B-Hebrew: The Biblical Hebrew Forum

Hi Jason,

The matter of אהיה/יהיה is different than the case of ויהי
but the case of there Sheva is the same.


The Sheva in אהיה is basically silent, but since it is hard to stop at the H, it gets a natural vowel by the speakers.
It is not that the Sheva in the H is mobile. But people, in their pronunciation, create a little vowel in a natural way.

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The Meteg, in both of them (אהיה and ויהי), comes to keep the H pronounced and not be swallowed.
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When one reads the word "vayhi", there is a chance that the H would be swallowed, and it would sound like "vayi".
"vayhi--->vayi".

Therefore, the Meteg comes to give a little length on the first syllable "vay".
and with that, it makes sure that the second syllable would start with the H (hi).
vay--hi.
But the Sheva in the Y is still silent.

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The same is with אהיה
"ehye" can be sound like "e-ye"
and "yihye" can be sound like "yi-ye"

Therefore, the Meteg comes to differ the syllables by giving a little length between them.
eh--ye.
yih--ye.

but the H is still with a silent Sheva.
but in this case, when the silent-Shevad-H is involved, a natural vocalization can be made influenced by the previous vowel.
as yihye--->yihiye
and ehye-->eheye.
But this sound is natural, and we shouldn't look at it as a sound that is based on a mobile Sheva.

And when we speak, this natural sound happens often when the H is involved.
Usually, when there is such a natural sound, it is also represented by a Hataph.
But in this case, the Sheva stays Sheva.

Hi Glenn,

So "shim-u-na", when the "shim" is stress (secondary stress) is fine.
(the main stress is on the "na").
And the M should be silent.

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As for המעט
I don't know why he reads it with mobile Sheva.

The interrogative participle comes with a silent Sheva after it.
for example
Job 15:8: הַבְסוֹד אֱלוֹהַּ תִּשְׁמָע
Judges 14:15: הַלְיׇרְשֵׁנוּ קְרָאתֶם לָנוּ הֲלֹא
Genesis 29:5 הַיְדַעְתֶּם אֶת לָבָן בֶּן נָחוֹר

When there is an exception, the text can tell us that in two ways.

1. A Dagesh in the next letter.
Gen. 37:32 הַכְּתֹנֶת בִּנְךָ הִוא אִם לֹא
1Sam 17:25 הַרְּאִיתֶם הָאִישׁ הָעֹלֶה הַזֶּה (Notice Dagesh in letter R)
Num. 13:20 הַשְּׁמֵנָה הִוא אִם רָזָה

2. putting a Meteg for the interrogative participle.
Gen. 18:17 הַמְכַסֶּה אֲנִי מֵאַבְרָהָם אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי עֹשֶׂה
Gen. 27:38 הַבְרָכָה אַחַת הִוא לְךָ

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I saw in the book מנחת שי that he writes about this word (in two verses) that it doesn't have a Meteg in the Sephardi book.
That made me think that maybe this word does have a Meteg in Ashkenazi Books. If so, that can explain this reading of המעט.

Edit:

Glenn,

I checked in some books a few of the המעט that in the bible.
And I saw that there are differences in some places.
I mean one bible puts the Meteg under the H in some places while at the same places, some bibles don't put it.

I guess, that there are some books that tell us to mobilize the M in some cases and some not.

The Allepo Codex and Leningrad don't have the Meteg (I checked only a few verses).

So anyway, it seems that the reader reads from a bible who has the Meteg, and so he mobilizes the Sheva.

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In this case, it is not a matter of grammatical right reading or grammatical wrong reading.
It is a matter of Masora - if it has this exception (of mobilizing the M) or not.

I heard two cantors (Sephardi and Yemenite) reads this question word in the Torah, and they both read the M with a silent Sheva.
(but I wonder, because I saw in a Yemenite Torah book a verse where the M is mobilized, while the Yemenite Cantor reads it as silent, so I wonder about it, and I need to check more cantors).

edit: I did hear more, and they all keep the M silent.

Anyway, I would read it with a silent M.
But if there is a claim that the Masora has this word as one of the exceptional words, and there is a Meteg there, then the reading with Mobile M would be fine.

Isaac wrote

However, a letter, such as yod, that may get lost under a schwa is exaggerated, for example יהוּדי yehudi

Add to it לְבִיבָה levivah, מְנוֹרָה menorah, נְבָלָה nevalah, רְכִיבָה rekhivah. Also גְּאוּלָה geulah, to remove it from gulah. Likewise, בְּעוּלָה beulah and דְּאִיָּה deiyah.

Isaac Fried, Boston University
www.hebrewetymology.com

Thanxs everyone for all the info!!

Glenn