the example of וְֽרָֽאֲמָה֩ (Zechariah 14:10) as having an א as well as the וְקָ֣אם (“[it] shall rise” - Hosea 10:14) having an א, vs וְקָ֥ם (example: “[it] will arise” - Numbers 24:17). Similarly, I’m curious if the word וְקָ֣אם is used elsewhere in the Bible (I am only seeing וְקָ֥ם), or elsewhere in the Hebrew language.

If they are not used elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible or Hebrew language, I’m curious why these two words are acceptable as verb variants but כָּאֲרוּ is seen as a non-existing word and therefore a non-variant of כָּרוּ.

Of course, there is a whole debate on what the actual original word in Psalm 22:16/17 was depending on various manuscripts (כָּאֲרִי vs כָּאֲרוּ vs כָּרוּ), but I’m wondering about this matter in particular.

Carolyn Burns

stargirl wrote: ↑Wed Dec 21, 2022 6:10 pm@Karl I was given the idea because in Zechariah 14:10 it seems to reflect the same meaning as the verb רוּם. It seems to function as a verb rather than a place name.

I posted another inquiry in the Hebrew Bible section, so it might be best to leave this discussion there,„
Carolyn Burns

Yes, I went into greater detail there.

Karl W. Randolph.

Hi Jason,

Thank you for your insight. I responded in the other thread.

Hi Karl,

Please see the other thread.

Carolyn Burns

Posting this here, too -

Hi,

I have possibly found an example of a lahmed-he verb demonstrating the א phenomenon - ‎צָוָה (to order, command) - although it is middle-weak. It could also be referencing another verb ‎יָצָא (to go, come out).

Ezra 8:17 lists two verbs ‎וָאֲצַוֶּ֤ה and ‎ואוצאה (per footnote in Ezra and the Second Wilderness, Yoo, page 106, one from the qere the other from ketiv, respectively). Might ‎ואוצאה be derived from צָוָה (or simply just ‎יָצָא)? What are your thoughts?

Ezra and the Second Wilderness link: https://books.google.com/books?id=WOgwD ... 17&f=false

Carolyn Burns

stargirl wrote: ↑Thu Dec 29, 2022 5:46 am Posting this here, too -

Hi,

I have possibly found an example of a lahmed-he verb demonstrating the א phenomenon - ‎צָוָה (to order, command) - although it is middle-weak. It could also be referencing another verb ‎יָצָא (to go, come out).

Ezra 8:17 lists two verbs ‎וָאֲצַוֶּ֤ה and ‎ואוצאה (per footnote in Ezra and the Second Wilderness, Yoo, page 106, one from the qere the other from ketiv, respectively). Might ‎ואוצאה be derived from צָוָה (or simply just ‎יָצָא)? What are your thoughts?

Ezra and the Second Wilderness link: https://books.google.com/books?id=WOgwD ... 17&f=false

Carolyn Burns

The צוה reading is Qere. To put it mildly, I reject the Qere readings 90+% of the time as being false. The root here is יצא.

Karl W. Randolph.